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HISTORY 

OF   THE 

PIONEER  SETTLEMENT 

PHILPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE 

AND 

MORRIS'  RESERVE; 


EMBRACING   THE   COUNTIES   OF 


MONROE,  ONTARIO,  LIVINGSTON,  YATES,  STEUBEN, 

MOST  OF  WAYNE  AND  ALLEGANY,  AND  PARTS 

OF  ORLEANS,  GENESEE  AND  WYOMING. 


TO   WHICH   IS   ADDED,  A    SUPPLEMENT,  >  OR  •  EXTENSION  D*1   THE   PIONEER   HISTORY    OF 


MOIROE:  COUNTY. 


THE    WHOLE   PRECEDED    BY 

SOME   ACCOUNT    OF    FRENCH    AND     ENGLISH    DOMINION — BORDER   WARS   OF   THE   REVOLU 
TION — INDIAN   COUNCILS   AND    LAND    CESSIONS — THE   PROGRESS   OF   SETTLEMENT 
WESTWARD    FROM    THE   TALLET    OF    THE   MOHAWK — EARLY    DIFFICUL 
TIES  WITH  THE  INDIANS — OUR  IMMEDIATE  PREDECESSORS  THE 
SENEGAS — WITH    "A    GLANCE    AT    THE    IROQUOIS." 


BY  0.  TURNER, 

[AUTHOR  OF  THE  "HISTORY  OF  THE  HOLLAND  PURCHASE."] 


ROCHESTER: 

PUBLISHED      BY     WILLIAM      ALLING. 

1851. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851,  by  WM.  ALLING,  in  the  Clerk's 
Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Northern  District  of  New  York. 


Stereotyped  by 
J.  w.  BROWN,  Rochester. 

FEINTED  BY  LEE,  MANN  &  CO., 
Rochester,  JV.   Y. 


TO   THE 

SURVIVING  PIONEERS 

AND    THB 

DESCENDANTS    OP    PIONEERS 

PHELPS  AND  G-ORHAM'S  PURCHASE, 

AND 

MORRIS'    RESERVE, 

THIS  "WORK  IS  RESPECTFULLY   DEDICATED: — 

To  the  first,  —  as  a  feeble  tribute,  a  moiety  of  what  is  their  due,  for  the 
physical  and  moral  triumphs  they  have  won  through  long  early  years  of  toil, 
privation  and  endurance.  In  view  of  the  brief  space  allotted  to  man  by  an 
All  Wise  Providence,  as  an  average  existence — (no  more  than  thirty 
fleeting  years  constituting  a  generation)  —  you  live  to  be  the  witnesses  of 
more  than  it  is  often  given  to  man  to  see.  The  wilderness  you  entered  in  your 
youths  —  some  of  you  in  middle  age  —  you  have  lived  to  see  not  only 
"blossom  as  the  rose,"  but  to  bear  its  matured  and  ripened  fruit.  Where 
you  have  followed  the  trails  of  your  immediate  predecessors  —  the  Seneca 
Iroquois  —  or  your  own  woods  paths,  are  Canals,  Rail  Roads  and  Telegraphs. 
A  long  line  of  internal  navigation  —  an  artificial  River  —  bearing  upon  its 
bosom  the  products  of  your  own  subdued,  teeming  soil,  and  continuous  fleets, 
laden  with  the  products  of  an  Empire,  that  has  sprung  up  around  the  bor 
ders  of  our  Western  Lakes  —  winds  along  through  vallies  that  you  have  seen 
but  the  abodes  of  wild  beasts ;  from  whose  depths  you  have  heard  in  your 
log  cabins,  the  terrific  howl  of  the  famishing  wolf  !  Aqueducts,  structures 
that  the  architects  of  the  old  world  might  take  for  models,  span  the  streams  you 
have  often  forded,  and  over  which  you  have  helped  to  throw  primitive  log 
bridges.  And  upon  these  Lakes,  whose  commerce  you  have  seen  to  consist 
of  a  few  batteaux,  lazily  coasting  along  near  shore,  putting  into  bays  and  inlets, 
whenever  the  elements  were  disturbed —  are  fleets  of  sail  vessels,  and  "  float 
ing  palaces,"  propelled  by  a  mighty  agent,  whose  powers  were  but  little 
known  when  you  began  to  wield  the  axe  in  the  forests  of  the  Genesee  coun 
try.  A  subtle  agent  was  occasionally  flashing  in  the  dark  forests,  indicating 
its  power  by  scathing  and  levelling  its  tall  trees ;  then  but  partially  subdued 
to  man's  use ;  now  tamed,  harnessed,  controlled ;  traversing  those  wires,  and 
bringing  the  extremes  of  this  extended  Union  to  hold  converse  with  each 
other  with  the  "  rapidity  of  thought," — more  than  realizing  the  boasts  of 
the  spirit  of  the  poet's  imagination,  who  would 

«  Put  a  girdle  'round  the  Earth  in  thirty  minutes  !" 

M85S17 


Iv  DEDICATION. 

Villages,  cities,  institutions  of  religion  and  learning,  are  upon  sites  where 
you  have  seen  the  dark  shades  of  the  forest  rest  with  a  profound  stillness, 
that  you  could  hardly  have  expected  to  see  disturbed  by  the  hand  of  improve 
ment.  But  more  than  all  this,  you  have  lived  to  see  an  extended  region  of 
wilderness  converted  into  fruitful  fields ;  a  landscape  every  where  interspersed 
with  comfortable,  often  luxurious,  farm  buildings ;  surrounded  by  all  the  evi 
dences  of  substantial,  unsurpassed  prosperity.  Who  else  that  have  planted 
colonies,  founded  settlements,  have  lived  to  see  such  consummations  ?  Peaceful, 
bloodless,  and  yet  glorious !  The  conquerous  upon  battle  fields  have  been 
destroyers ;  you,  creators ;  they,  have  made  fields  desolate ;  you,  have  clothed 
them  with  smiling  promise  and  full  fruition.  They,  have  brought  mourning- ; 
you,  rejoicing.  Theirs,  was  the  physical  courage  of  a  day,  perhaps  of  a  for 
tunate  hour ;  yours,  was  the  higher  and  nobler  attribute  —  the  moral  courage 
—  the  spirit  of  endurance  and  perseverance,  that  held  out  through  long  years 
of  suffering  and  privation ;  that  looked  dangers  and  difficulties  in  the  face, 
till  they  became  familiar  associates.  In  the  retrospect  of  well-spent  lives  — 
in  view  of  the  consummation  of  the  great  work  of  civilization  and  improve 
ment,  you  have  helped  to  commence  and  carry  on  —  now  that  the  shades  of 
evening  are  gathering  around  you  —  now  that  you  are  admonished  that  your 
work  upon  earth  is  done  —  well  may  you  say :  —  "  Now  Lord  lettest  tkou 
thy  servant  depart  in  peace." 

To  the  second,  —  as  the  inheritors  of  a  rich  legacy,  the  fruits  of  the 
achievments,  of  the  long  years  of  enterprise,  toil,  fortitude  and  perseverance, 
of  those  Pioneer  Fathers ;  the  conservators  of  their  memories.  Honors,  titles, 
stars  and  garters,  such  as  kings  may  bestow,  are  baubles  compared  with  what 
they  have  bequeathed !  Far  most  of  them  breaking  out  from  their  quiet 
New  England  homes,  in  youth,  and  strength,  went  first  to  the  battle  field, 
where  it  was  the  strong  against  the  weak,  the  oppressor  against  the  oppressed, 
and  helped  to  win  a  glorious  national  inheritance ;  then,  after  a  short  respite, 
came  to  this  primitive  region,  and  won  a  local  inheritance  for  you,  fair  and 
fertile,  as  rich  in  all  the  elements  of  prosperity  and  happiness,  as  any  that 
the  sun  of  Heaven  shines  upon !  Guard  the  trust  in  a  spirit  of  gratitude  ; 
cherish  the  memories  of  the  Pioneers ;  imitate  their  stern  virtues ;  preserve 
and  carry  on  the  work  they  have  so  well  begun ! 

And  both  will  accept  this  tribute,  from  the  son  of  a  Pioneer  —  one  "  who 
was  to  the  manor  born," —  who  has  essayed  to  snatch  from  fading  memories, 
gather  from  imperfect  records,  and  preserve  these  local  Reminiscences ;  —  and 
who,  most  of  all  regrets,  that  in  the  execution  of  the  task,  he  has  not  been  able 
to  recognize  more  of  the  names  and  the  deeds  of  the  FOUNDERS  OF  SETTLE 
MENTS  IN  THE  GENESEE  COUNTRY.  THE  AUTHOR. 


ODE, 

IN   COMMEMORATION   OF   THE  FIRST   SETTLEMENT   OF  WESTERN   NEW-YORK. 
[BY  W.  H.  C.  HOSMER,  ESQ.] 

High  was  the  homage  Senates  paid 

To  the  plumed  Conquerors  of  old, 
And  freely,  at  their  feet  were  laid, 

Rich  piles  of  flashing  gems  and  gold. 

Proud  History  exhausted  thought, 
Glad  bards  awoke  their  vocal  reeds; 

While  Phidian  hands  the  marble  wrought 
In  honor  of  their  wondrous  deeds : 

But  our  undaunted  Pioneers 
Have  conquests  more  enduring  won, 

In  scattering  the  night  of  years, 
And  opening  forests  to  the  sun; 

And  victors  are  they  nobler  far 

Than  the  helmed  chiefs  of  other  times, 

Who  rolled  their  chariots  of  war, 
To  foreign  lands,  and  distant  climes. 

Earth  groaned  beneath  their  mail-clad  men, 
Bereft  of  greenness  where  they  trod, 

And  wildly  rose,  from  hill  and  glen, 
Loud,  agonizing  shrieks  to  God. 

Purveyors  of  the  carrion  bird 

Blood  streamed  from  their  uplifted  hands, 

And  while  the  crash  of  States  was  heard, 
Passed  on  their  desolating  hordes. 

Then  tell  me  not  of  heroes  fled  — 

Crime,  renders  foul  their  boasted  fame, 

While  widowed  ones  and  orphans  bled, 
They  earned  the  phantom  of  a  name. 

The  sons  of  our  New  England  Sires, 
Armed  with  endurance,  dared  to  roam 

Far  from  the  hospitable  fires, 
And  the  bright,  hallowed  bowers  of  Home. 

The  storm  they  met  with  bosoms  bared, 
And  bloodless  triumphs  bought  by  toil ; 

The  wild  beast  from  his  cavern  scared, 
And  clothed  in  bloom  the  virgin  soil. 


ODE. 

Distemper  leagued  with  famines  wan, 
Nerved  to  a  high  resolve,  they  bore ; 

And  flocks,  upon  the  thymy  lawn, 
Ranged  where  the  panther  yelled  before. 

Look  now  abroad !  the  scene  how  changed, 

Where  fifty  fleeting  years  ago 
Clad  in  their  savage  costume  ranged, 

The  belted  lords  of  shaft  and  bow. 

In  praise  of  pomp  let  fawning  Art 
Carve  rocks  to  triumph  over  years, 

The  grateful  incense  of  the  heart 
Give  to  our  living  PIONEERS. 

Almighty  !  may  thine  out-stretched  arm 
Guard  through  long  ages,  yet  to  be, 

From  tread  of  slave,  and  kingly  harm, 
OUR  EDEN  OF  THE  GENESEE. 


ERRATA. 

Page  131  —  arts  of  peace,  instead  of  "  acts." 

Page  151 — read  sister  instead  of  "  daughter  of  Zachaiiah  Seymour." 
Page  174 — in  note — Judge  Taylor,  should  be  in  place  of  "  Judge  "Wells. " 
Two  references  which  belong  to  page  325  are  carried  over  to  page  326. 
Page  483  —  Shay's  Rebellion  — "  General  order"  —  date  should  have  been  1 786. 
Page  314  —  8th line,  " after,"  should  precede  "his  appointment." 
Page  416  —  9th  line  $200  instead  of  $2,00." 

Page  597— 15th  line,  receipts  of  Rochester  P,  0.,  should  be  as  in  a  few  lines  above, 
$3,46,  instead  of  "$346." 


PREFACE. 


A  WORK,  commenced  nearly  one  year  since,  the  publication  of  which  has  been 
delayed  far  beyond  the  promised  period,  owing  to  causes  unforseen  —  principally  to 
the  fact  that  it  is  of  greater  magnitude,  and  has  involved  a  far  greater  amount  of  travel, 
labor  and  research  than  was  anticipated  —  is  now  presented  to  the  public. 

The  general  plan  of  it  will  hardly  be  misunderstood  by  its  readers  :  —  It  is  a  his 
tory  of  the  Pioneer,  or  FIRST  SETTLEMENT,  of  that  portion  of  the  Genesee  Country  em 
braced  in  the  purchase  of  Oliver  Phelps  and  Nathaniel  Gorham  of  the  State  of  Mas 
sachusetts  and  the  Seneca  Indians,  and  of  that  portion  purchased  by  Robert  MorriF, 
which  he  reserved  in  his  sale  to  the  Holland  Company.  The  boundaries  of  the  region 
embraced  are  indicated  in  the  title  page,  and  are  more  clearly  defined  in  the  body  of 
the  work.  It  is  the  eastern,  and  nearly  the  one  half  of  what  constitutes,  properly, 
Western  New  York  ;  its  eastern  boundary  being  the  Massachusetts  line  of  pre-emption. 

The  work  commences  with  the  advent  of  the  French  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
traces  their  progress  to  this  region,  and  along  the  shores  of  the  Western  Lakes  to  the 
Mississippi  ;  briefly  recognizing  the  prominent  events  that  followed  under  English 
and  French  dominion. 

Enough  of  colonial  history  has  been  embraced  —  that  which  tended  in  the  direction 
of  our  local  region  —  to  make  such  an  induction  to  the  main  design  of  the  work,  as 
would  secure  an  unbroken  chain,  or  chronology  of  events,  commencing  with  the 
landing  of  the  French  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  continued  through  the  period  of 
French  and  English  occupancy.  As  all  this  was  but  incidental,  it  has  been,  generally, 
briefly  disposed  of,  for  the  author  was  admonished  that  his  space  would  be  required 
when  he  had  entered  upon  a  less  beaten  track.  Yet  he  may  venture  to  anticipate  that 
even  the  student  of  history,  will  find  something  of  interest  in  this  precedent  portion 
of  the  work  ;  for  it  is  not  wholly  an  explored  field,  and  each  new  gleaner  may  bring 
something  from  it  to  add  to  the  common  stock  of  historical  knowledge. 

It  was  the  original  design  of  the  author  to  incorporate  in  the  work,  something  of 
the  history  of  our  immediate  predecessors,  the  Senecas.  It  was  mainly  abandoned 
however,  on  learning  that  a  local  author,  quite  competent  for  the  task,  (as  his  now 
published  work  bears  witness,)  was  preparing  for  the  press,  a  work  which  would  em 
brace  much  of  interest  in  their  history.*  Much  of  them,  however,  will  be  found 
scattered  throughout  a  large  portion  of  the  work,  and  a  separate  chapter  is  appropriated 
to  them,  from  the  pen  of  a  native,  and  resident  of  the  Genesee  Valley  —  a  scholar  and 
a  poet,  whose  fame  has  gone  out  far  beyond  our  local  region,  and  conferred  credit  upon 
See  chapter  II,  Pa 


its  literature,  t     JS^f"  See  chapter  II,  Part  I. 

The  colonial  period  passed,  —  the  local  events  of  the  Revolution  briefly  disposed 
of;  —  Indian  treaties,  commencing  under  the  administration  of  GEORGE  CLINTON  — 
the  almost  interminable  difficulties  in  which  the  State,  and  individual  purchasers 
were  involved  in  with  the  Lessees,  —  the  slow  advance  of  settlement  in  this  direc 
tion  —  are  subjects  next  in  order.  Much  of  all  this  has  been  drawn  from  authentic 
records,  and  did  not  previously  exist  in  any  connected  printed  record. 

The  main  subject  reached  —  settlement  of  the  Genesee  country  commenced  —  a 
general  plan  of  narrative,  somewhat  novel  in  its  character  was  adopted  :  —  History 
and  brief  personal  Biography,  have  been  in  a  great  measure  blended.  This  has  vastly 
increased  the  labor  of  the  work,  but  it  is  hoped  it  will  be  found  to  have  added  to  its 
interest.  It  will  readily  be  inferred  that  it  involved  the  necessity  of  selecting  the 
most  prominent  of  the  Pioneers  in  each  locality  —  those  with  whom  could  be  blended 
most  of  the  Pioneer  events.  In  almost  every  locality  there  has  been  regretted  omis 
sions  ;  a  failure  to  recognize  all  who  should  have  been  noticed.  This  has  been  partly 
the  result  of  necessity,  but  oftener  the  neglect  of  those  who  had  promised  to  furnish 
the  required  information.  While  the  work  contains  more  of  names  and  sketches  of 
personal  history,  than  are  to  be  found  in  any  other  local  annals  that  have  been  pub 
lished  in  our  country,  there  are  hundreds  of  Pioneer  names  reluctantly  omitted. 

*  "  League  of  the  Iroquois,"  by  Lewis  H.  Morgan,  Esq.,  of  Rochester. 
t  W.  H.  0.  Hosmer,  Esq.,  of  Avon. 


PREFACE. 

In  all  that  relates  to  early  difficulties  with  the  Indians  ;  to  threatened  renewals  of 
the  Border  Wars,  after  the  settlement  of  the  country  commenced,  the  author  has  been 
fortunate  in  the  possession  of  authentic  records,  hitherto  neglected,  which  gives  to 
the  subjects  a  new  and  enhanced  interest.  The  accounts  of  the  treaties  of  Messrs. 
PICKERING  and  CHAPIN,  with  the  Indians,  are  mostly  derived  from  official  correspon 
dence  ;  while  most  of  what  relates  to  the  councils  held  with  them  to  obtain  land  ces 
sions,  west  of  the  Seneca  Lake,  are  derived  from  the  manuscripts  of  Oliver  Phelps 
and  Thomas  Morris,  the  principal  actors  in  the  scenes. 

The  author  cannot  but  coHclude,  that  poorly  as  the  task  may  have  been  executed, 
it  has  been  undertaken  at  a  fortunate  period.  More  than  one  half  of  this  volume  is 
made  up  from  the  reminiscences,  the  fading  memories,  of  the  living  actors  in  the 
scenes  described  and  the  events  related.  N"o  less  than  nine,  who,  within  the  last  ten 
months,  have  rendered  in  this  way,  essential  sendee,  —  without  whose  assistance  the 
work  must  have  been  far  more  imperfect  —  are  either  in  their  graves,  or  then-  memories 
are  wholly  impaired. 

The  thanks  of  the  author  are  especially  due  to  HENRY  O'RiELLY,  for  the  use  of  val 
uable  papers  collected  with  reference  to  continuing  some  historical  researches,  he  had 
so  well  commenced  ;  to  JAMES  H.  WOODS,  for  the  use  of  papers  of  CHAS.  WILLIAMSON  ; 
to  OLIVER  PHELPS  and  JAMES  S.  WADSWORTH,  for  the  use  of  papers  in  their  possession, 
as  the  representatives  of  OLIVER  PHELPS  and  JAMES  WADSWOPVTH  ;  to  JOHN  GRKIG  and 
JOSEPH  FELLOWS  for  access  to  papers  in  their  respective  land  offices ;  and  especially 
to  the  former,  for  the  essential  materials  in  his  possession  as  the  representative  of 
ISRAEL  CHAPIN,  and  his  son  and  successor,  ISRAEL  CHAPIN  ;  to  the  managers  of  the 
Rochester  Athseneum,  for  free  access  to  their  valuable  Library  ;  to  C.  C.  CLARKE,  of 
Albany,  and  S.  B.  BUCKLEY,  of  Yates,  for  valuable  contributions ;  to  numerous  other 
individuals,  most  of  whom  are  indicated  in  the  body  of  the  work.  And  to  LEE,  MANN 
«fe  Co.,  the  Printers,  and  WM.  ALLING,  the  Publisher,  for  their  liberal  terms,  and  the 
business  accommodation  with  which  they  have  aided  the  enterprise. 

(£^°  The  manner  of  publishing  is  a  material  departure  from  the  original  intention. 
Instead  of  publishing  ONE  WORK,  there  will  be  FOUR.  This  is  the  first  of  the  series. 
Those  that  will  follow  in  order —  (and  in  rapid  succession  if  no  unforeseen  difficulties 
occur)  —  will  be  :  —  P.  and  G.  Purchase  —  Livingston  and  Allegany  ;  —  P.  and  G. 
P. —  Ontario  and  Yates ;  —  P.  and  G.  P.  —  Wayne.  In  this  plan  it  is  confidently 
believed  the  interests  of  Author,  Publisher  and  Purchaser,  will  be  made  to  harmonize. 
It  obviates  the  necessity  of  a  large  work  of  two  volumes,  and  a  HIGH  PRICE,  fatal  to  that 
general  sale  that  a  local  work  must  have,  within  its  scope,  to  remunerate  the  labor  of 
its  preparation  and  defray  the  necessary  expenses  attending  it.  While  the  citizens  of 
Monroe,  for  instance,  will  have  all  the  GENERAL  HISTORY  of  Phelps  and  Gorham's 
Purchase,  and  Morris*  Reserve  —  493  octavo  pages  —  brought  down  to  a  late  Pioneer 
period ;  they  will  not  be  under  the  necessity  of  purchasing  at  an  an  enhanced  price, 
the  mere  local  history  of  other  counties.  The  only  alteration  there  will  be  in  the  main 
body  of  the  work,  in  the  subsequent  volumes  announced,  will  be  the  correction  of 
any  material  errors  that  are  discovered ;  but  there  will  be  in  each  one  of  them,  the 
"Supplement,"  or  "Extension,"  of  the  Pioneer  history  of  the  counties,  as  in  this  in 
stance  —  Monroe. 

The  historical  works  which  have  been  essential  to  the  author's  purposes,  other  than 
those  duly  credited,  are  :  —  Conquest  of  Canada,  Travels  of  the  Duke  De  la  Roche- 
foucault  Liancourt,  Mary  Jemison  or  the  White  Woman,  History  of  Schoharie  His 
tory  of  Onondaga,  History  of  Rochester. 

ft£T  There  are  no  illustrations  :  —  partly  because  they  are  not  essential  to  historv, 
but  mainly  because  they  enhance  the  cost  beyond  what  the  sales  of  any  local  work 
will  warrant.  The  leading  object  has  been  in  the  mechanical  execution  of  the  work 
to  furnish  a  large  amount  of  reading  matter,  in  a  plain,  neat  and  substantial  manner,  at 
a  LOW  PRICE,  —  which  object,  it  will  probably  be  conceded,  has  been  accomplished 

$$ir  It  will  be  observed,  that  little  is  said  of  the  early  history  of  Steuben.  In  an 
early  stage  of  the  preparation  of  the  work,  the  author  was  apprised  that  a  local  histo 
ry  of  that  county,  was  preparing  for  the  press. 

C?pErrors  in  names,  m  dates,  in  facts,  will  undoubtedly  be  discovered  De 
pending  upon  memories  often  infirm,  one  disagreeing  with  another,  labor,  weeks  and 
months  of  careful  research,  could  not  wholly  guard  against  them.  \£T  With  reference 
to  the  future  enterprises  announced,  the  author  will  be  thankful  for  any  corrections 
that  may  be  communicated  to  him  personally,  or  through  the  mails. 


PART  FIRST. 


CHAPTER    I.   .•„  . 


BRIEF    NOTICES    OF    EARLY    COLONIZATION. 


IT  was  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years  after  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus,  before  the  occupancy  of  our  race  was  tend 
ing  in  this  direction,  and  Europeans  had  made  a  permanent  stand 
upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  under  the  auspices  of  France  and  Cham- 
plain.  In  all  that  time,  there  had  been  but  occasional  expeditions 
to  our  northern  Atlantic  coast,  of  discovery,  exploration,  and 
occasional  brief  occupancy ;  but  no  overt  act  of  possession  and 
dominion.  The  advent  of  Champlain,  the  founding  of  Quebec,  from 
which  events  we  date  French  colonization  in  America,  was  in  1608. 
One  year  previous,  in  1607,  an  English  expedition  had  entered  the 
Chesapeake  Bay  and  founded  Jamestown,  the  oldest  English  settle 
ment  in  America.  In  1609,  Henry  Hudson,  an  Englishman,  in  the 
employ  of  the  East  India  Company  of  Holland,  entered  the  bay 
of  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  and  sailed  up  the  river  as  far  as 
Albany.  In  16*21,  permanent  Dutch  colonization  commenced  at 
New- York  and  Albany.  In  1620  the  first  English  colonists  com 
menced  the  permanent  occupancy  of  New  England  at  Plymouth. 

In  tracing  the  advent  of  our  race  to  our  local  region,  French 
colonization  and  occupancy,  must  necessarily,  take  precedence. 
Western  New- York,  from  an  early  period  after  the  arrival  of  Cham- 
plain  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  —  until  1759,  —  for  almost  a  century 
and  a  half,  formed  a  portion  of  French  Canada,  or  in  a  more  ex 
tended  geographical  designation,  of  New  France. 

France,  by  priority  of  discovery,  by  navigators  sailing  under  her 
flag,  and  commissioned  by  her  King,  in  an  early  period  of  partition 
among  the  nations  of  Europe,  claimed  the  St.  Lawrence  and  ils 
tributary  waters  and  all  contiguous  territory,  as  her  part  of  the  New 
World.  Setting  at  defiance,  as  did  England  the  papal  bull  of  Pope 


10  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Alexander  VI.,  which  conferred  all  of  America,  "its  towns  and 
cities"  included,  upon  Spain  and  Portugal,  her  then  King,  Francis 
I.  entered  vigorously  into  the  national  competition  for  colonial  pos- 
'fee^sjonfc  inlArefeficJa.  While  the  English  and  Dutch  were  cruizing 
upon  euV  so«fr?ef«"and  eastern  coasts,  entering  the  bays,  and  mouths 
<cjf:thahirh?ef-s,  hesitating  and  vasciliating  in  measures  of  permanent 
'"cojojiteatioh ;  .aid  trie* Spaniards  were  making  mixed  advents  of  gold 
hunting  and  romance,  upon  our  south-western  coast ;  the  French 
were  coasting  off  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  unappalled  by 
a  rigorous  climate,  and  rough  and  forbidding  landscapes,  resolving 
upon  colonization  upon  its  banks.  "  Touch  and  take,"  was  the 
order  of  the  day ;  with  but  little  knowledge  of  the  value  of  the  vast 
region  that  had  been  discovered,  of  its  capabilities  and  resources, 
but  such  as  had  been  gained  by  navigators  in  a  distant  view  of  the 
coasts,  and  an  occasional  entrance  into  bays  and  rivers  ;  the  splendid 
inheritance  was  parcelled  out,  or  claimed  by  the  nations  of  Europe, 
as  lightly  and  inconsiderately  as  if  it  had  been  of  little  worth. 

The  subjects  of  France,  as  it  would  now  seem,  when  such  a  vast 
field  had  been  opened  for  possession ;  after  they  had  seen  and  heard 
of  more  promising  and  congenial  regions,  made  but  a  poor  choice 
of  her  share  in  the  New  World.  We  are  left  principally  to  con 
jecture  for  the  explanation  :  First,  the  broad  stream  of  the  St.  Law 
rence  invited  them  to  enter  and  explore  it ;  no  where  were  Europe 
ans  met  by  the  natives  with  more  friendly  manifestations ;  and  a 
lucrative  trade  soon  added  to  the  inducements.  It  was  a  mighty 
flood  .that  they  saw  pouring  into  the  ocean,  with  a  uniformity  that 
convinced  them  of  the  vast  magnitude  and  extent  of  the  region  it 
drained.  Though  ice-bound  for  long  and  dreary  months,  when  spring 
approached,  its  fetters  gave  way,  and  on  rolled  its  rushing  tide,  a 
"  swift  witness"  that  it  came  from  congenial  regions  embraced  in 
their  discovery.  Beside,  a  "shorter  route  to  the  Indies,"  across  this 
continent,  was  one  of  the  prominent  and  early  objects  of  European 
navigators,  following  the  discovery  of  Columbus.  It  was  in  fact,  a 
main  object,  allied  perhaps  with  visions  of  precious  metals ; — for 
actual  colonization,  was  at  first  but  incidental  to  the  leading  objects.* 

*  Upon  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake,  upon  the  Hudson  and  St.  Lawrence,  and  in 
the  bays  of  New  England,  the  first  information  sought  after  by  European  adventures, 
of  the  natives,  through  the  medium  of  signs,  had  reference  to  the  directions  from  which 
the  rivers  flowed,  and  the  existence  of  precious  metals. 


PHELPS  AKD  GORHAM'S  PUECIIASE.  11 

It  was  but  a  natural  deduction,  that  the  broad  and  deep  river  they 
had  entered  from  the  ocean,  and  its  tributaries,  were  stretched  out 
in  a  long  line  toward  the  Pacific  coast.* 

The  progress  of  colonization  in  all  the  northern  portion  of  the 
continent,  after  discovery,  was  slow.  What  in  our  age,  and  espe 
cially  where  our  own  countrymen  are  engaged,  would  be  but  the 
work  of  a  year,  was  then  the  work  of  a  century.  It  was  before  the 
world  had  been  stimulated  by  the  example  of  a  free  government  and 
a  free  people,  unincumbered  by  royal  grants  and  charters,  and  their 
odious  and  paralizing  monopolies.  It  was  before  governments  had 
learned  the  simple  truths  that  some  of  them  are  yet  slow  in  appre 
ciating,  that  the  higher  destinies  of  our  own  race  are  only  to  be 
worked  out  in  the  absence  of  shackles  upon  the  mind  and  the  phy 
sical  energies  of  the  governed.  It  was  when  the  good  of  the  few 
was  made  ^subservient  to  that  of  the  many;  and  Kings  and  their 
favorites  were  central  orbs  around  which  all  there  was  of  human 
energy,  enterprize  and  adventure,  was  made  to  revolve  as  sattelites. 
It  was  when  foreign  wars  and  conquests,  and  civil  wars,  in  which 
the  higher  interests  of  mankind  were  but  little  involved,  were  divert 
ing  the  attention  of  Europe  from  the  pursuits  of  peace,  civilization, 
and  their  extended  sphere.  There  was  no  prophet  to  awake  the 
sleeping  energies  of  the  Old  World  to  an  adequate  conception  of 
the  field  of  promise  that  was  opening  here ;  —  no  one  to  even  fore 
shadow  all  that  was  hidden  in  the  womb  of  time ;  and  had  there 
been,  there  would  have  been  unfolded  to  Kings  and  Potentates, 
little  for  their  encouragement ;  but  how  much  to  MAN,  in  all  his 
noblest  aspirations,  his  looking  forward  to  a  BETTER  TIME  \ 

When  colonization,  such  as  contemplated  permanent  occupation 
finally  commenced,  it  was  in  a  measure,  simultaneous,  upon  our 
northern  coasts.  Two  powerful  competitors  started  in  the  race 


*  The  intrepid  La  Salle,  -with  a  spirit  of  daring  enterprize  that  was  never  excelled, 
had  no  sooner  seen  the  "  avalanche  of  waters"  at  Niagara,  than  he  determined  to  fol 
low  them  to  their  source.  He  had  no  sooner  seen  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi, 
than  he  had  determined  to  see  the  great  basin  into  which  they  flowed.  Leaving  be 
hind  him  detachments  of  his  followers  to  maintaiii  the  posts  he  established,  and  cany 
ou  lucrative  trade,  he  was  himself  absorbed  in  the  great  objects  of  his  mission,  a  new 
route  to  the  Indies  and  the  discovery  of  gold.  The  extent  of  his  wanderings  is  sup 
posed  to  have  been  Chihuahua,  in  New  Mexico.  He  was  almost  upon  the  right  track 
with  reference  to  both  objects.  Others  beside  him,  seem  to  have  been  prepossessed  with 
the  idea  that  there  was  gold  in  that  direction.  Shall  we  conclude  that  through  some 
unknown  medium,  some  indistinct  idea  had  been  promulgated  of  what  in  our  day  is 
actual  discovery  and  acquisition? 


12  I>HELPS    A1STD    GOKHAM's    PUKCHASE. 

for  possession  and  dominion  in  America ;  and  a  third  was  awakened 
and  became  a  competitor.  While  as  yet  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  were 
refugees  in  Germany,  deliberating  as  to  where  should  be  their 
assylum,  appalled  by  all  the  dangers  of  the  ocean  and  an  inhospita 
ble  clime,  and  at  times  half  resolving  to  go  back  and  brave  the  per 
secution  from  which  they  had  fled  ;  —  while  as  yet  there  was  but 
one  feeble  colony,  upon  all  our  southern  coast,  and  the  rambling 
De  Soto  and  the  romantic  Ponce  de  Leon  had  been  but  disappointed 
adventurers  in  the  south-west;  the  adventurous  Frenchmen  had 
entered  the  St.  Lawrence  and  planted  a  colony  upon  its  banks ; 
had  erected  rude  pallisades  at  Quebec  and  Montreal,  and  were 
making  their  way  by  slow  stages  in  this  direction.  Halting  at 
Kingston,  (Frontenac)  they  struck  off  across  Canada  by  river  and 
inland  lake  navigation  —  carrying  their  bark  canoes  over  portages  — 
and  reached  Lake  Huron ;  then  on,  amid  hostile  tribes,  until  they 
had  explored  and  made  missionary  and  trading  stations  upon  Lakes 
Michigan  and  Superior,  the  upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
Illinois  rivers. 

In  all  the  French  expeditions  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  previous  to  that 
of  Champlain,  there  is  little  interest  save  in  those  of  Jaques  Cartier. 
In  his  second  one,  in  1535,  with  three  ships,  and  a  large  number 
of  accompanying  adventurers  he  entered  the  St.  Lawrence  and 
gave  it  its  name  ;  giving  also,  as  he  proceeded  up  the  river,  names 
to  other  localities  which  they  yet  bear.  Arrived  at  the  Island  of 
Orleans,  he  had  a  friendly  interview  with  the  natives.  In  a  previ 
ous  voyage  he  had  seized  and  carried  to  France,  two  natives,  who, 
returning  with  him  somewhat  instructed  in  the  French  language, 
now  acted  as  his  interpreters,  and  gave  a  favorable  account  to  their 
people  of  those  they  had  been  with,  and  the  country  they  had  seen. 
Proceeding  on,  he  anchored  for  the  winter,  at  "  Stadacona,"  after 
wards  called  Quebec.  Here  he  was  met  by  an  Indian  chief,  Dona- 
cona,  with  a  train  of  five  hundred  natives  who  welcomed  his  arri 
val.  The  Indians  giving  Cartier  intimation  that  a  larger  village 
than  theirs  lay  farther  up  the  river.  With  a  picked  crew  of  thirty- 
five  armed  men  he  ascended  the  river,  had  friendly  interviews  with 
the  natives  upon  its  banks.  Arriving  at  the  present  site  of  Mon 
treal,  he  found  an  Indian  village  called  Hochelaga,  which  "stood  in 
the  midst  of  a  great  field  of  Indian  com,  was  of  a  circular  form, 
containing  about  fifty  large  huts,  each  fifty  paces  long  and  from 


PHELPS  AITD  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  13 

fourteen  to  fifteen  wide,  all  built  in  the  shape  of  tunnels,  formed  of 
wood,  and  covered  with  birch  bark  ;  the  dwellings  were  divided  into 
several  rooms,  surrounding  an  open  court  in  the  centre,  where  the 
fires  burned.  Three  rows  of  pallisades  encircled  the  town,  with 
only  one  entrance ;  above  the  gate  and  over  the  whole  length  of 
the  outer  ring  of  defence,  there  was  a  gallery,  approached  by  flights 
of  steps,  and  plentifully  provided  with  stones  and  other  missiles  to 
resist  attack."  *  The  strangers  were  entertained  with  fetes  and 
dances,  and  in  their  turn,  made  presents.  The  sick  and  infirm  came 
to  Jaques  C artier,  who  in  the  simple  minds  of  the  natives,  possessed 
some  supernatural  power  over  disease,  which  he  disclaimed ;  but 
the  pious  adventurer  "  read  aloud  part  of  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
and  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  the  sufferers." 

Jaques  Cartier  returned  to  his  colony  at  St.  Croix,  after  a  friendly 
parting  with  his  newly  acquired  acquaintances  at  Hochelaga.  In 
his  absence,  the  intense  cold  had  come  upon  his  people  unprepared, 
the  scurvy  had  attacked  them,  twenty-five  were  dead,  and  all  were 
more  or  less  affected.  The  kind  natives  gave  him  a  remedy  that 
checked  the  disease.!  The  expedition  prepared  to  return  to  France. 
As  if  all  of  the  first  interviews  of  our  race  with  the  natives  were  to 
be  signally  marked  by  acts  of  wrong  and  outrage,  as  an  earnest  of 
the  whole  catalogue  that  was  to  follow,  under  pretence  that  he  had 
seen  some  manifestations  of  hostilities,  Cartier  signalized  his  depart 
ure,  and  his  ingratitude,  by  seizing  the  chief,  Donacona,  the  former 
captives,  and  two  others;  and  conveying  them  on  board  his  vessels, 
took  them  to  France.  The  act  was  mitigated,  it  has  been  said,  by  a 
kind  treatment  that  reconciled  them  to  their  fate. 

The  expedition  had  found  no  "gold  nor  silver"  and  for  that  rea 
son  disappointed  their  patron,  the  King,  and  the  people  of  France ; 
added  to  which,  were  tales  of  suffering  in  a  rigorous  climate.  Ja 
ques  Cartier,  however,  made  favorable  reports  of  all  he  had  seen  and 
heard  ;  and  the  Indian  chief,  Donacona,  as  soon  as  he  had  acquired 
enough  of  French  to  be  intelligible,  "  confirmed  all  that  had  been  said 
of  the  beauty,  richness  and  salubrity  of  his  native  country."  The 
chief,  however,  sickened  and  died. 

The  next  commission  to  visit  the  new  dominions  of  France,  was 


*  Conquest  of  Canada. 
..,t  A  decoction  of  the  leaf  ana  the  bark  of  the  fir  tree. 


14  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

granted  to  Jean  Francois  de  la  Roche,  with  Jaques  Cartier  as  his 
second  in  command.  It  was  formidable  in  its  organization  and 
equipment;  after  a  series  of  disasters:  —  the  arrival  of  Cartier, 
upon  his  old  grounds ;  a  reconciling  of  the  Indians  to  his  outrage , 
a  winter  of  disease  and  death  among  his  men ;  a  failure  of  de  la 
Roche  to  arrive  in  season ;  it  returned  to  France  to  add  to  a  war  in 
which  she  had  just  then  engaged,  reasons  for  suspending  colonial 
enterprises.  Almost  a  half  century  succeeded  for  French  advents 
to  become  but  a  tradition  upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

How  like  a  vision,  in  all  this  time,  must  those  advents  have  seemed 
with  the  simple  natives !  A  strange  people,  with  all  that  could  excite 
their  wonder :  —  their  huge  ships,  their  loud  mouthed  cannon,  whose 
sounds  had  reverberated  upon  the  summits  of  their  mountains,  in 
their  vallies,  and  been  re-echoed  from  the  deep  recesses  of  their 
forests ;  with  their  gay  banners,  and  music,  and  all  the  imposing  at 
tendants  of  fleets  sent  out  by  the  proud  monarch  of  a  showy  and 
ostentatious  nation  of  Europe  ;  who  had  addressed  them  in  an  un 
known  tongue,  and  by  signs  and  symbols  awed  them  to  a  contempla 
tion  of  a  Great  Spirit,  other  than  the  terrible  Manitou  of  their  sim 
ple  creed ;  who  had  showed  them  a  "  book"  in  which  were  revela 
tions  they  had  neither  "  seen  in  the  clouds  nor  heard  in  the  winds ;" 
whose  advent  had  been  a  mixed  one  of  conciliation  and  perfidy:  — 
who  had  given  them  a  taste  of  "  strong  water/'  that  had  steeped 
their  senses  in  forgetfulness,  or  aroused  their  fiercest  passions.  All 
this  had  come  and  gone,  began  and  ended,  and  left  behind  it  a  vacu 
um,  of  mingled  wonder,  amazement  and  curiosity ;  and  of  dark  fore 
bodings  of  evil,  if  there  was  some  kind  spirit,  caring  for  their  future 
destiny,  to  foreshadow  to  them  the  sequel  of  all  they  had  witnessed. 
Would  the  pale  faced  strangers  come  again  ?  —  Would  their  lost  ones 
be  restored  to  reveal  to  them  the  mysteries  of  those  wondrous 
advents  ;  and  tell  them  of  all  things  they  had  seen  in  that  far  off 
land,  the  home  of  the  strangers  ?  These  were  the  anxious  enquiries, 
the  themes  around  their  council  fires,  in  their  wigwams,  when  they 
held  communion  with  their  pagan  deities,  or  asked  the  moon  and  the 
stars  to  be  the  revelators  of  hidden  things.  One  generation  passed 
away  and  another  succeeded,  before  the  mysterious  strangers  came, 

X 

NOTE.— Toward  the  close  of  the  period  between  tho  advents  of  Cartier  and  Cham- 
plain,  small  expeditions  of  French  fishermen  and  traders,  generally  coasting  off  New 
Foundland,  occasionally  entered  the  St.  Lawrence  and  traded  with  the  natives. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S   PURCHASE.  15 

first  to  conciliate  their  favor  by  offering  themselves  as  allies ;  then 
to  wrest  from  them  empire  and  dominion. 

The  first  expedition  of  Champlain  was  in  1603  and  '4.  The  ac 
counts  of  them  possess  but  little  interest.  In  1608,  equipped  by  his 
patrons  for  an  expedition,  having  principally  in  view  the  fur  trade,  he 
extended  his  own  views  to  the  addition  of  permanent  colonization, 
and  missionary  enterprize.  Arriving  at  Quebec,  he  erected  the  first 
European  tenements  upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  In 
dians,  with  whom  Cartier  had  cultivated  an  acquaintance,  were  re 
duced  to  a  few  in  number,  by  removal,  famine  and  disease.  Re 
maining  at  Quebec  through  a  severe  winter,  relieving  the  neccessi- 
ties  of  the  Indians,  his  own  people  suffering  under  an  attack  of  the 
scurvy,  Champlain  in  1609,  accompanied  by  two  Frenchmen  and 
a  war  party  of  the  natives,  wen-t  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  struck  off 
to  the  Lake  that  still  bears  his  name.  The  war  party  that  accom 
panied  him,  were  of  the  Algonquins  and  Hurons,  of  Canada,  who  were 
then  at  war  with  the  Iroquois.  Their  object  was  invasion  of  the  Ir- 
oquois  country,  and  Champlain,  from  motives  of  policy  had  become 
their  ally.  Upon  the  shores  of  a  lake  to  which  be  gave  the  name  of 
St.  Sacrament — afterwards  called  Lake  George — the  party  met  a 
war  party  of  two  hundred  Iroquois  ;  a  battle  ensued,  the  tide  of  it  was 
as  uusual,  turning  in  favor  of  the  warlike  and  almost  every  where 
conquerin.g  Iroquois,  when  Champlain  suddenly  made  his  appearance, 
with  his  two  Frenchmen,  and  the  first  fire  from  their  arquabuses,  kil 
led  two  of  the  Iroquois  chiefs,  and  wounded  a  third.  The  Iroquois, 
dismayed,  as  well  by  the  report  and  terrible  effect  of  new  weapons 
of  war,  as  by  the  appearance  of  those  who  bore  them,  held  out  but 
little  longer;  fled  in  disorder;  were  pursued,  and  many  of  them  killed 
and  taken  prisoners.  This  was  the  first  battle  of  which  history  gives 
us  any  account,  in  a  region  where  armies  have  since  often  met. — 
And  it  marks  another  era,  the  introduction  of  fire  arms  in  battle,  to 
the  na 'lives,  in  all  the  northern  portion  of  this  continent.  They  had 
now  b(  jen  made  acquainted  with  the  two  elements  that  were  destined 
to  wo  rk  out  principally  their  decline  and  gradual  extermination. 
They  had  tasted  French  brandy  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  English  rum 
upon  the  shores  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  Dutch  gin,  upon  the  banks 
of  th(j  Hudson.  They  had  seen  the  mighty  engines,  one  of  which 
was  to  conquer  them  in  battle  and  the  other  was  to  conquer  them 
m  p  eace  councils,  where  cessions  of  their  domains  were  involved. 


16  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Champlain  returned  to  France,  leaving  a  small  colony  at  Quebec ; 
was  invited  to  an  audience,  and  had  favor  with  the  King,  who  be 
stowed  upon  all  this  region,  the  name  of  New  France.  *  Cham- 
plain  visited  his  infant  colony  again  in  1610,  and  1613,  recruiting  it, 
and  upon  each  occasion  going  himself  to  battle  with  his  neighbors 
and  allies  against  the  Iroquois.  In  1615  a  company  of  merchants  in 
France,  having  procured  a  charter  from  the  King,  which  embraced 
all  of  French  interests  in  New  France,  gave  to  Champlain  the  prin 
cipal  direction  of  their  affairs.  Having  attended  to  the  temporal 
affairs  of  the  colony,  the  conversion  of  the  natives,  by  Catholic 
missionaries,  engaged  his  attention.  Four  missionaries  of  the  order 
of  Recollets  were  enlisted.  These  were  the  first  missionaries  in 
Canada,  and  the  first  upon  all  our  Atlantic  coast,  with  the  exception 
of  some  Jesuit  missionaries  that  had  before  reached  Nova  Scotia. 
Leaving  the  large  recruit  of  colonists  he  brought  out  at  Quebec, 
where  he  found  all  things  had  gone  well  in  his  absence,  the  intrepid  ad 
venturer,  and  soldier  as  he  had  made  himself,  pushed  on  to  Montreal, 
and  joined  again  a  war  party  of  his  Indian  allies,  against  the  Iroquois. 
The  Iroquois  were  this  time  conquerors.  Defeat  had  lessened  the 
importance  of  Champlain  in  the  eyes  of  his  Indian  allies,  and  they 
even  refused  him  and  his  few  followers,  a  guide  back  to  Quebec, 
although  he  had  been  wounded.  Remaining  for  the  winter  an 
unwilling  guest  of  his  Indian  allies,  he  improved  his  time,  as  soon  as 
his  wounds  would  allow  of  it,  in  visiting  more  of  the  wild  region  of 
Canada.  In  the  spring  he  returned  to  Quebec,  and  in  July,  to 
France. 

For  several  succeeding  years,  Champlain  visited  and  revisited  the 
colony,  extending  and  strengthening  it ;  encountering  vicissitudes  in 
France  consequent  upon  the  breaking  up  and  change  of  proprietor 
ships  ;  his  colony  subjected  to  attacks  from  the  Iroquois  whom  he 

*  Charlevoix. 

NOTE. —  It  has  remained  for  an  indefatigable  researcher  in  the  history  of  the  early 
French  occupancy  of  this  region  —  0.  H.  Marshall,  Esq.  of  Buffalo  —  to  ascertain  where 
Champlain  and  his  Indian  allies  invaded  the  territory  of  the  Iroquois.  They  came 
across  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  passing  through  what  is  now  Jefferson  and 
Oswego  counties,  crossed  the  Oneide  Lake  and  attacked  the  Onondagas  at  their  prin 
cipal  settlement  and  Fort  on  the  banks  of  the  Onondaga  Lake,  when  a  battle  ensued 
which  lasted -three  hours,  the  invaders  gained  no  advantage;  and  Champlain  who 
expected  a  reinforcement  endeavored  in  vain  to  induce  his  Indian  allies  to  remain  and 
continue  the  seige.  He  had  received  two  severe  wounds,  and  was  carried  in  a  basket 
of  "wicker-work"  to  the  shores  of  lake  Ontario.  He  spent  a  dreary  winter  amung  the 
Hurons  on  the  north  shore  of  the  Lake. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  17 

had  injudiciously  made  his  implacable  enemies.  Still,  French  colo 
nization  in  New  France  slowly  progressed,  and  trading  establish 
ments  were  multiplied.  In  1623  a  stone  Fort  was  erected  at  Quebec 
to  protect  the  colonists  against  the  Iroquois,  and  a  threatened  end  of 
amicable  relations  with  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins.  In  1625,  '6, 
the  first  Jesuit  missionaries  came  out  from  France,  among  them  were 
names  with  which  we  become  familiar  in  tracing  the  first  advents  of 
our  race  in  Western  New  York  and  the  region  of  the  Western 
Lakes. 

In  1627  the  colonization  of  New  France  was  placed  upon  a  new 
footing,  by  the  organization  of  the  ''Company  of  One  Hundred  Asso 
ciates."  Their  charter  gave  them  a  monopoly  in  New  France,  and 
attempted  to  promote  christianization  and  colonization,  both  of  which 
had  been  neglected  by  making  the  fur  trade  a  principal  object.  The 
"Company"  engaged  to  introduce  16,000  settlers  before  1643.—- 
Before  the  advent  of  this  new  association,  the  colony  had  become 
but  a  feeble  one ;  the  Indians  had  become  hostile  and  kept  the  French 
confined  to  their  small  settlements,  at  times,  to  their  fortifications. 

Hostilities  having  commenced  between  France  and  England,  the 
first  vessel  sent  out  by  the  Associates  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
English.  An  English  expedition  after  destroying  the  French  trading 
establishment  at  Tadoussac,  on  the  Sagenay,  sent  a  demand  for  the 
surrender  of  Quebec.  Champlain  replied  in  a  manner  so  spirited 
and  determined  as  to  delay  the  attack,  until  the  English  force  was 
increased.  In  July  1629  an  English  fleet  appeared,  and  demanded 
a  surrender  which  Champlain  with  his  reduced,  and  feeble  means 
of  resistance  was  obliged  to  obey.  The  terms  of  capitulation  se 
cured  all  private  rights  of  the  French  colonists,  and  most  of  them 
remained,  Champlain,  however,  returned  to  France.  It  was  a 
siege  and  capitulation  in  miniature,  that  after  the  lapse  of  more  than 
a  century,  was  destined  to  be  the  work  of  concentrated  armies  and 
navies,  and  weeks  of  fierce  contest. 

English  possession  was  surrendered  by  treaty  in  1632.  At  the 
period  of  this  small  conquest : — "the  Fort  of  Quebec,  surrounded  by 
a  score  of  hastily  built  dwellings  and  barracks,  some  poor  huts  on 
the  Is-land  of  Montreal,  the  like  at  Three  Rivers  and  Tadoussac, 
and  a  few  fishermen's  log  houses  and  huts  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
were  the  only  fruits  of  the  discoveries  of  Verrazano,  Jaques  Cartier, 
Roberval  and  Champlain,  and  the  great  outlay  of  La  Roche  and 


18  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

De  Monts,  and  the  toils  and  sufferings  of  their  followers,  for  nearly 
a  century."  * 

Champlain  returned  in  1633,  having  been  re-appointed  Governor 
of  New  France,  bringing  with  him  recruits  of  Missionary  and  other 
colonists,  and  gave  a  new  impulse  to  colonial  enterprize ;  settle 
ments  began  to  be  extended,  and  a  college,  with  rich  endowments 
was  formed  at  Quebec,  for  the  "education  of  youth,  and  the  conver 
sion  of  the  Indians."  While  all  this  was  in  progress,  Champlain, 
the  founder  of  French  colonization  in  New  France,  to  whose  perse 
verance,  courage,  and  fortitude,  France  was  indebted  for  the  foot 
hold  she  had  gained  upon  this  continent,  died,  and  was  "buried  in  the 
city  of  which  he  was  the  founder."  f 

Montmagny  succeeded  Champlain.  Deprived  of  much  of  the 
patronage  from  the  Associates  that  he  had  reason  to  expect,  the  work 
of  colonization  progressed  but  slowly  during  his  administration, 
which  continued  until  1647.  Trade,  advanced  settlements,  agricul 
ture,  made  but  little  progress,  but  missionary  and  educational  enter 
prises,  had  a  powerful  impetus.  At  Sillery,  near  Quebec,  a  college 
was  founded.  The  Dutchess  de  Arguillon  founded  the  Hotel  Dieu, 
and  Madame  de  la  Peltrie,  the  convent  of  the  Ursulines.  The  last 
named  liberal  patron  was  young,  high  born ;  a  devotee  to  her  reli 
gious  faith,  and  a  zealous  propagator  of  it.  She  came  herself  to  the 
New  World,  with  a  vessel  of  her  own,  accompanied  by  Ursulines. 
who  blended  their  names  and  services  conspicuously  with  the  history 
of  Lower  Canada.  Such  was  the  eclat  that  attended  the  advent  of 
the  noble  patron  and  her  followers,  who  had  left  all  the  refinements, 
gaities,  and  luxuries  of  France,  to  take  up  their  abode  upon  the  wild 
and  inhospitable  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  that  their  arrival  was 
signalized  by  a  public  reception,  with  military  and  religious  observan 
ces. 

The  other  principal  events  under  the  administration  of  Mont 
magny,  were  the  founding  of  Montreal,  and  the  building  of  a 
Fort  there  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Richlieu,  as  out- posts  against  the 
Iroquois,  who  since  they  had  become  exasperated  by  Champlain, 
made  frequent  attacks  upon  the  French  settlements.  A  threat  reach- 

*  Conquest  of  Canada. 

tHe  was  one  of  the  extraordinary  men  of  his  age  and  nation.  History  finds  in  him  a 
marked  character,  and  poetry  and  romance  the  model  of  an  heroic  adventurer. 


AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.       19 

ed  the  ears  of  Montmagny  that  they  would  "  drive  the  white  man  into 
the  sea,"  and  becoming  convinced  of  the  powers  of  the  wild  warriors, 
whose  strength  he  had  no  means  of  estimating,  he  sought  the  means 
of  establishing  a  peace  with  them,  in  which  he  was  encouraged  by  his 
neighbors  the  Hurons,  who  were  worn  out,  and  their  numbers  re 
duced,  by  long  wars  with  their  indefatiguable  adversaries.  The  gov 
ernor  and  the  Huron  chiefs  met  deputies  of  the  Iroquois  at  Three 
Rivers,  and  concluded  a  peace. 

M.  d'  Ailleboust  who  had  held  a  command  at  Three  Rivers,  was 
the  successor  of  Montmagny,  and  continued  as  Governor  until  1650. 
The  peace  with  the  Iroquois  gave  a  spur  to  missionary  enterprise 
and  trade,  both  of  which  were  extended. 

During  the  administration  of  Montmagny,  missionaries  and  traders 
had  followed  the  water  courses  of  Canada,  and  reached  Lake  Hu 
ron,  where  they  had  established  a  post.  From  that  distant  point, 
in  1640,  came  the  first  of  our  race  that  ever  trod  upon  the  soil  of 
Western  New  York,  and  left  behind  them  any  record  of  their  ad 
vent.  *  On  the  2d  day  of  November,  1640,  two  Jesuit  Fathers, 
Brebeauf  and  Chaumonot,  left  their  mission  station  at  St.  Marie, 
on  the  river  Severn,  near  Lake  Huron,  and  came  upon  the  Niagara 
river,  both  sides  of  which  were  occupied  by  the  Neuter  Nation,  f 
They  found  this  nation  to  consist  of  12,000  souls,  having  4,000 
warriors,  and  inhabiting  forty  villages,  eighteen  of  which  the  mis 
sionaries  visited.  They  were,  say  these  Fathers:  —  "Larger, 
stronger,  and  better  formed  than  our  Hurons."  "  The  men,  like 
all  savages,  cover  their  naked  flesh  with  skins,  but  are  less  particu- 


*  In  a  letter  from  Father  L'Allcmant  to  the  Provincial  of  the  Jesuits  in  France. 
it  is  mentioned  that  the  Recollet  Father  Daillon  passed  the  winter  of  1626  among  the 
Neuter  Nation.  If  this  is  so,  lie  was  the  first  white  man  who  saw  "Western  New  York. 
The  period  is  earlier  than  wo  can  well  suppose  there  could  have  been  any  Frenchman 
so  far  away  from  the  settlements  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  especially  when  we  consider 
the  then  utter  hostility  of  the  Iroquois.  Still,  the  Seneca  branch  of  them  may  as  early 
as  this  have  tolerated  a  few  missionaries  and  traders. 

t  This  Neuter  Nation,  then,  were  occupants  of  all  the  region  between  the  Niagani 
and  the  Gencsee  rivers,  Lake  Ontario  and  the  foot  of  Lake  Erie,  and  a  wide  strip  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Niagara  river.  It  was  NEUTRAL  ground,  while  surrounding  nations 
were  at  war,  and  they  were  neutrals.  But  three  years  only  after  the  visit  of  Brebeauf 
and  Chaumorot,  they  were  dispossessed  by  the  Iroquois.  Thus  the  region  became  — 
as  we  found  it  —  a  part  of  the  domains  of  the  Seneca.  Says  Charlevoix  :  —  "To  avoid 
the  fury  of  the  Iroquois,  they  finally  joined  themselves  against  the  Hurons,  but  gainer! 
nothing  by  the  union.  The  Iroquois,  that  like  lions  that  have  tasted  blood,  can  not  b<-> 
satiated;  destroyed  all  that  came  in  their  way ;  and  at  this  day  there  remains  no  trace 
of  the  Neuter  Nation." 


20  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECIIASE. 

lar  than  the  Hurons  in  concealing  what  should  not  appear."  "  The 
Squaws  are  ordinarily  clothed,  at  least  from  the  waist  to  the  knees  ; 
but  are  more  shameless  in  their  immodesty  than  our  Hurons." 
'*  They  have  Indian  corn,  beans,  and  gourds  in  equal  abundance ; 
also,  plenty  of  fish.  They  are  much  employed  in  hunting  deer,  buf 
falo,  wild  cats,  wolves,  wild  boars,  beaver,  and  other  animals.  It  is 
rare  to  see  snow  in  the  country  more  than  half  a  foot  deep.  But 
this  year,  it  is  more  than  three  feet/'  The  Rev.  Fathers  found  our 
remote  predecessors  here  upon  the  soil  of  Western  New  York, 
with  the  exception  of  one  village,  unfavorable  to  the  mission  they 
were  upon,  and  intent  upon  which  they  had  braved  all  the  rigors 
of  the  season,  and  a  long  forest  path  which  they  soon  retraced. 

If  those  Rev.  Fathers  were  admirers  of  nature's  almost  undis 
turbed  works,  fresh,  as  it  were,  from  the  Creator,  and  bearing 
the  impress  of  His  hands  —  and  we  may  well  suppose  they  were, 
for  they  had  come  from  cloistered  halls  and  high  scats  of  learning, 
and  refinement  —  how  must  their  eyes  have  been  satiated  in  view 
of  the  panorama  of  lakes  and  forests,  hills  and  plains,  rushing  tor 
rents,  water-falls,  and  the  climax  in  their  midst  —  the  mighty  cata 
ract  of  Niagara,  thundering  in  its  solitude !  Who  would  not  wish 
that  he  had  been  among  them  —  or  what  is  perhaps  more  rational  — 
that  he  could  enjoy  such  a  scene  as  Western  New  York  then  was  : 

The  treaty  with  the  Iroquois  had  but  suspended  their  hostilities, 
In  1648,  they  were  again  out  upon  their  war-paths  upon  the  banks 
of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Father  Antoine  Daniel  had  made  a  mission 
station  of  the  small  settlement  of  St.  Joseph.  When  the  Huron 
warriors  had  gone  out  upon  the  chase,  while  the  missionary  had  the 
old  men,  the  women  and  children,  collected  for  religious  service,  a 
party  of  Iroquois  stole  upon  them  and  massacred  the  whole.  This1 
was  probably  the  first  of  a  series  of  martyrdoms  that  awaited  the 
Jesuit  missionaries.  In  the  early  part  of  1G40,  a  thousand  Iroquois 
fell  upon  two  villages  of  the  Hurons,  and  nearly  exterminated  the 
whole  population ;  the  missionary  in  eaoh  place  meeting  the  fate  oi 
Father  Daniel.  This  was  followed  up  in  the  same  year  by  an  at 
tack  upon  the  Huron  village  of  St.  Johns,  where  nearly  three  thou 
sand,  with  their  missionary,  were  massacred !  Disease,  as  well  as 
the  war-club,  had  visited  the  Hurons.  "Most  of  the  remnant  oi 
this  unhappy  tribe  then  took  the  resolution  of  presenting  themselves 
to  their  conquerors,  and  were  received  into  their  nation.  The  few 


PHELPS  ATO  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  21 

who  still  remained  wandering  in  the  forests,  were  hunted  down  like 
wolves,  and  soon  exterminated."  * 

In  1650,  M.  de  Lauson  became  the  Governor  of  New  France. 
During  his  administration,  the  colony  made  but  slow  advances ; 
flushed  with  their  victories  over  their  own  race,  the  Iroquois  grew 
bolder  and  more  determined  to  expel  another  race  whom  they 
regarded  as  intruders  ;  and  who  had  been  the  allies  of  their  foes. 
They  almost  continually  hung  upon  the  French  settlements,  and 
paralized  their  efforts.  In  1653,  however,  the  Onondaga  branch  of 
the  Confederacy  petitioned  the  French  Governor  for  the  location 
of  a  missionary  and  trading  establishment  among  them.  The  propo 
sition  was  acceded  to,  but  it  served  to  exasperate  the  other  nations, 
and  was  finally  withdrawn  by  stealth,  to  avoid  a  massacre. 

In  1658,  Viscount  d'Arguson  succeeded  M.  de  Lauson.  The 
commencement  of  his  administration  was  signalized  by  a  massacre 
of  French  allies,  the  Algonquins,  under  the  very  walls  and  guns  of 
Quebec.  A  reverse,  however  —  a  defeat  of  a  band  of  Mohawks 
at  Three  Rivers,  was  followed  by  a  suspension  of  hostilities  which 
was  industriously  improved  by  the  French  in  extending  their  mis 
sion  and  trading  stations.  But  the  Iroquois  were  soon  again  upon 
their  war-paths,  giving  the  French  colony  but  little  repose.  At  a 
period  when  the  colonists  were  desponding,  and  almost  upon  the 
point  of  abandoning  the  whole  ground,  and  retiring  to  France, 
d'Arguson  renewed  a  treaty  with  the  Iroquois,  and  an  exchange  of 
prisoners. 

In  1662,  a  new  Governor  came  out  —  the  Baron  d'Avagour  — 
and  the  French  garrision  was  reinforced  by  an  importation  of  400 
soldiers.  A  Bishop  of  Quebec  had  now  been  appointed  —  M.  de 
Monts.  He  found  all  spiritual  and  temporal  efforts  likely  to  be 
paralized  by  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors  to  the  Indians,  and  the 
colonists,  that  d'Avagour  had  allowed.  The  Bishop  hastened  to 
France,  represented  the  evil  to  the  King,  and  came  back  with  a 
new  Governor,  M.  d'Mesy,  who  had  orders  to  stop  the  destructive 
traffic,  f  The  new  Governor  proved  a  tyrant,  thwarted  the  mis 
sionaries,  fell  into  a  general  disrepute,  and  was  soon  recalled. 

*  Conquest  of  Canada, 

tThis  was  probably  the  first  temperance  movement  by  other  than  "moral  suasion," 
on  this  continent  The  Catholie  missionaries  were  from  the  first,  however,  each  a  Fa 
ther  Matthew. 


22  PHELPS  AKD  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

In  1663,  the  company  of  Associates  relinquished  all  their  rights 
in  New  France,  which  were  transferred  to  the  West  India  Compa 
ny.  In  this  year,  all  that  is  now  the  Canadas,  Western  and  Central 
New  York,  was  visited  by  a  tremendous  earthquake.  * 

M.  de  Tracy  came  out  as  Governor  under  the  West  India  Com 
pany  in  1665,  bringing  with  him  a  recruit  of  soldiers,  arid  soon, 
with  the  aid  of  Indian  allies,  intimidated  the  Iroquois.  A  large 
number  of  families,  artisans  and  laborers,  were  added  to  the  colony, 
and  forts  were  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  Richlieu.  In  December, 
the  Senecas,  Cayugas,  and  Onondagas,  sent  deputations  sueing  for 
peace  and  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  which  was  readily  agreed  up 
on.  The  Mohawks  and  Oneidas  still  holding  out,  after  sending  out 
an  expedition  against  them  that  principally  failed,  M.  de  Tracy,  at 
the  head  of  1200  French  soldiers  and  600  Indian  allies,  encounter 
ed  all  the  vicissitudes  of  a  long  march  through  the  wilderness ;  in 
which  his  army  suffered  for  the  want  of  food,  and  were  only 
saved  from  starvation  by  subsisting  upon  chestnuts.  Arriving  at 
the  villages  of  the  Mohawks,  he  found  them  principally  deserted. 
The  finale  of  the  formidable  expedition  was  the  burning  of  the 
Mohawk  cabins,  and  the  killing  of  a  few  old  men  and  women. t 
Little  of  glory,  and  much  of  suffering,  loss  and  disgrace,  were  the 
fruits  of  the  expedition.  M.  de  Tracy  returned  to  France,  and  the 
government  devolved  on  M.  de  Courcelles. 

Peace  with  the  Iroquois  ensued,  and  a  brief  season  was  allowed 
for  the  progress  of  settlement  and  the  promotion  of  agriculture. 
The  administration  of  M.  de  Courcelles  was  vigorous  and  well  con 
ducted.  Learning  that  the  Iroquois  were  endeavoring  to  persuade 
the  Western  Indians  to  trade  with  the  English,,  he  menaced  them 
with  a  formidable  attack ;  to  make  amends  for  murders  of  Iroquois 
by  Frenchmen,  he  had  led  out  and  executed,  the  offenders,  in  view 
of  those  whose  friends  had  been  the  victims ;  and  by  other  acts  ot 


*  [See  Appendix,  No.  1.]  There  are  strong  evidences  throughout  all  this  region,  oi 
some  great  convulsion  of  the  earth,  as  recently  as  -within  the  last  two  centurieR 
There  are  fissures  in  our  rocks,  extensive  forests  with  timber  growths  of  less  than  two 
centuries ;  mounds  and  indentations  of  earth,  as  if  whole  forests  had  suddenly  been 
uprooted  ;  immense  sections  of  rock  and  earth  detached  from  their  primitive  locations 
upon  hill  sides,  and  the  banks  of  our  streams ;  shall  we  not  say  that  all  this  date? 
from  1663  ?  Some  portions  of  the  account  would  seem  exaggerated  ;  but  in  all  mat 
ters  of  fact,  the  Jesuit  Relations  are  accredited  by  historians. 

t  The  French  found  corn  enough  buried  in  pits  to  have  supplied  the  Mohawks  foi 
two  years. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PTJECHASE.  23 

conciliation,  preserved  peace.  A  war  broke  out  between  the 
Iroquois  and  Ottawas,  and  he  interfered  and  made  peace. 

About  this  period,  the  small  pox,  always  a  most  frightful  scourge 
with  the  Indian  race,*  broke  out  among  all  the  allies  of  the  French 
upon  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  interior  of  Canada.  In  some  instan 
ces,  whole  tribes  were  exterminated;  the  victims  were  enumerated 
by  thousands ;  in  one  village  near  Quebec,  they  amounted  to  fifteen 
hundred. 

Near  the  close  ofM.  de  Courcelles  administration,  in  1671,  by 
sending  an  indefatigable  agent  to  all  the  Indian  nations  around  the 
western  Lakes,  a  grand  council  was  convened  at  the  Falls  of  St. 
Mary,  when  the  sovfteignty  of  the  King  of  France  was  acknowl 
edged,  and  a  cross,  bearing  his  arms,  was  set  up. 

In  1671,  Count  Frontenac,  a  worthy  successor  of  Cbamplain,  his 
equal  in  all,  and  his  superior  in  many  respects ;  advanced  in  age,  but 
vigorous,  arbitrary,  in  all  his  designs  and  movements ;  took  the  reins 
of  government  in  New  France,  and  in  many  respects,  created  a  new 
era.  Following  out  the  plans  of  his  subordinate,  M.  Talon,  an  expe 
dition  was  set  on  foot  to  explore  the  "  great  river,"  the  "Mechasepe," 
in  the  dialect  of  the  western  tribes,  of  which  but  vague  and  inde 
finite  ideas  had  been  gained  of  the  natives.  Marquette,  a  Jesuit 
Missionary,  with  Joliet,  and  other  attendants,  set  out  from  St.  Mary's 
and  reaching  the  Miami,  obtained  from  them  two  natives  as  guides. 
They  struck  upon  the  waters  of  Fox  River,  and  descending  them, 
crossed  the  short  portage,  and  descended  upon  the  waters  of  the 
Wisconsin  River  to  its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi.  Their 
guides  having  returned,  the  adventurous  Frenchmen  floated  down 
the  river  in  their  frail  canoes  until  they  came  to  a  village  of  the 
Illinois  where  they  were  "  kindly  arid  hospitably  received."  The  ex 
pedition,  falling  in  with  none  but  friendly  natives,  went  as  far  down 
as  below  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  where,  hearing  that  the  river 
emptied  itself  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  instead  of  the  Pacific,  as  they 
had  fondly  hoped ;  and  fearing  that  they  might  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  Spaniards ;  they  returned  ;  Marquette  commencing  missionary 

*  Whenever  the  scourge  has  appeared  upon  this  continent  among  the  aborigines,  it 
has  swept  off  nearly  all  who  were  attacked.  Their  simple  remedies  succesful  in  other 
diseases,  have  failed  them  in  this.  This  has  been  principally  attributed  to  the  com 
plexion,  or  rather  the  texture  of  the  skin,  differing  from  that  of  our  race,  in  a  toughness 
that  prevents  the  disease  breaking  out  and  expending  itself  upon  the  surface  ;  and 
eends  it  back  to  prey  upon  the  vitals  of  its  victims. 


24:  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

labors  among  the  Miamis,  and  Joliet  carrying  the  news  of  their  dis 
coveries  to  Quebec.  These  were  the  first  of  our  race  that  saw  the 
upper  Mississippi  and  its  vast  tributaries.  The  pages  of  general  his 
tory  that  tell  of  the  hazardous  journey  ;  that  recounts  the  impressions 
made  upon  the  mind  of  Marquette,  who  had  a  mind  to  appreciate  all 
he  saw  in  that  then  vast  and  hitherto  unexplored  wilderness  of  prairie 
and  forest,  inland  seas,  and  wide  rivers ;  is  one  of  peculiar  attractions. 
Few  historical  readers  will  fail  to  peruse  it.  The  name  of  a  county 
in  Illinois,  and  a  village,  perpetuates  the  names,  and  the  memories  of 
Marquette  and  Joliet. 


ADVENTURES  OF  LA  SALLE— THE  FIRST  SAIL  VESSEL  UPON  THE 
UPPER  LAKES. 


Previous  to  the  western  advent  of  Marquette  and  Joliet,  La  Salle, 
a  young  Frenchman  of  ample  fortune,  after  completing  his  educa 
tion,  with  all  the  religious  enthusiasm  peculiar  to  the  disciples  of 
Loyola,  mixed  with  a  spirit  of  adventure  then  so  rife  in  France,  had 
crossed  the  ocean,  pushed  on  beyond  the  farthest  French  settle 
ments  upon  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  become  the  founder  of  Frontenac, 
now  Kingston,  the  ownership  of  which  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
his  King  with  the  rank  of  nobility.  The  grant  was  in  fact,  that  of  a 
wide  domain,  with  some  exclusive  privileges  of  Indian  trade. 

When  Marquette  and  Joliet  returned,  they  took  Frontenac  in  their 
route,  and  found  the  young  adventurer  in  the  midst  of  his  enterprises, 
drawing  around  him  missionaries,  traders,  agriculturalists  —  the  pa- 
troon  of  one  of  the  most  flourishing  settlements  of  New  France.  — 
Listening  to  their  accounts  of  the  vast  beautiful  region  they  had 
seen,  its  broad  Lakes,  wide  prairies  —  and  with  especial  interest  to 
their  story  of  the  "Great  River,"  —  he  resolved  upon  following 
up  their  discoveries,  by  a  new  route,  and  extending  French  domin 
ion  across  the  entire  continent.  Returning  to  France,  with  the 
information  he  had  obtained  from  various  sources,  his  earnest  impor 
tunities  inspired  the  king  and  his  minister,  Colbert,  with  confidence, 
and  a  commission  of  discovery  was  granted  him.  The  object,  as 
expressed  in  the  commission,  was,  "  to  discover  the  western  portion  of 
our  country  of  New  France,"  and  the  suggestion  was  made,  that 
through  it  a  passage  might  be  found  to  Mexico.  The  expedition 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  25 

was  to  be  at  his  own  expense,  and  that  of  his  associates ;  their  pros 
pective  remuneration,  a  restricted  monopoly  of  trade  with  the  natives. 

With  an  Italian  named  Tonti,  Father  Hennepin,  a  number  01 
mechanics  and  mariners,  naval  stores,  and  goods  for  the  Indian 
trade,  he  arrived  at  Frontenac  in  the  fall  of  1678,  and  soon  after  a 
wooden  canoe  of  ten  tons,  the  first  craft  of  European  architecture 
that  ever  entered  the  Niagara  River,  bore  a  part  of  his  company  to 
the  site  of  Fort  Niagara.  La  Salle,  followed  soon  after  with  a  sail 
vessel,  in  which  he  had  a  stock  of  provisions,  and  materials  for  ship 
building ;  crossed  the  Lake,  coasted  along  its  southern  shore,  entered 
the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River  or  the  Irondequoit  Bay,  and  visited 
some  of  the  villages  of  the  Senecas  to  reconcile  them  to  his  enterprise ; 
and  on  his  way  from  the  Genesee  to  the  Niagara  River,  encountered 
a  gale  and  lost  his  vessel,  saving  but  a  part  of  his  cargo.  Arrived  at 
Niagara,  he  erected  some  rude  defences,  established  a  post,  and  at 
Lewiston  erected  a  trading  station  with  pallisades.  Late  in  Janu 
ary  the  business  of  ship  building  was  commenced  at  the  mouth  of 
Cayuga  creek,  six  miles  above  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  In  mid  winter, 
the  neccessity  occurring,  the  intrepid  adventurer,  on  foot,  made  the 
journey  to  Frontenac,  around  the  head  of  the  Lake,  returning  on  the 
ice  along  the  northern  shore,  with  a  dog  and  sledge  for  the  transpor 
tation  of  his  baggage. 

It  was  fortunate,  perhaps,  that  during  the  ship's  building,  the  war 
riors  of  the  Senecas  were  principally  drawn  ofFin  an  expedition  against 
some  of  the  western  enemies.  Those  that  remained  behind,  hung 
around  and  watched  the  operations  at  Niagara  as  well  as  at  the 
place  of  ship  building.  In  consequence  of  their  remonstrances,  wha  t 
was  intended  as  the  commencement  of  a  Fort  at  Niagara,  had  to  be 
abandoned,  and  a  "  habitation  surrounded  with  pallisades"  substitu 
ted  ;  and  they  were  almost  constantly  annoying  the  ship  builders. 
The  missionary,  Hennepin,  by  mild  persuasion,  and  the  display  of  the 
emblems  of  the  faith  he  was  propagating,  would  seem  to  have  aided 
much  in  reconciling  the  natives  to  these  strange  movements  they 


NOTE.  —  It  should  be  observed  that  hitherto  Lake  Erie  had  been  unexplored.  The 
route  to  the  Upper  Lakes  had  been  via  the  interior  Rivers  and  Lakes  of  Canada. — 
Why  the  ear  Her  ad  venturers,  missionaries  and  traders,  had  failed  to  follow  up  the  great 
body  of  water  that  they  saw  discharging  into  Lake  Ontario,  is  left  to  conjecture  : — 
The  jealousy  with  which  the  Senecas  had  guarded  their  territory,  and  then  unwilling 
ness,  that  the  French  should  extend  their  alliance  with  their  enemies  the  western  na 
tions,  affords  the  most  reasonable  explanation. 

2 


26  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

were  witnessing.  Becoming  discouraged,  surrounded  with  dangers, 
the  ship  builders  were  once  upon  the  point  of  desertion  to  the  English 
settlements  upon  the  Hudson,  but  were  encouraged  by  the  pious 
missionary  in  "exhortations  on  holidays  and  Sundays  after  divine 
service."  He  told  them  that  the  enterprise  had  sole  "  reference  to 
the  promotion  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  welfare  of  the  Christian 
colonies."  On  one  occasion,  while  the  vessel  was  upon  the  stocks, 
a  scheme,  the  Senecas  had  devised  for  burning  it,  was  frustrated  by 
the  timely  warning  of  a  friendly  squaw. 

All  these  difficulties  were  surmounted,  and  when  the  River  and 
Lake  had  become  clear  of  ice,  a  vessel  of  sixty  tons  burthen,  was 
ready  for  the  water.  It  was  "  blessed  according  to  our  Church  of 
Rome,"  and  launched  under  the  discharge  of  artillery,  accompanied 
by  the  chaunting  of  the  Te  Deum  ;  the  Senecas  looking  on  with 
amazement,  declaring  the  ship  builders  to  be  "  Ot-kons,"  men  with 
"penetrating  minds."  Some  weeks  followed  of  preparation  for  the 
voyage;  trips  by  water  were  made  to  Frontenac ;  trading  parties 
went  to  the  principal  villages  of  the  Senecas  ;  and  the  Niagara  Riv 
er  was  explored  to  see  how  the  vessel  was  to  be  got  into  Lake  Erie. 
In  the  mean  time  the  warriors  of  the  Senecas  returned  from  the 
westward,  and  their  resentments  were  absorbed  in  wonder  at  all 
they  saw ;  awe,  or  fear  perhaps,  overcame  their  jealousies.  Invited 
on  board  the  vessel  and  hospitably  entertained,  they  exclaimed, 
"  ga-nor-ron,"  how  wonderful ! 

The  vessel  was  named  the  "  Griffin,"  in  honor  of  Count  Fronte 
nac,  whose  armorial  bearing  was  the  representation  of  two  griffins. 
It  was  equipped  with  sails,  masts,  and  every  thing  ready  for  naviga 
tion,  and  had  on  board  "  five  small  cannon  and  two  arquebuses.* 
After  all  was  ready  several  attempts  were  made  to  ascend  the  Nia 
gara,  befor  a  wind  sufficiently  favorable  occurred  to  insure  success 
At  last,  with  much  severe  labor,  men  being  often  placed  on  shore 
with  tow  lines  to  assist  the  sails — the  vessel  entered  Lake  Erie, 
and  on  the  7th  of  August,  1679,  accompanied  by  the  discharge  of  can 
non,  and  the  chaunting  of  the  Te  Deum,  the  first  sail  vessel  was 
careering  over  its  unknown  expanse,  groping  its  way  with  no  charts 
to  direct  its  course. 

*  Hennepin,  whose  account  is  principally  relied  upon,  speaks  of  the  great  difficulty 
attending  the  getting  of  the  vessel's  equipments  up  the  "three  mountains"  at  Lewis- 
ton.  He  says  "  it  took  four  men  to  carry  the  largest  anchor,  but  brandy  being  given 
to  cheer  them,  the  work  was  soon  accomplished." 


PHELPS    AND    GOKHAM?S    PURCHASE.  27 

After  a  protracted  voyage,  the  Griffin  cast  anchor  in  Green  Bay, 
where  a  trade  was  opened  with  the  natives  and  a  rich  cargo  of  furs 
obtained.  Late  in  the  season  of  navigation,  it  started  on  its  return 
voyage  to  the  Niagara  River,  encountered  severe  gales,  and  the 
vessel  and  all  on  board  were  never  more  heard  of —  their  fate  remain 
ing  a  mystery.* 

Hennepin  describing  what  they  saw  of  the  shores  of  Lakes  Erie, 
St.  Clair  and  Huron,  and  the  banks  of  the  Detroit  and  St.  Clair  Riv 
ers,  observes ; — Those  who  will  have  the  good  fortune  some  day  to 
possess  the  beautiful  and  fertile  lands,  will  be  under  many  obliga- 
gations  to  us,  who  have  cleared  the  way. 

Anticipating  the  return  of  the  ill-fated  vessel,  La  Salle  established  a 
trading  house  at  Mackinaw,  and  proceeding  to  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Josephs,  added  to  a  small  Missionary  station,  under  the  care  of  Al- 
louez,  a  trading  house  with  pallisades,  which  he  called  the  "  Fort  of  the 
Miami."  Despairing  of  the  return  of  the  Griffin,  leaving  ten  men  to 
guard  the  fort,  with  Hennepin,  and  two  other  Missionaries,  Tonti,  and 
about  thirty  other  followers,  the  impatient  adventurer  ascended  the 
St.  Joseph  and  descended  the  Kankakee  to  its  mouth.  From  there 
he  descended  the  Illinois  to  Lake  Peori  where  he  erected  a  fort  amid 
the  murmuring  and  discontent  of  his  followers,  wrho  deemed  their 
leader  and  his  expedition  ruined  by  the  loss  of  the  Griffin.  Yielding 
temporarily  to  despondency,  the  stout  hearted  leader,  named  it  Fort 
Creve  Cceur,  the  "  Fort  of  the  Broken  hearted." 

Recovering  his  wonted  energy,  however,  he  set  his  men  to  sawing 
ship  plank,  dispatched  Hennepin  with  two  followers  to  explore  the 
Upper  Mississippi,  and  started  himself  with  three  companions,  for 
Frontenac,  to  procure  recruits,  and  sails  and  cordage  for  his  vessel. 
The  journey  was  made  in  the  month  of  March,  and  was  one  of  peril  and 
suffering ;  the  route  overland  to  the  Niagara  River,  and  from  thence 
around  the  head  of  Lake  Ontario  to  Frontenac.  New  adventurers 

*  Unless  the  author  was  right  in  the  conclusion  he  formed  as  to  its  fate  in  a  previous 
work.  The  Jesuit  Missionaries  concluded  that  it  was  stranded  in  a  gale,  plundered 
by  the  natives  and  its  crew  murdered.  Such  was  probably  the  fact : — In  1805,  some 
of  the  early  settlers  in  Hamburg,  Erie  county,  after  a  severe  blow  that  had  removed  a 
large  body  of  sand  and  gravel  upon  the  lake  shore,  found  where  it  had  been  deeply 
embedded,  an  anchor.  In  later  years,  near  the  same  spot,  there  has  been  found  several 
hundred  pounds  of  iron,  such  as  would  seem  to  have  been  taken  from  a  vessel  ;  and 
near  the  spot,  two  cannon,  the  whole  buried  in  the  earth,  and  good  sized  forest  trees  grow 
ing  over  them.  There  is  no  record,  or  tradition,  of  the  loss  of  any  vessel,  other  than 
the  Griffin,  at  the  early  period  in  which  these  relics  must  have  been  left  where  they 
were  found. 


28  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

flocked  to  his  standard,  supplies  were  obtained,  and  he  returned  to 
his  post  upon  the  Illinois,  which  he  found  deserted.  In  his  absence, 
it  had  been  attacked  by  the  natives ;  an  aged  Missionary,  Father 
Ribourde,  had  been  murdered,  and  Tonti  with  a  few  followers,  had 
escaped,  and  found  refuge  among  the  Potawatomies  on  Lake  Mi 
chigan. 

Returning  to  Green  Bay,  he  commenced  trading  and  establishing 
a  friendly  intercourse  with  the  Indians ;  collected  his  scattered  fol 
lowers  ;  built  a  spacious  barge  on  the  Illinois  River,  and  in  the  early 
part  of  1632,  descended  the  Mississippi  to  the  sea,  He  planted  a 
cross  upon  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  claimed  the  country  for  France,  and 
called  it  Louisana. 

The  sequel  of  these  daring  enterprises,  that  have  no  parallel  even 
in  our  day  of  wondrous  achievements  —  that  paved  the  wa}r  for  the 
occupancy  of  our  race  in  all  the  vast  region  drained  by  the  Missis 
sippi  —  is  a  long  chapter  of  disaster,  of  successes  and  reverses,  mostly 
remote  from  our  local  region,  and  belonging  to  the  pages  of  general 
history.  In  all  that  relates  to  French  occupancy,  of  the  Genesee 
country,  the  borders  of  the  western  Lakes,  of  the  valley  of  the  Mis 
sissippi —  especially,  to  the  adventures  of  Marquette,  Joliet,  La 
Salle,  Hennepin  and  Tonti,  hitherto  the  historian  has  had  but  uncer 
tain  guides,  and  but  unsatisfactory,  authentic  details.  Recent  dis 
coveries  in  Quebec,  and  among  the  archives  of  the  Jesuits,  in  Rome, 
afford  encouragement  that  with  some  future  historian  these  de 
ficiencies  will  be  supplied.  In  anticipation  of  this,  the  author  leaves 
the  high  souled,  adventurous  La  Salle,  upon  the  threshold  of  adven 
tures,  that  led  him  over  the  plains  of  Texas,  to  New  Mexico ;  that 
embraced,  voyages  to  France  by  sea,  shipwrecks,  and  a  scries  of 
untoward  events ;  and  ended  in  his  murder  by  one  of  his  followers, 
on  the  Trinity  River  in  Texas,  on  a  return,  overland,  to  Frontenac. 

Well  deserving  was  he  of  the  eulogy  bestowed  upon  him  by  our  ac 
complished  national  historian,  Bancroft : — "  For  force  of  will  and 
vast  conceptions  ;  for  various  knowledge  and  quick  adaption  of  his 
genius  to  untried  circumstances ;  for  a  sublime  magnanimity  that 
resigned  itself  to  the  will  of  Heaven,  and  yet  triumphed  over  afflic 
tion  by  energy  of  purpose  and  unfaltering  hope,  —  he  had  no  superior 
among  his  countrymen." 

In  a  previous  work,  the  author  in  a  brief  review  of  a  somewhat 
more  elaborate  account  of  the  expeditions  of  La  Salle,  has  remark- 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  29 

ed  :  One  hundred  and  thirty  nine  years  ago,  the  Griffin  set  out  upon 
its  voyage,  passed  up  the  rapids  of  the  Niagara,  and  unfurled  the  first 
sail  upon  the  waters  of  the  Upper  Lakes. 

Intrepid  navigator  and  explorer!  High  as  were  hopes  and  ambi 
tion  that  could  alone  impel  him  to  such  an  enterprise ;  far  seeing  as 
he  was ;  could  the  curtain  that  concealed  the  future  from  his  view, 
have  been  raised,  his  would  have  been  the  exclamation  :  — 

"  Visions  of  glory,  spare  my  aching  sight ; — 
Ye  unborn  ages,  rush  not  on  my  soul!" 

He  deemed  himself  but  adding  to  the  nominal  dominions  of  his 
King ;  but  opening  new  avenues  to  the  commerce  of  his  country ; 
founding  a  prior  claim  to  increased  colonial  possessions.  He  was 
pioneering  the  way  for  an  empire  of  freemen,  who  in  process  of  time 
were  to  fill  the  valleys  he  traversed  ;  the  sails  of  whose  commerce 
were  to  whiten  the  vast  expanse  of  waters  upon  which  he  was  em 
barking  ! 

How  often,  when  reflecting  upon  the  triumphs  of  steam  naviga 
tion,  do  we  almost  wish  that  it  were  admitted  by  the  dispensations 
of  Providence  that  Fulton  could  be  again  invested  with  mortality, 
and  witness  the  mighty  achievements  of  his  genius.  Akin  to  this, 
would  be  the  wish,  that  La  Salle  could  rise  from  his  wilderness  grave 
in  the  far-off  South,  and  look  out  upon  the  triumphs  of  civilization 
and  improvement  over  the  vast  region  he  was  the  first  to  explore. 

Ours  is  a  country  whose  whole  history  is  replete  with  daring  en 
terprises  and  bold  adventures.  Were  we  prone,  as  we  should  be, 
duly  to  commemorate  the  great  events  that  have  marked  our  pro 
gress,  here  and  there,  in  fitting  localities,  more  monuments  would 
be  raised  as  tributes  due  to  our  history,  and  to  the  memory  of  those 
who  have  acted  a  conspicuous  part  in  it.  Upon  the  banks  of  our 
noble  river,  within  sight  of  the  Falls,  a  shaft  from  our  quarries  would 
soon  designate  the  spot  where  the  Griffin  was  built  and  launched ; 
upon  its  base,  the  name  of  La  Salle,  and  a  brief  inscription  that 
would  commemorate  the  pioneer  advent  of  our  vast  and  increasing 
Lake  commerce. 


Frontenac  returned  to  France  in  consequence  of  disagreement 
with  other  officers  of  the  colony,  but  to  return  again  in  after  years. 
He  was  succeeded  by  M.  de  la  Barre,  who  found  the  Iroquois  dis- 


30  PHELPS  AND   GORIIAM'S  PURCHASE. 

posed  to  lean  toward  the  English  interests  upon  the  Hudson,  and 
assuming  again  a  hostile  attitude  toward  the  French.  The  Otta- 
was,  who  were  the  allies  of  the  French,  had  killed  a  chief  of  the 
Iroquois ;  and  from  this  and  other  causes,  they  were  again  exaspera 
ted,  and  preparing  for  descents  upon  the  French  settlements.  Hith 
erto,  the  Senecas,  far  removed  from  what  had  been  the  seat  of  war, 
and  almost  continually  waging  war  with  those  of  their  own  race, 
had  participated  but  little  in  the  wars  with  the  French.  Provoca 
tions  now  began  on  their  part,  in  the  way  of  endeavoring  to  divert 
trade  to  the  English,  and  in  warring  upon  the  French  Indian  allies  ; 
and  upon  one  occasion,  they  had  robbed  a  French  trading  party  on 
their  way  to  Illinois. 

A  long  series  of  provocations  were  given  by  the  Iroquois,  which 
determined  M.  dela  Barre  to  go  against  them  with  all  the  forces  he 
could  command.  He  had  information  that  a  descent  was  to  be 
made  upon  the  French  settlements  upon  the  St.  Lawrence.  He 
assembled  an  army  of  700  Canadian  militia,  130  regular  soldiers, 
and  200  Indian  allies,  in  July,  1683.  While  coming  up  the  St. 
Lawrence,  he  learned  that  the  more  friendly  of  the  Iroquois  nations 
had  prevailed  upon  the  Senecas  to  listen  to  overtures  of  peace.  The 
English  had  offered  their  mediation,  with  intimations  that  they 
would  make  common  cause  with  the  hostile  nations  of  Iroquois,  if 
the  French  Governor  persevered  in  his  warlike  demonstrations. 
M.  de  la  Barre  crossed  Lake  Ontario,  and  quartered  his  army  at  a 
Bay  in  what  is  now  Jefferson  county,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of 
peace  deputies  of  the  Iroquois.  While  there,  the  French  army  suf 
fered  much  for  want  of  wholesome  provisions,  and  they  named  the 
place  "  La  Famine,"  or  Hungry  Bay.  The  Indians  met  them,  with 
an  Onondaga  chief,  Garangula,  at  their  head.  A  speech  was  made 
by  the  French  Governor,  and  replied  to  by  Garangula,  in  a  tone 
of  contempt  and  derision,  rather  than  of  fear  or  submission.  *  He 
well  knew  that  famine  and  disease  had  weakened  the  French  force, 
and  even  tantalized  them  by  allusion  to  their  misfortunes.  De  la 

*For  a  correct  translation  of  this  noted  j  speech,  copied  from  La  Hontan,  see 
"  Holland  Purchase."  Mr.  Clinton  said  :  —  "  I  believe  it  impossible  to  find  in  rill  the 
effusions  of  ancient  or  modem  oratory,  a  speech  more  appropriate  or  convincing. 
Under  the  veil  of  respectful  profession,  it  conveys  the  most  biting  irony  ;  and  while 
it  abounds  with  rich  and  splendid  imagery,  it  contains  the  most  solid  reasoning."  The 
resported  author  of  "  History  of  Onondaga,"  regards  him  as  having  'been  the  Nestor 
of  the  Iroquois. 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  31 

i 

Barre,  says  the  Baron  la  Hontan,  who  was  present,  "  returned  to  his 
tent  much  enraged  at  what  he  had  heard."  The  interview  ended 
by  a  stipulation  on  the  part  of  the  Senecas  that  they  would  make 
reparation  for  some  alleged  wrongs ;  *  and  on  the  part  of  the  French 
Governor,  that  he  would  immediately  withdraw  his  army.  The  dis- 
cornfitted  and  chagrined  la  Barre  withdrew  an  army  made  feeble 
by  disease  and  hunger ;  and  upon  reaching  Montreal,  learned  that 
a  French  force  had  arrived,  which  would  have  enabled  him  to 
humble  the  proud  warriors,  and  provoking  orator  he  had  met  on 
the  wild  shores  of  Lake  Ontario. 

[Of  local  events,  the  expedition  of.  De  Nonville  follows  next  in  order  of  time.  A 
brief  allusion  to  it  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Hosmer's  chapter  upon  the  Senecas,  and  more 
of  it  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  No.  2.] 

The  Iroquois  were  prompt  to  carry  the  war  home  upon  their  in 
vaders.  In  November  following  De  Nonville's  expedition,  they  at 
tacked  the  French  fort  on  the  Sorrel,  and  were  repulsed,  but  they 
ravaged  the  neighboring  French  settlements,  and  made  captives. 
Darkness  lowered  upon  the  French  cause. 

"  In  this  same  year,  there  fell  upon  Canada  an  evil  more  severe 
than  Indian  aggression  or  English  hostility.  Toward  the  end  of 
the  summer,  a  deadly  malady  visited  the  colony,  and  carried  mourn 
ing  into  almost  every  household.  So  great  was  the  mortality,  that 
M.  De  Nonville  was  constrained  to  abandon,  or  rather  defer,  his 
project  of  humbling  the  pride  and  power  of  the  Tsonnonthouans. 
He  had  also  reason  to  doubt  the  faith  of  his  Indian  allies ;  even  the 
Hurons  of  the  far  West,  who  had  fought  so  stoutly  by  his  side  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  were  discovered  to  have  been  at  the 
time  in  treacherous  correspondence  with  the  Iroquois." 

"  While  doubt  and  disease  paralized  the  power  of  the  French, 
their  dangerous  enemies  were  not  idle.  Twelre  hundred  Iroquois 
warriors  assembled  at  Lake  St.  Francis,  within  two  days'  march 
of  Montreal,  and  haughtily  demanded  audience  of  the  Governor, 
which  was  immediately  granted.  Their  orator  proclaimed  the 
power  of  his  race,  and  the  weakness  of  the  white  men,  with  all  the 
emphasis  and  striking  illustration  of  Indian  eloquence.  He  offered 

*  The  wrongs  complained  of,  were  the  destruction,  by  the  Senecas,  of  a  large 
number  of  the  canoes  of  the  French  traders,  on  their  way  to  the  West ,  the  taking  of 
fourteen  Frenchmen  as  prisoners;  and  an  attack  upon  one  of  the  Western  forts. — 
Paris  Doc. 


32  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

peace  on  terms  proposed  by  the  Governor  of  New  York,  but  only 
allowed  the  French  four  days  for  deliberation." 

"  This  high-handed  diplomacy  was  backed  by  formidable  demon 
strations.  The  whole  country  west  of  the  river  Sorrel,  or  Richlieu, 
was  occupied  by  a  savage  host,  and  the  distant  fort  of  Cataracouy, 
on  the  Ontario  shore,  was  with  difficulty  held  against  800  Iroquois, 
who  had  burned  the  farm  stores  with  flaming  arrows,  and  slain  the 
cattle  of  the  settlers.  The  French  bowed  before  the  storm  they 
could  not  resist,  and  peace  was  concluded  on  conditions  that  war 
should  cease  in  the  land,  and  all  the  allies  should  share  in  the 
blessings  of  repose.  M.  De  Nonville  further  agreed  to  restore  the 
Indian  chiefs  who  had  been  so  treacherously  torn  from  their  native 
wilds,  and  sent  to  labor  in  the  galleys  of  France."* 

Before  the  treaty  was  concluded,  however,  the  implacable  ene 
mies  of  the  Iroquois,  the  Abenaquis,  attacked  them  on  the  Sorrel, 
destroyed  many,  and  pushed  their  conquest  even  to  the  English  set 
tlements.  And  nearly  at  the  same  time,  another  untoward  circum 
stance  occurred ;  an  instance  of  cunning  and  knavery  which  has 
no  parallel  in  Indian  warfare  :  —  Kondiaronk,  a  chief  of  the  west 
ern  Hurons,  with  a  retinue  of  warriors,  sought  an  interview  with 
De  Nonville,  for  the  purpose  of  reconciling  some  misunderstanding. 
Learning  that  peace  was  about  to  bo  concluded  between  the  French 
and  Iroquois,  he  determined  to  prevent  it.  Pretending  to  go  back 
to  his  own  country,  he  went  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  lying  in  am 
bush  for  the  Iroquois,  on  their  return  from  the  treaty,  he  fell  upon 
them  with  his  warriors,  killing  many,  and  taking  some  prisoners.  He 
then  pretended  that  he  was  acting  in  concert  with  the  French  Gov 
ernor,  and  that  he  had  instigated  the  attack  upon  those  with  whom 
he  had  just  concluded  a  peace.  The  scheme  worked  just  as  the 
wily  backwoods  Metternich  had  concluded  it  would  :  —  A  renewal 

*  Conquest  of  Canada. 

NOTE. — The  author  of  the  history  of  the  Conquest  of  Canada,  says  of  De  Nonville, 
in  allusion  to  his  seizure  of  the  Iroquois,  and  sending  them  to  France :  —  "His  other 
wise  honorable  and  useful  career  can  never  be  cleansed  from  the  fatal  blot  of  one  dark 
act  of  treachery.  From  the  day  when  .that  evil  deed  was  done,  the  rude  but  magnani 
mous  Indians,  scorned  as  a  broken  reed  the  sullied  "honor  of  the  French."  The  author 
should  not  have  made  De  Nonville  wholly  responsible.  In  all  probability,  he  acted 
under  instructions.  The  instructions  of  Louis  XIV.  to  La  Barre,  were:  —  "As  these 
savages  who  are  stout  and  robust,  will  serve  with  advantage  in  my  galleys,  I  wish 
you  to  do  every  thing  in  your  power  to  make  them  prisoners  of  war,  and  that  you 
will  have  them  shipped  by  every  opportunity  which  will  offer  for  their  removal  to 
France." 


PHELPS  Am>  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  33 

of  hostilities  was  soon  made  by  the  Iroquois,  to  revenge  themselves 
for  the  supposed  baseness  of  the  French  Governor.  Twelve  hun 
dred  Iroquois  warriors  made  a  descent  upon  the  Island  of  Montreal, 
burnt  the  French  houses,  sacked  their  plantations,  and  put  to  the 
sword  all  the  men,  women  and  children  within  the  outskirts  of  the 
town.  "  A  thousand  French  were  slain  in  the  invasion,  and  twenty- 
six  carried  into  captivity."*  The  marauders  retreated,  but  not  with 
out  further  destruction  of  life;  —  a  force  of  one  hundred  French  and 
fifty  Indians,  sent  in  pursuit,  were  entirely  cut  off.  "  The  disastrous 
incursions  filled  the  French  with  panic  and  astonishment.  They  at 
once  blew  up  the  forts  of  Cataracouy,  (Kingston,)  and  Niagara, 
burned  two  vessels,  built  under  their  protection,  and  altogether 
abandoned  the  shores  of  the  western  Lakes."  f  Frontenac  arrived 
at  Quebec  in  October,  1689,  at  a  period  of  great  depression  with  the 
colony.  His  hands  were  strengthened  by  the  government  of 
France,  but  a  vast  field  of  labor  was  before  him.  He  repaired  to 
Montreal,  and  summoned  a  council  of  the  western  Indians ;  the 
first  and  most  important  consummation  to  be  effected,  being  their 
perfect  conciliation  and  alliance :  —  "As  a  representative  of  the 
Gallic  Monarch,  claiming  to  be  the  bulwark  of  Christendom  —  Count 
Frontenac,  himself  a  peer  of  France,  now  in  his  seventieth  year, 
placed  the  murderous  hatchet  in  the  hands  of  his  allies ;  and  with 
tomahawk  in  his  own  grasp,  chaunted  the  war-song,  danced  the 
war- dance,  and  listened,  apparently  with  delight,  to  the  threat  of 
savage  vengeance."  J 

In  the  February  preceding  the  event  just  alluded  to,  the  revolu 
tion  in  England  had  been  consummated.  William  and  Mary  had 
succeeded  to  the  throne,  and  soon  after  which  France  had  declared 
a  war  against  England,  in  which  the  American  colonies  became  at 
once  involved,  and  a  contest  ensued,  in  which  the  question  of  undi 
vided  empire  in  all  this  portion  of  North  America  was  the  stake  to 
be  won;  —  France  and  England  had  both  determined  upon  entire 
conquest,  Frontenac  succeeded  in  conforming  the  alliance  of 
nearly  all  the  western  tribes  of  Indians,  and  through  the  mission- 


*  Smith's  History  of  New  'York. 

t  So  says  the  author  of  the  Conquest  of  Canada.    It  is  not  probable  that  all  the 

western  posts  were  abandoned. 

J  Bancroft 


34  PIIELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

aries  was  enabled  to  make  a  partial  division  of  the  Iroquois  from  the 
English  interests.  He  soon  received  from  his  government  instruc 
tions  to  war  for  conquest,  not  only  upon  New  England  and  New 
York,  but  upon  all  the  Indian  allies  of  the  English.  His  instruc 
tions  contemplated  an  attack  upon  "  Manathe,"  ("  Manhattan"  or 
New  York,)  by  sea,  and  an  attack  upon  Fort  Orange  by  land, 
and  a  descent  upon  the  Hudson,  to  co-operate  with  the  naval 
expedition.  *  The  French  force  in  Canada,  of  regulars  and  militia 
was  about  two  thousand.  In  February,  1689,  an  expedition 
started  from  Montreal,  and  after  a  long  march  through  the  wild 
erness,  in  which  they  were  obliged  to  walk  up  to  their  knees 
in  water,  and .  break  the  ice  with  their  feet,  in  order  to  find  a  solid 
footing,  they  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Schenectady,  the  then 
farthest  advanced  of  the  English  settlements.  Arriving  at  a  soli 
tary  wigwam,  the  benumbed  and  disabled  from  the  effects  of  the 
severe  cold  weather,  warmed  themselves  by  its  fire,  and  information 
was  gained  from  the  squaws  who  inhabited  it,  how  they  could  best 
fall  upon  the  village  and  execute  their  terrible  mission  of  war  and 
retribution  upon  those  who  had  assisted  the  Mohawk  branch  of  the 
Iroquois  in  their  onslaughts  upon  the  French  settlements.  In  all 
their  march  and  contemplated  attack,  they  had  been  assisted  by  a 
former  chief  of  the  Mohawks,  who  had  deserted  his  country  and 
identified  himself  with  the  French  allies  at  the  west.  Approaching 
the  point  of  attack,  he  had  eloquently  harangued  the  French  and  their 
Indian  allies  to  "lose  all  recollections  of  their  fatigue  in  hopes  of 
taking  ample  revenge  for  the  injuries  they  had  received  from  the 
Iroquois,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  English,  and  of  washing  them  out 
in  the  blood  of  the  traitors."  *  At  eleven  o'clock  at  night  they  came 
near  the  settlement,  and  deliberating  whether  they  should  not  post 
pone  the  attack  to  a  more  dead  hour  of  the  night,  were  compelled  by 
the  excessive  cold  to  rush  upon  their  victims  and  destroy  them,  to 

*  He  was,  says  the  French  official  account,  "  without  contradiction,  the  most  con 
siderable  of  his  tribe  —  an  honest  man — as  full  of  spirit,  generosity  and  prudence  as 
was  possible,  and  capable  at  the  same  time  of  great  undertakings." 

NOTE.  —  The  English  account  of  the  massacre  at  Schenectady,  contained  in  the  Lon 
don  Documents,  gives  the  names  of  sixty  of  "ye  people  Idled  and  destroyed ;"  of 
twenty-seven  who  were  carried  prisoners  to  Canada.  The  few  of  all  the  population 
that  escaped,  being  a  detached  part  of  the  settlement,  the  residence  of  the  British  com 
mandant  of  the  place,  "Capt.  Sander,"  whose  wife  had  shown  some  favor  previously 
to  some  French  prisoners.  The  French  account,  in  the  Paris  Documents,  says  that 
"  the  lives  of  fifty  or  sixty  persons,  old  men,  women  and  children  were  spared,  they 
having  escaped  the  first  fury  of  attack." 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  35 

enjoy  the  warmth  of  their  burning  hamlets.  A  small  garrison,  where 
there  were  soldiers  under  arms,  was  first  attacked,  carried,  set  fire 
to  and  burned,  and  all  its  defenders  slaughtered.  Then  succeeded 
hours  of  burning  and  massacre,  until  almost  the  entire  population 
and  their  dwellings  had  been  destroyed.  The  details  of  the  terrible 
onslaught  are  familiar  to  the  general  reader.  It  was  a  stealthy  mid- 
night  assault,  a  work  of  the  sword  and  the  torch,  that  has  few  par 
allels  in  all  the  wars  upon  this  continent.  The  whole  forms  an  early 
legend  of  the  Mohawk,  and  was  the  precursor  of  the  terrible  scenes, 
that  in  after  years  were  enacted  in  that  once  harrassed  and  ravaged, 
but  now  smiling  and  peaceful  valley. 

As  if  satiated  with  this  work  of  death  ;  paralized  by  the  severity 
of  the  weather,  or  intimidated  by  the  English  strength  at  Albany  ; 
the  French  retraced  their  steps,  with  their  prisoners  and  plunder,  not, 
however,  without  suffering  from  hunger  and  cold,  enough  to  make 
the  victory,  if  such  it  could  be  called,  a  dear  one.  The  flesh  of 
the  horses  they  had  taken  at  Schenectady,  was  for  a  part  of  the 
march  their  only  food.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  and 
fifty  young  men  of  Albany,  pursued  them  to  Lake.  Charaplain,  and 
even  over  it,  killing  some  and  taking  others  prisoners. 

Another  expedition  left  Three  Rivers  and  penetrated  the  wilder 
ness  to  the  Piscataqua  River  in  Maine,  surprised  a  small  English 
settlement,  killed  thirty  of  its  inhabitants,  and  made  the  rest  prisoners. 
After  which  they  fell  in  with  another  French  force,  and  destroyed 
the  English  Fort  at  Casco. 

A  third  expedition  went  among  the  Western  Indians  to  confirm 
their  alliance  by  intimidation  and  a  lavish  bestowal  of  presents ; 
and  was  by  far  the  most  successful  of  the  three.  It  helped  vastly  to 
turn  trade  in  the  direction  of  Montreal,  and  strengthened  the  French 
with  many  of  the  powerful  nations  of  the  west.  On  their  way,  they 
fell  in  with  and  defeated  a  large  war  party  of  the  Iroquois. 

While  all  this  was  in  progress,  war  parties  of  the  hostile  Iroquois 
had  been  making  repeated  incursions  down  the  St.  Lawrence, 
harrassing  the  French  settlements. 

The  incursions  of  the  French  at  the  eastward  had  aroused  the 
people  of  New  England  to  make  common  cause  with  the  people  of 
New  York  and  their  Iroquois  allies.  In  May,  1690,  deputies  from 
New  York  and  all  the  New  England  colonies  met  in  Albany,  and 
made  the  quarrel  their  own  instead  of  that  of  England,  who  had  been 


36  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S   PUKCHASE. 

remiss  in  aiding  their  colonies  to  carry  it  on.  A  general  invasion 
of  the  French  colony  was  resolved  upon.  Two  expeditions  were 
arranged,  one  to  sail  from  Boston  to  Quebec,  and  the  other  to  cross 
the  country  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  descending  the  River,  join  the 
naval  expedition  at  Quebec.  Both  were  failures.  The  land  force, 
under  General  Winthrop  of  Connecticut,  800  strong,  marched  from 
Albany  to  Lake  Champlain,  where  they  were  disappointed  in  not 
meeting  500  Iroquois  warriors  as  had  been  aggreed  upon,  and  the  In 
dians  had  also  failed  to  provide  the  necessary  canoes  for  crossing 
the  Lake.  A  council  of  war  was  held  and  a  retreat  agreed  upon. 
Major  Schuyler  of  the  New  York  levies,  had  however,  preceded  the 
main  army,  and  crossed  the  Lake  without  knowing  that  Winthrop 
had  retreated.  He  attacked  a  small  garrison  at  La  Prairie,  and  obliged 
them  to  fall  back  toward  Chambly.  The  French  in  retreating,  fell 
in  with  a  reinforcement,  and  turned  upon  their  pursuers ;  a  severe 
engagement  ensued ;  overpowered  by  numbers,  Schuyler  was  obliged 
to  retreat.  Sir  William  Phipps  had  command  of  the  naval  ex 
pedition,  which  consisted  of  35  vessels  and  200  troops.  After  captur 
ing  some  French  posts  at  New  Foundland,  and  upon  the  Lower  St. 
Lawrence,  the  British  squadron  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Sage- 
nay,  Frontenac  having  learned  that  the  English  land  force  had 
turned  back,  had  hastened  to  Quebec,  and  ordered  a  concentration 
of  his  forces  there.  The  slow  approach  of  the  New  England  inva 
ders  gave  him  a  plenty  of  time  to  prepare  for  defence.  On  the  5th 
of  October  the  squadron  appeared  before  Quebec  and  the  next  day 
demanded  a  surrender.  To  the  enquiry  of  the  bearer  of  the  mes 
sage,  what  answer  he  had  to  return,  the  brave  old  Count  said  :  — 
"  Tell  your  master  I  will  answer  by  the  mouth  of  my  cannon,  that 
he  may  learn  that  a  man  of  my  rank  is  not  to  be  summoned  in  this 
manner."  The  attack  followed  :  —  A  force  of  1700  was  landed  un 
der  Major  Walley,  and  had  much  hard  fighting,  with  but  indifferent 
success,  with  French  out-posts.  In  the  mean  time,  Phipps  had 
anchored  his  vessels,  bearing  the  heaviest  guns  against  the  town  and 
fortress.  The  fire  was  mostly  ineffectual;  directed  principally 
against  the  high  eminence  of  the  Upper  Town,  it  fell  short  of  the 
mark,  while  a  destructive  fire  was  pouring  down  upon  the  assail 
ants.  The  siege  was  continued  but  twenty  hours,  when  the  British 
fleet  fell  down  the  stream  out  of  the  reach  of  the  galling  fire  from 
the  high  ramparts  of  the  besieged  fortress.  The  force  under  Major 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  37 

Walley,  upon  land,  continued  the  fight,  generally  succeeding  in 
their  approaches.  After  a  series  of  sharp  engagements,  the  land 
force  were  obliged  to  resort  to  a  hurried  embarkation  on  board  of 
their  vessels.  It  was  a  night  scene  of  panic  and  disorder,  many 
losing  their  lives  by  the  upsetting  of  boats.  The  artillery  that  was 
taken  on  shore,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  French.  Leaving  nine  dis 
abled  ships,  Phipps  returned  to  Boston  to  add  to  the  news  of  there- 
treat  of  Winthrop,  the  sad  account  of  the  result  of  his  siege  of 
Quebec. 

Then  followed  a  winter  of  repose  with  the  French  colony,  but  of 
dismay  and  apprehension  in  New  England  and  New  York,  whose 
fleet  and  army  had  so  signally  failed.  But  the  Iroquois  who  had 
failed  to  co-operate  with  Winthrop  in  the  fall,  were  early  in  the 
field  by  themselves  in  the  spring.  In  May,  a  thousand  of  their 
warriors  approached  Montreal,  laying  waste  the  French  settlements, 
and  re-enacting  all  the  horrid  scenes  of  former  years ;  though  not 
without  some  instances  of  severe  and  summary  retributions  before 
they  had  effected  their  retreat.  In  a  few  weeks  the  incursion  was 
repeated,  and  with  similar  results. 

Then  followed  seven  years  of  English  and  French  and  Indian  war, 
the  French  under  the  energetic  administration  of  Frontenac,  all  the 
while  extending  their  settlements,  and  strengthening  their  whole  co 
lonial  position,  though  with  arms  in  their  hands.  They  were  mostly 
content  to  act  upon  the  defensive,  while  on  the  part  of  the  English 
colonies,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  energy  in  aiding  the  Iroquois  to 
carry  on  the  war.  In  1796,  Frontenac,  despairing  of  any  reconcilia 
tion  with  the  Iroquois,  resolved  upon  another  invasion  of  their  terri 
tory.  He  assembled  all  his  disposable  forces  of  French  and  Indian 
allies  at  Fort  Frontenac,  (Kingston.)  and  crossing  Lake  Ontario  dis 
embarked  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oswego  river.  His  army  was  a  form 
idable  one,  and  it  was  provided  with  a  train  of  artillery  as  if  he  was 
to  attack  a  walled  town  instead  of  weak  pallisade  Forts.  After  en- 

NOTE.  —  The  details  of  battles  that  occurred  along  in  these  years  upon  the  St.  Law 
rence,  would  alone  confirm  all  of  daring  heroism  that  has  been  attributed  to  the  Jro- 
quois,  and  give  us  a  clue  to  their  long  series  of  conquests  over  their  own  race.  Crossing 
Lakes  Ontario  and  Champlain,  in  inclement  seasons,  with  their  frail  canoes,  and  de 
scending  the  St.  Lawrence  by  land  and  water  amid  snows  and  ice,  there  was  not  only 
their  stealthy  assaults  and  savage  warfare,  but  on  many  occasions  with  the  stoicism  of 
their  race  added  to  ordinary  bravery — they  faced  for  hours  the  trained  and  veteran 
soldiers  of  France,  astonishing  the  men  of  discipline  in  the  arts  of  war  with  their 
achievements.  The  best  soldiers  of  France,  and  England,  were  not  a  match  on  many 
occasions,  for  an  equal  number  of  untaught  soldiers  of  the  wigwam  and  forest. 


PHEPLS    AND     GOKHAMV  PUKCIIASE. 

tering  the  OnondagaXake,  the  army  was  divided,  a  portion  of  it  being 
sent  against  the  Oneidas,  while  Frontenac  landed  with  the  main  force 
destined  for  the  attack  upon  the  Onondagas.  The  old  Count  had 
now  become  so  decrepid  from  age  and  hard  service,  that  he  was 
borne  to  the  point  of  attack  upon  a  litter  ;  presenting  a  scene  spiced 
somewhat  with  romantic  heroism,  if  the  object  of  attack  had  in  any 
considerable  degree  corresponded  with  the  military  array  and  pre 
paration.  The  French  army  landed  upon  the  banks  of  the  Lake,  and 
threw  up  some  defences.  The  Onondagas  were  aware  of  the  ap 
proach,  fortified  themselves  as  well  as  they  could  in  their  castle, 
sent  away  all  but  their  warriors,  and  resolved  upon  a  desperate  de 
fence.  They  were,  however,  intimidated  by  a  Seneca  prisoner,  who 
had  escaped  from  the  French,  who  told  them  that  Frontenac's  army 
"  was  as  numerous  as  the  leaves  on  the  trees,  and  that  they  had  ma 
chines  which  threw  up  large  balls  in  the  air,  which  falling  on  their 
cabins  would  burst  in  pieces  scattering  fire  and  death  every  where 
around,  against  which  their  stockades  would  be  no  defence,"  This 
was  a  kind  of  warfare  new  to  them,  and  which  they  resolved  not  to 
encounter,  setting  fire  to  their  castle  and  cabins,  they  fled  and  left 
their  invaders  the  poor  triumph  of  putting  to  death  one  old  Indian 
Sachem,  who  remained  to  become  a  sacrifice  and  defy  and  scorn 
the  invaders,  even  while  they  were  applying  their  instruments  of 
torture.  The  Oneidas  fled  at  the  approach  of  the  other  division  of  the 
French  army,  but  thirty  of  them  remaining  to  welcome  the  invaders 
and  save  their  castle,  village,  and  crops.  They  were  made  prisoners 
and  the  village,  castle,  and  crops  destroyed.  No  rumor  came  from 
the  English,  but  the  fear  of  one  hastened  the  French  retreat  across  the 
Lake  to  Fort  Frontenac,  and  from  thence  to  Montreal. 

The  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Ryswick,  and  the  death  of  Fron 
tenac  soon  followed,  leaving  partial  repose  to  the  harrassed  French 
and  English  colonies.  The  amiable  Callieres,  the  governor  of  Mon 
treal,  succeeded  Frontenac,  but  hardly  lived  to  witness  the  consum 
mation  of  his  wise  measures  for  conciliating  the  Iroquois,  renewing 
Indian  alliances,  and  generally  to  better  the  condition  of  the  affairs 
of  New  France.  He  was  succeeded  by  Vaudreiul  who  was  soon 
waited  upon  by  a  deputation  of  Iroquois,  that  acknowledged  the 
French  dominion. 

It  was  but  a  short  breathing  spell  for  the  colonies :  —  In  May, 
1702,  what  was  called  "Queen  Ann's  war,"  was  declared,  and  the 


PHELPS    AKD    GORIIAM^S    PURCHASE.  39 

scenes  of  what  had  been  called  "  King  \V  illiam's  war,"  were  re-enact 
ed  upon  this  continent. 

The  Province  of  New  York  took  but  little  part  in  the  contest,  and 
its  chief  burden  fell  upon  New  England.  The  Indians,  within  their 
own  limits,  reinforced  by  the  Indians  of  Canada,  and  not  unfrequent- 
]y  accompanied  by  the  French,  made  incursions  into  all  parts  of  the 
eastern  English  Provinces,  falling  upon  the  frontier  settlements  with 
the  torch,  the  tomahawk  and  knife,  and  furnishing  a  long  catalogue 
of  captivity  and  death,  that  mark  that  as  one  of  the  most  trying  pe 
riods  in  a  colonial  history,  upon  almost  every  page  of  which  we  are 
forcibly  reminded  how  much  of  blood  and  suffering  it  cost  our  pio 
neer  ancestors  to  maintain  a  foothold  upon  this  continent.*  The 
war  on  the  part  of  the  English  colonies,  was  principally  directed 
against  Port  Royal,  Quebec  and  Montreal.  Most  of  the  expeditions 
they  fitted  out  were  failures  ;  there  was  a  succession  o.f  shipwreck, 
badly  framed  schemes  of  conquest ;  organization  of  forces  but  to  be 
disbanded  before  they  had  consummated  any  definite  purposes ; 
"  marching  up  hills  and  marching  down  again." 

Such  being  the  geographical  features  of  the  war ;  the  Province 
of  New  York  having  assented  to  the  treaty  of  neutrality  between 
the  French  and  Five  Nations,  and  contenting  itselt  with  an  enjoy 
ment  of  Indian  trade,  while  their  neighboring  Provinces  were  strug 
gling  against  the  French  and  Indians ;  there  is  little  to  notice  having 
any  immediate  connexion  with  our  local  relations. 

Generally,  during  the  war,  the  Five  Nations  preserved  their 
neutrality.  They  managed  with  consummate  skill  to  be  the  inti 
mate  friends  of  both  the  English  and  French.  Situated  between 
two  powerful  nations  at  war  with  each  other,  they  concluded  the 
safest  way  was  to  keep  themselves  in  a  position  to  fall  in  with  the 
one  that  finally  triumphed.  At  one  period,  when  an  attack  upon 
Montreal  was  contemplated,  they  were  induced  by  the  English  to 
furnish  a  large  auxiliary  force,  that  assembled  with  a  detachment  of 
English  troops  at  Wood  Creek.  The  whole  scheme  amounting  to 
a  failure,  no  opportunity  wTas  offered  of  testing  their  sincerity ;  but 
from  some  circumstances  that  transpired,  it  was  suspected  that  they 
were  as  much  inclined  to  the  French  as  to  the  English.  At  one 

*  From  the  year  1675,  to  the  close  of  Queen  Ann's  War  in  1713,  about  six  thousand 
of  the  English  colonists,  had  perished  by  the  stroke  of  the  enemy,  or  by  distempers 
contracted  in  military  service. 


40  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

period  during  the  war,  five  Iroquois  Sachems  were  prevailed  upon 
to  visit  England  for  the  purpose  of  urging  renewed  attempts  to 
conquer  Canada.  They  were  introduced  to  the  Queen,  decked 
out  in  splendid  wardrobe,  exhibited  through  the  streets  of  London, 
at  the  theatres,  and  other  places  of  public  resort ;  feasted  and  toast 
ed,  they  professed  that  their  people  were  ready  to  assist  in  extermi 
nating  the  French,  but  threatened  to  go  home  and  join  the  French 
unless  more  effectual  war-measures  were  adopted.  This  was  a  les 
son  undoubtedly  taught  them  by  the  English  colonies,  who  had  sent 
them  over  to  aid  in  exciting  more  interest  at  home  in  the  contest 
that  was  waging  in  the  colonies.  The  visit  of  the  Sachems  had  tem 
porarily  the  desired  effect.  It  aided  in  inducing  the  English  gov 
ernment  to  furnish  the  colonies  with  an  increased  force  of  men  and 
vessels  of  war,  in  assisting  in  a  renewed  expedition  against  Mon 
treal  and  Quebec,  which  ended,  as  others  had,  in  a  failure.  They 
got  nothing  from  the  Five  Nations  but  professions ;  no  overt  act  of 
co-operation  and  assistance.  The  Governor  of  the  province  of 
New  York,  all  along  refused  to  urge  them  to  violate  their  engage 
ments  of  neutrality ;  for  as  neutrals,  they  were  a  barrier  to  the 
frontier  settlements  of  New  York,  against  the  encroachments  of  the 
French  and  their  Indian  allies. 

"The  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  April,  1713,  put  an  end  to  the  war. 
France  ceded  to  England  '  all  Nova  Scotia  or  Arcadia,  with  its 
ancient  boundaries  ;  also,  the  city  of  Port  Royal,  now  called  An 
napolis  Royal,  and  all  other  things  in  those  parts,  which  depend  up 
on  the  said  lands/  France  stipulated  in  the  treaty  that  she  would 
'  never  molest  the  Five  Nations,  subject  to  the  dominion  of  Great 
Britain/  leaving  still  undefined  their  boundaries,  to  form  with  other 
questions  of  boundary  and  dominion,  future  disagreements. ' 

In  all  these  years  of  war,  French  interests  at  the  West  had  not 
been  neglected.  In  1701,  a  French  officer,  with  a  small  colony 
and  a  Jesuit  missionary,  founded  the  city  of  Detroit.  *  The  peace 
of  their  respective  sovereigns  over  the  ocean,  failed  to  reconcile 
difficulties  between  the  colonies.  The  trade  and  the  right  to  navi 
gate  the  Lakes,  was  a  monopoly  enforced  by  the  French,  which  the 
English  colonies  of  New  York  were  bent  upon  disturbing,  though 


*  Almost  a  century  before  the  settlement  of  Western  New  York  had  advanced  be 
yond  the  Genesee  river. 


PHELPS  AXD  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  41 

the  terms  of  peace  had  in  effect,  confirmed  it.     The  English  as 
sumed  that  all  of  what  is  now  Western  New  York,  was  within 
thcjir  dominions,  by  virtue  of  but  a  partial  alliance  of  its  native 
owners  and  occupants ;  and  the  French' claimed  by  a  similar  tenure ; 
for,  in  fact,  it  was  a  divided  alliance,  fluctuating  with  the  policy  of 
the'  Senecas,  who  seemed  well  to  understand  the  importance  of 
their  position,  and  were  resolved  to  make  the  most  of  it.     Soon  af 
ter  1700,  we  find  a  marked  and  progressive  change  in  the  disposi 
tion  of  the  Senecas  towards  the  French.     This  we  may  well  at 
tribute  to  the  influence  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  had  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  permanent  missionary  stations  among  them,  in  a 
greater  degree,  perhaps,  to  the  advent  of  an  extraordinary  person 
age,  who,  for  a  long  period,  exercised  an  almost  unbounded  influ 
ence  throughout  this  region.     This  was  Joncaire,  a  Frenchman, 
who,  from  a  captive  among  the  Senecas,  merged  himself  with  them, 
was  adopted,  and  became  the  faithful  and  indefatigable  promoter 
of  the  French  interests.    We  first  hear  of  him  from  Charlevoix,  who, 
in  1721,  found  him  the  occupant  of  a  cabin  at  Lewiston,  where  he 
had  gathered  around  him  a  small  Indian  settlement,  and  where  a 
fortress  was  contemplated  —  the  right  to  build  which,  he  had  nego 
tiated  with  the  Senecas.    He  then  bore  a  commission  in  the  French 
army.     He  was  familiar  with  all  the  localities  of  this  region,  and 
gave  to  Charlevoix  a  description  of  the  "  river  of  the  Tsontonouans," 
(Genesee  river,)  the  Sulphur  Springs  at  Avon,  and  the  Oil  Spring 
at  Cuba.     In  1750.  Kalm,  the  German  traveller,  found  a  half-blood 
Seneca,  a  son  of  his,  at  Lewiston;  and  in  1753,  Washington  made 
the  acquaintance  of  another  son  of  his,  while  on  a  mission  to  the 
French  at  the  West,  and  mentions  that  he  was  then  preferring  the 
French  claim  to  the  Ohio,  by  virtue  of  the  discoveries  of  La  Salle. 
In  1759,  these  two  half-blood  sons  bore  commissions  in  the  French 
army,  and  were  among  the  French  forces  of  the  West,  that  were 
defeated  on  the  Niagara  River,  on  their  way  to  re-inforce  the  be 
sieged  garrison.     In  1736,  M.  de  Joncaire,  the  elder,  had  made  a 
report  to  the  French  Superintendent  at  Montreal,  of  all  the  Indians 
whom  he  regarded  as  "connected  with  the  government  of  Canada." 
He  embraces  the  whole  of  the  Iroquois  nations,  and  locates  them 
principally  through  this  State,  from  Schenectady  to  the   Niagara 
River ;  and  in  Canada,  along  near  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Ontario, 

all  of  the  nations  of  Canada,  and  all  inhabiting  the  valleys  of  the 
3 


42  PHELPS  AND  OOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

western  lakes,  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi.  In  this  official  docu 
ment,  he  mentions  that  he  is  "  engaged  at  the  history  of  the  Sioux." 
"  He  spoke,"  says  Charlevoix,  "  with  all  the  good  sense  of  a  French 
man,  whereof  he  enjoys  a  large  share,  and  with  all  the  sublime 
eloquence  of  our  Iroquois." 

The  peace  of  Utrecht,  i-n  1713,  had  but  illy  defined  the  respective 
dominions  of  the  English  and  French,  in  this  quarter;  but  the  Gov 
ernor  of  New  York  assumed  that  it  gave  the  English  the  jurisdic 
tion  they  had  claimed.  In  1726,  the  English  Governor,  Burnett,  built 
a  fort  at  Oswego,  and  a  "public  store-house"  at  the  Bay  of  "Ironde- 
quoit."  The  year  previous,  the  French,  upon  the  ruins  of  the  tem 
porary  works  of  De  Nonville,  had  built  Fort  Niagara  against  the 
protests  and  remonstrances  of  the  English.  * 

The  occurrences  of  a  long  succession  of  years,  of  Indian  out 
breaks,  of  French  descents  upon  New  England  settlements,  of  re 
taliatory  expeditions,  of  French  and  Indian  wars,  have  in  the  main 
but  little  reference  to  this  local  region,  though  dominion  here  was 
one  prominent  cause  of  contention.  Peace  between  the  mother 
countries  had  but  little  influence  with  the  colonists ;  they  would 
make  war  upon  their  own  account  as  often  as  difficulties  arose  out 
of  mixed  occupancy,  and  conflicting  claims  to  jurisdiction.  The 

NOTE.  —  Were  it  not  that  NAMES  descend  through  the  maternal  line,  the  descendants 
of  Joncaire  would  be  found  among  the  Senecas  of  the  present  day,  in  all  probability ; 
for  French  blood  has  no  where  run  out  among  the  natives  when  once  merged  with 
them.  Inquiry  would  hardly  fail  to  find  among  them  traditions  of  Joncaire,  and  those 
who  are  his  living  descendants. 

*  The  site  of  Fort  Niagara  commanded  the  key  to  the  western  lakes.  The  French 
were  aware  that  its  occupancy  and  fortification  was  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  dominion  they  claimed  against  English  encroachments.  Previous  to  1721,  Jon 
caire  had  secured  a  mixed  trading,  missionary  and  military  station  at  Lewiston.  Even 
this  met  with  the  strong  opposition  of  the  English  authorities  of  New  York,  and  all  of 
the  Six  Nations,  except  the  Senecas,  who  had  the  right  of  controlling  the  matter.  The 
Senecas  persisting  in  allowing  their  favorite  to  build  his  "cabin"  where  he  chose, 
the  English  asked  for  joint  occupancy.  To  which  the  Senecas  replied:  —  "Our 
country  is  in  peace,  the  French  and  you  will  never  be  able  to  live  together  without 
raising  disturbances.  Moreover,  it  is  of  no  consequence  that  Joncaire  should  remain 
here  ;  he  is  a  child  of  the  nation  ;  he  enjoys  this  right,  which  we  are  not  at  liberty  to 
take  from  him."  Soon  after  this,  the  successful  negotiator  extended  his  views  farther 
down  the  river,  and  paved  the  way  for  flie  erection  of  a  strong  fortress  at  Niagara. 
This  was  accomplished  by  a  EUSB  on  the  part  of  Joncaire  and  other  French  officers. 
The  Senecas  had  no  idea  of  admitting  either  French  or  English  fortifications  upon 
their  territory.  A  body  of  French  troops  arrived  and  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Niagara  river,  to  commence  the  work,  but  were  by  no  means  strong  enough  to  under 
take  it  in  the  presence  of  the  Senecas,  who  were  watching  their  movements.  They  at 
first  got  permission  to  build  a  "wigwam  with  one  door;"  and  then  to  divert  the  Sene 
cas  from  being  witnesses  of  the  formidable  work  they  were  contemplating,  joined  them 
in  a  general  hunt,  which  kept  them  away  until  the  work  was  far  enough  advanced  to 
enable  the  French  to  protect  themselves  against  attack. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  43 

French  continued  to  extend  their  posts  to  the  West  and  South  West, 
and  the  English  to  strengthen  the  frontiers  of  New  England,  and 
their  advance  post  at  Oswego. 

In  1744,  Great  Britain  declared  war  against  France  and  Spain. 
The  first  blow  struck  upon  this  continent,  was  the  capture  of  Louis- 
burg,  which  success  emboldened  Governor  Shirley,  of  Massachu 
setts,  to  ask  the  co-operation  of  the  other  colonies  in  an  attempt  to 
drive  the  French  from  all  their  American  possessions  ;  some  de 
monstrations  with  that  view  were  made ;  but  the  principal  events 
of  the  campaign  were  at  sea,  and  upon  the  frontiers  of  New  Eng 
land.     The  short  war  was  closed  by  the  peace  of  Aix  la  Chapelle, 
of  1748.     Its  chief  result  had  been  the  loss  to  the  French  of  all  the 
Northern  frontier  coast,  to  repair  which,  they  immediately  projected 
schemes  for  extending  their  dominion  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  and 
upon  the  Mississippi,  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.     In  1750,  commission 
ers  met  in  Paris  to  adjust  American  boundaries,  but  after  a  long 
session,  accomplished  nothing.     Difficulties  arose  in  a  new  quarter- 
The  crown  of  England  granted  to  an  association  of  its  subjects  at 
home,  and  in  Virginia,  called  the  Ohio  Company,  600,000  acres  of 
land  upon  the  Ohio  river,  all  of  which  was  upon  territory  claimed 
by  France.     The  attempts  of  this  Company  to  survey  and  settle 
these  lands,  and  the  building  of  French  posts  upon  them,  simulta 
neously,  brought  the  English  and  French  colonists  into  direct  con 
flict.     The  campaign  was  opened  by  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  who 
sent  an  armed  force  to  the  disputed  ground.     Other  colonies  soon 
co-operated ;  and  after  the  contest  had  been  attended  with  alternate 
successes  and  reverses,  in  1755,  General  Braddock  came  with  a 
force  from  England,  to  aid  the  colonies.     All  the  events  of  the  war 
upon  the  Allegany  and  the  Ohio,  form  prominent  pages  of  American 
history;   ultimately  connected  with    the   history  of  our  western 
States ;  but  deriving  its  chief  general  interest  from  the  circumstance 
that  it  was  the  school  of  experience  and  discipline,  where  the  sword 
of  the  youthful  WASHINGTON  was  first  unsheathed. 

Braddock's  defeat  followed ;  then  General  Shirley's  abortive  ex 
pedition  in  the  direction  of  Niagara  ;  Sir  William  Johnson's  par 
tially  successful  expedition  to  Lake  George ;  the  advent  of  Lord 
Loudon,  as  Commander-in-chief  of  the  British  army  in  America; 
which  principal  events  closed  the  campaign  of  1755 ;  and  in  the  ag 
gregate,  had  darkened  British  prospects  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


44  PIIELPS  AND   GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

The  campaign  of  1756,  opened  with  the  successful  attack  of  the 
Marquis  de  Vaudreuil,  upon  an  English  fort,  in  what  is  now  the 
county  of  Oneida ;  which,  after  an  engagement  of  Bradstre-et  with 
a  French  force  on  the  Oswego  river,  was  followed  by  the  capture  of 
the  British  fort  at  Oswego,  by  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm. 

These  principal  events,  with  the  dark  filling  up  of  French  and 
Indian  depredations  at  the  west;  amounting  almost  to  the  exter 
mination  of  the  border  settlers  of  Pennsylvania  ;  gave  to  British  in 
terests,  at  the  close  of  the  campaign  of  17£6,  an  aspect  even  less 
encouraging  than  the  one  with  which  it  was  commenced. 

-  Montcalm  opened  the  campaign  of  1757,  early  in  the  spring,  by  a 
harrassing  investment  of  Fort  William  Henry,  by  a  force  under  the 
command  of  Vaudreuil  and  Longrieul ;  a  reinforcing  and  strengthen 
ing  of  Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga  and  Niagara.  During  the  summer, 
Lord  Loudon  collected  the  main  force  of  the  regular  army,  all  the  dis 
posable  forces  of  the  colonies,  and  with  a  powerful  naval  armament 
added,  undertook  the  capture  of  Louisburg,  on  the  Island  of  Cape  Bre 
ton,  but  abandoned  the  design  when  a  victory  seemed  easily  attaina 
ble  ;  for  reasons  which  remain  a  mystery  in  the  history  of  English  war 
fare.  Taking  advantage  of  this  diversion  of  the  English  forces,  Mont 
calm  in  person  completed  the  conquest  of  Fort  William  Henry.  It 
was  a  year  of  disasters  with  the  English ;  formidable  armies  and  navies 
were  embarked  and  disembarked,  expensive  expeditions  were  abor 
tive  ;  one  of  their  strong  fortresses  had  gone  into  the  hands  of  the 
French.  In  no  modern  era,  save  that  of  the  American  Revolution, 
has  English  pride  of  foreign  conquest  been  more  humbled. 

In  1758  a  new  era  with  England  commenced  :  —  It  was  that  of 

O 

Mr.  Pitt's  administration  of  its  affairs.  So  untoward  was  the  aspect 
of  its  affairs  when  he  assumed  the  helm  of  government,  that  it  was 
with  difficulty,  that  confidence  could  be  restored.  "Whoever  is  in, 
or  whoever  is  out,"  said  Lord  Chesterfield,  in  one  his  letters,  "  I  am 
sure  we  are  undone  both  at  home  and  abroad  :  at  home  by  an  increas 
ing  debt  and  expenses  ;  abroad  by  our  ill  luck  and  incapacity.  The 
French  are  masters  to  do  what  they  please  in  America.  We  are  no 
longer  a  nation.  I  never  yet  saw  so  dreadful  a  prospect." 

The  first  brilliant  achievment  under  the  new  order  of  things,  was 
the  capture  of  Louisburg.  Procuring  the  removal  of  the  naval  and 
military  officers,  who  had  proved  so  inefficient  in  America,  Mr.  Pitt 
recalled  Lord  Amherst  from  the  army  in  Germany,  and  made  him 


PHELPS  AND  GOBIIAM'S  PUECHASE.  45 

commander  in  chief  of  the  expedition,  and  made  the  Hon.  Edward 
Boscawen  the  Admiral  of  the  fleet.  An  expedition  consisting  of  22 
ships  of  the  line,  15  frigates,  120  smaller  vessels,  on  board  of  which 
were  nearly  12,000  British  regulars,  sailed  from  Portsmouth  and  arri 
ving  at  Halifax  on  the  28th  of  May,  soon  commenced  the  siege  of 
Louisburg,  which  ended  in  a  capitulation  of  the  strong  fortress,  after 
a  gallant  and  protracted  resistance,  on  the  25th  of  July.  The  fruits 
of  the  conquest  were  5,600  French  prisoners  ;  1 1  ships  of  war  taken 
or  destroyed;  250  pieces  of  ordnance;  15,000  stand  of  arms,  and  a 
great  amount  of  provisions  and  military  stores.  A  scene  of  plunder 
and  devastation  folio  wed  in  all  that  region,  which  dimmed  the  lustre 
of  British  arms. 

Far  less  of  success  attended  British  arms  in  this  campaign  in  other 
quarters  : — Mr.  Pitt  had  infused  among  the  despairing  colonies,  a  new 
impulse  ;  they  had  sent  into  the  field  an  efficient  force  of  9,000  men, 
which  were  added  to  6, 000  regulars — all  under  the  command  of  Aber- 
crombie.  In  July,  he  had  his  strong  force  afloat  on  Lake  George, 
proceeding  to  the  attack  upon  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  A 
protracted  siege  of  Ticonderoga  followed,  badly  conducted  in  almost 
every  particular ;  the  sequel,  a  retreat,  with  the  loss  of  nearly  2,000 
men.  The  intrepid  Bradstreet  soon  made  partial  amends  for  this  un 
fortunate  enterprise,  by  the  capture  of  Fort  Frontenac,  then  the  strong 
hold  of  French  Indian  alliance.  General  Stanvvix  advanced  up  the 
Mohawk  and  built  the  Fort  that  took  his  name.  In  the  mean  time 
General  Forbes  had  left  Philadelphia  with  an  efficient  army  of  over 
6,000  regulars  and  provincials,  and  after  a  defeat  of  his  advance  force, 
had  captured  Fort  du  Quesne,  changing  the  name  to  Fort  Pitt  in 
honor  of  the  great  master  spirit  who  was  controlling  England's  des- 


NOTE.  —  How  often  are  triumphs  of  arms,  the  result  of  chance !  It  is  bat  a  few 
years  since  an  American  General  confessed  that  a  splendid  victory  was  owing  to  the 
fact  that  some  undisciplined  troops  did  not  know  when  they  were  fairly  conquered, 
persevered  in  the  fight  and  turned  the  tide  of  battle.  An  English  historian,  candid 
upon  every  subject  he  touches,  admits  that  the  capture  of  Louisburg  was  accidental : — 
The  first'  successful  landing  was  made  by  Wolf,  then  a  Brigadier  General  Gen. 
Amherst  doubted  its  practicability.  "  The  chivalrous  Wolf  himself,  as  he  neared  the 
awful  surf,  staggered  in  his  resolution,  and  proposing  to  defer  the  enterprise,  waved  his 
hat  for  the  boats  to  retire.  Three  young  subaltern  officers,  however,  commanding  the 
leading  craft,  pushed  on  shore,  having  mistaken  the  signal  for  what  their  stout  hearts 
desired,  as  an  order  to  advance ;  some  of  their  men,  as  they  sprung  upon  the  beach, 
were  dragged  back  by  the  receding  surge  and  drowned,  but  the  remainder  climbed  up 
the  rugged  rocks,  and  formed  upon  the  summit.  The  Brigadier  then  cheered  on  the 
rest  of  the  division  to  the  support  of  the  gallant  few,  and  thus  the  almost  desperate 
landing  was  accomplished." 


46  PHELPS  AND   GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

tinies,  'At  the  close  of  the  campaign  of  the  year,  Abercrombie  had 
been  recalled,  and  General  Amherst,  who  had  returned  to  England 
after  the  capture  of  Louisburg,  had  arrived  in  America  invested 
with  the  office  of  commander  in  chief. 


CHAPTER   II 


SIEGE    AND    SURRENDER    OF    FORT  NIAGARA. CONdUEST  OF   WESTERN 

NEW  YORK. 


TOWARD  the  close  of  1758,  the  policy  of  the  British  Minister,  Mr. 
Pitt,  began  to  be  clearly  developed.  It  looked  to  no  farther  ineffi 
cient  measures  but  to  a  vigorous  and  decisive  campaign,  which 
should  terminate  in  the  anihilation  of  French  power  and  dominion  up 
on  this  continent.  The  British  people,  stimulated  by  a  spirit  of  con 
quest,  and  a  hatred  of  the  French,  both  of  which  had  been  assidu 
ously  promoted  by  the  public  press,  and  public  men  of  England, 
seconded  the  ambitious  views  of  the  Minister.  Parliament,  in  ad 
dressing  the  Throne,  applauded  him,  and  upon  the  recommendation 
of  the  King,  were  prompt  and  liberal  in  the  voting  of  supplies. 

And  care  had  been  taken  upon  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  to  secure 
cordial  and  vigorous  co-operation ;  the  colonists,  wearied  with  war 
and  its  harrassing  effects,  were  cheered  by  the  expressions  of  the 
commiseration  of  the  King,  and  his  assurances  of  protection  and 
final  indemnification;  and  more  than  all,  perhaps,  by  an  overt  act  of 
Parliament,  in  voting  them  the  sum  of  £200,000,  as  a  compensation 
for  losses  and  expenses  consequent  upon  the  war.  The  strong,  im 
pelling  motive  of  interest  had  been  preparing  the  way  for  a  cordial 
co-operation  of  the  colonists  in  the  magnificent  scheme  of  conquest 
that  Mr.  Pitt  had  projected.  In  its  success  was  involved  the  high 
prizes,  a  monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade,  the  commerce  of  the  Lakes, 
and  the  consequent  vastly  extended  field  of  enterprise  which  would  be 
opened.  The  board  of  trade  had  brought  every  appliance  within  their 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  47 

control  to  bear  upon  the  King  and  Parliament,  and  of  course,  had  not 
failed  to  magnify  the  hindrances  to  British  interest  which  continued 
French  dominion  imposed ;  nor  to  present  in  glowing  language,  the 
fruits  of  conquest  and  the  extension  of  British  power  in  America. 
Sir  William  Johnson,  always  faithful  to  his  liberal  patron  the  King, 
was  more  than  usually  active  in  wielding  the  immense  influence  he 
had  acquired  with  the  Indians  to  secure  their  aid ;  he  drew  them 
together  in  different  localities,  urged  upon  them  his  professions  of  re 
gard  for  their  interests,  inflamed  their  resentments  by  recounting 
the  wrongs  they  had  endured  at  the  hands  of  the  French  ;  listened 
to  their  complaints  of  English  encroachments  upon  their  lands,  and 
was  lavish  in  promises  of  ample  reparation ;  not  omitting  the  more 
than  usually  liberal  distribution  of  presents,  of  which  he  was  the 
accustomed  almoner.  By  much  the  larger  portion  of  the  Five  Na 
tions  of  the  Iroquois  were  won  over  to  the  British  interests,  a  portion 
of  the  Senecas  being  almost  alone  in  standing  aloof  from  the  contest^ 
or  continuing  in  French  alliance. 

General  Amherst  having  succeeded  to  the  office  of  Commander 
in  Chief  of  the  British  forces  in  North  America,  had  his  head  quar 
ters  in  New  York,  in  the  winter  of  1758,  '9,  actively  calling  to  his 
aid  the  provincial  troops,  appointing  Albany  as  the  place  of  rendez 
vous,  at  which  place  he  established  his  head  quarters  as  early  as  the 
month  of  April. 

The  force  at  the  disposal  of  General  Amherst,  was  larger  by  far 
than  any  that  had  been  before  mustered  upon  this  continent.  In 
addition  to  a  large  force  of  British  regulars,  the  colony  of  Massachu 
setts  had  furnished  seven  thousand  men,  Connecticut  five  thousand, 
and  New  Hampshire  one  thousand.  The  provincial  regiments,  as 
fast  as  they  arrived  at  Albany  went  into  camp,  and  were  subjected 
to  rigid  discipline  ;  the  regulars,  who  were  destined  for  operations  at 
the  north,  were  pushed  on  and  encamped  at  a  point  some  fifty  miles 
on  the  road  to  Fort  Edward. 

The  general  plan  of  the  campaign  contemplated  the  conquest  of 
the  three  important  strong  holds,  and  seats  of  power,  of  the  French ; 
Quebec,  Montreal,  and  Niagara.  The  main  army,  under  General 
Amherst,  were  to  move  from  the  shores  of  Lake  George,  reduce  the 
French  posts  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  descend  by  the  river 
Richlieu  and  occupy  Montreal ;  then,  on  down  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
join  the  besiegers  of  Quebec. 


48  PHELPS  AND  GOBIIAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Leaving  the  northern  expeditition  to  the  province  of  general  his 
tory,  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  a  brief  allusion  to  it  in  another 
place,  we  will  take  up  that  portion  of"  the  general  campaign,  which 
is  more  immediately  blended  with  the  history  of  our  local  region  :  — 

The  force  destined  for  Niagara  rendezvoused  at  Schenectady 
early  in  May.  It  consisted  of  two  British  regiments ;  a  detachment 
of  Royal  Artillery;  a 'battalion  of  Royal  Americans  ;  two  battalions 
of  New  York  Provincials ;  and  a  large  force  of  Indian  Allies  under 
the  command  of  Sir  William  Johnson ;  the  most  of  whom  were 
Mohawks,  Oneidas  and  Onondagas,  the  remainder,  Cayugas  and 
Senecas,  with  a  few  from  such  western  nations  as  had  been  partly 
won  over  to  the  British  interests.  Brigadier  General  Prideaux  was 
the  Commander  in  Chief;  next  in  rank,  was  Sir  William  Johnson, 
who  previous  to  this  had  been  regularly  commissioned  in  the  British 
army.  The  force  moved  from  Schenectady  on  the  20th  of  May, 
came  up  the  Mohawk,  and  via  the  usual  water  route  to  Oswego, 
where  it  remained,  completing  the  preparation  of  batteaux  for  ascend 
ing  Lake  Ontario,  for  over  five  weeks.  On  the  first  of  July,  the 
whole  force  were  embarked,  and  coasting  along  the  shore  of  the  Lake 
toward  their  destination ;  a  strong  fortress,  the  seat  of  French  domin 
ion,  over  a  widely  extended  region ;  the  key  or  gate- way  to  the  pri 
mitive  commerce  of  the  western  lakes ;  its  battlements  in  solitary 
grandeur  frowning  defiance  to  any  force  that  would  be  likely  to  reach 
it  through  difficult  avenues,  in  its  far  off  location  in  the  wilderness. 
Never  in  all  more  modern  periods,  have  the  waters  of  Ontario  borne 
upon  their  bosom  a  more  formidable  armament.  In  addition  to  a 
large  force,  to  their  stores  and  camp  equipage,  was  the  heavy  artillery, 
and  all  the  requisites  that  British  military  skill  and  foresight  had 
deemed  necessary  for  the  reduction  of  a  strong  fortress  by  regular 
approaches;  such  as  the  plan  of  attack  contemplated.  And  how 
mixed  and  made  up  of  different  races,  and  men  of  different  habits 
and  characters,  was  this  expedition !  —  There  was  the  proud  com 
missioned  and  titled  Briton,  who  had  seen  more  of  the  refinements 
and  luxuries  of  courts,  than  of  the  hardships  of  camps  in  the  wilder 
ness;  veteran  officers  and  soldiers,  who  had  fought  in  European 
wars,  inured  to  the  camp  and  the  field ;  the  sons  of  the  wealthy  and 
influential  colonists  in  New  York,  along  the  Hudson  river  counties, 
who  had  sought  commissions  in  the  army,  and  were  going  out  in 
their  first  campaign.  Provincials,  men  and  boys,  transferred  from 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S    PURCHASE.  49 

the  stores  counting-houses,  and  mechanic  shops  of  New  York,  and 
the  rural  districts  of  Westchester,  Richmond,  Kings,  Queens,  Suffolk, 
Dutchess,  Ulster,  Orange,  Albany,  and  the  lower  valley  of  the  Mo 
hawk,  to  the  camp,  the  drill,  and  the  march  that  seemed  then  as  far 
extended,  and  beset  with  more  difficulies  than  would  one  over 
the  mountains  to  Oregon  now ;  and  lastly  there  was  the  warriors  of 
the  Iroquois,  fully  imbued  with  their  ancient  war  spirit,  decked  out 
with  feathers,  claws,  and  hoops,  the  spoils  of  the  forest  chase  —  and 
with  new  paint,  broad-cloths,  blankets  and  silver  ornaments,  the  gifts 
of  the  King. 

The  armament  coasted  along  up  the  south  shore  of  the  Lake,  en 
camping  on  shore ;  the  first  night  at  Sodus,  invited  there  by  the 
beautiful  bay,  in  which  their  water  craft  could  be  made  secure  from 
winds  and  waves,  as  their  frail  structure  demanded.  Their  other 
halting  places  for  the  night,  were  at  Irondequoit,  Braddock's  Bay, 
and  Johnson's  Creek  ;  (which  latter  place  was  named  in  honor  of  Sir 
William  Johnson ;)  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eighteen  Mile  Creek, 
(what  is  now  the  viilage  of  Olcott,)  within  eighteen  miles  of  Fort 
Niagara,  a  halt  was  made  to  enable  reconnoitering  parties  to  go  out 
and  determine  whether  the  French  had  made  a  sortie  from  the  Fort 
in  anticipation  of  their  arrival. 

As  they  coasted  along  up  the  lake,  they  had  occasionally  dis 
charged  their  heavy  artillery,  well  knowing  that  a  noiseless  approach 
would  give  them  no  advantage,  as  the  Indian  scouts  from  the  garri 
son,  glimpses  of  whom  had  been  caught  upon  several  occasions,  had 
kept  the  French  well  informed  of  their  movements ;  and  there  were 
Iroquois  enough  in  the  French  interest,  belonging  to  the  lower  na 
tions,  to  give  the  French  missionaries  and  traders,  in  all  their  local 
ities  in  Western  New  York,  timely  notice  of  all  that  was  going  on. 
But  they  wished  to  inspire  the  Senecas  in  their  interests  with  cour 
age  and  the  neutrals  with  terror  ;  and  well,  perhaps,  did  their  device 
subserve  those  purposes. 

Leaving  the  British  army  almost  within  sight  of  the  field  of  con 
flict,  let  us  pass  over  the  lake,  and  down  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  to 
see  what  preparation  had  been  made  for  their  reception :  — 

Well  informed  at  home  of  the  policy  of  Mr.  Pitt ;  of  the  prepara 
tory  acts  of  Parliament ;  of  the  shipping  of  reinforcements  to  the 
British  army  in  America;  of  all  the  minutiae,  in  fact,  of  the  cam 
paign  ;  the  French  had  not  been  idle.  Despatches  were  sent  to  M. 


50  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

De  Vaudrieuil,  the  Governor  of  Canada,  and  his  hands  were  strength 
ened  by  reinforcements  from  France.  He  lost  no  time  in  putting 
Quebec,  Montreal,  Crown  Point,  and  Ticonderoga,  in  the  best  pos 
sible  state  of  defence.  Proclamations  were  made  to  the  Canadian 
militia,  commending  them  in  the  highest  terms  for  their  former 
services;  reminding  them  of  their  former  triumphs ;  and  appealing 
to  them  to  join  in  the  final  struggle  for  the  dominion  of  their  King 
and  country,  over  the  fairest  and  best  portions  of  the  New  World. 
The  gallant  Montcaim  had  succeeded  Dieskau,  as  commander  in 
chief  of  the  French  forces  in  Canada,  and  was  active  in  the  work 
of  preparation.  Captain  Pouchot,  a  skillful  and  experienced  engi 
neer,  was  sent  to  put  Fort  Niagara  in  a  condition  for  defence,  and 
to  assume  the  command  of  it. 

On  the  7th  of  July,  the  British  force  under  Prideux,  broke  up 
their  brief  encampment  at  the  Eighteen  Mile  Creek,  and  by  land 
and  water,  moved  up  to  the  Four  Mile  Creek,  making  a  stand  upon 
the  western  shore  of  the  Bay,  where  they  then  began  an  entrench 
ment,  and  commenced  the  work  of  opening  an  avenue  through  the 
forest.  A  small  scouting  party  of  French  and  Indians,  came  upon 
the  advance  workmen,  as  they  were  about  to  emerge  from  the  forest 
into  the  open  ground,  a  few  shots  were  exchanged,  and  the  party  re 
tired  into  the  fort.  A  fire  was  opened  upon  the  besiegers  from  the 
fort,  which  was  kept  up  during  the  greater  portion  of  the  night. 
On  the  8th,  the  English  prosecuted  the  work  upon  their  entrench 
ments,  the  French  continuing  their  fire  upon  them  at  intervals  from 
the  fort,  and  Monsieur  La  Force  *  coasting  up  and  down  the  Lake 
in  the  armed  schooner  Iroquois,  occasionally  reaching  them  with  a 
shot.  General  Prideux  sent  an  officer  with  a  flag  into  the  fort,  de 
manding  a  surrender,  which  was  very  courteously  refused  by  the 
French  commander.  On  the  9th,  but  little  transpired  beyond  the 
exchange  of  a  few  shots,  and  a  slight  advance  of  the  besiegers.  On 
the  10th,  the  English  advanced  into  the  open  ground,  protecting 
themselves  by  entrenchments,  under  an  occasional  fire  from  the  fort, 

*  He  may,  with  propriety,  be  called  the  Admiral  of  the  Lake  ;  for  -he  commanded 
the  only  sail  vessel  upon  it.  He  was  a  kind  of  fresh  water  Van  Tromp,  or  Paul 
Jones;  at  one  period,  we  hear  of  him  as  an  active  negotiator  between  the  French  and 
English,  at  Fort  du  Quesne ;  at  another,  in  the  command  of  a  scouting  party,  har- 
J-assingthe  border  settlers  of  Virginia;  at  another,  loaded  with  chains,  in  jail  at  Wil- 
liamsburgh,  from  which  he  was  liberated  by  the  humanity  of  "Washington,  who  had 
known  him  upon  the  Ohio  ;  and  lastly,  in  the  command  of  an  armed  schooner,  active 
and  brave,  in  the  French  service  on  Lake  Ontario. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S   PURCHASE.  51 

which  became  almost  incessant  during  the  night,  obliging  them  at 
times  to  suspend  their  works.  The  small  French  force  at  Schlosser, 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  fort.  On  the  llth,  a  small  party  of 
French  approached  within  a  short  distance  of  the  English  trenches, 
from  which  they  sallied  out  in  strong  force,  but  were  driven  again 
into  their  defences,  by  the  guns  of  the  fort.  At  5  P.  M.,  the  Eng 
lish  opened  their  fire  with  eight  mortars. 

The  siege  continued  from  day  to  day,  and  night  to  night,  with  oc 
casional,  but  not  long-continued  intermissions  ;  the  French,  too  few 
in  number  to  risk  a  sortie,  holding  out  valiantly  amid  the  tumbling 
walls  of  their  devoted  fortress,  seriously  annoying  the  besiegers 
by  an  active  fire,  that  often  arrested  the  progress  of  their  works,  as 
may  well  be  inferred  from  their  slow  approaches ;  wearied  with  toil 
and  want  of  rest ;  at  times,  almost  upon  the  point  of  abandoning 
the  unequal  contest.  On  the  14th,  the  besiegers  had  so  extended 
their  works,  as  to  be  enabled  to  bring  a  heavy  force  to  bear  upon 
the  fort.  On  the  evening  of  the  19th,  their  General,  (Prideux,)  who 
had  so  well  planned  the  attack,  and,  so  far,  so  well  executed  it, 
was  accidentally  killed,  while  giving  his  orders  in  the  trenches,  by 
the  premature  bursting  of  a  shell,  discharged  from  a  cohorn  mortar. 
The  vigor  with  which  the  siege  was  prosecuted,  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact,  that  in  one  night,  they  threw  three  hundred  bombs. 
Thus  things  continued  until  the  morning  of  the  23d,  when  the  be 
sieged  had  a  gleam  of  hope  that  was  destined  not  to  be  realized  :  — 
Anticipating  this  attack,  Captain  Pouchot  had  sent  runners  to 
Presque  Isle,  Le  Boeuf,  Venango,  and  Detroit,  ordering  them  with 
their  commands,  and  all  the  Indian  allies  they  could  muster,  to 
repair  to  Niagara,  At  a  moment  when  it  seemed  that  the  dilapidated 
fortress,  and  its  diminished  and  wearied  defenders  could  hold  out  no 
longer,  two  western  Indians  made  their  way  into  the  fort,  bringing 
word  from  Monsieur  Aubrey  that  he  had  arrived  with  a  force  of 
nearly  twenty-five  hundred  French  and  Indians,  at  Navy  Island, 
opposite  the  "  Little  Fort,"  (Schlosser.)  Four  Indians  were  imme 
diately  despatched,  to  inform  Monsieur  Aubrey  of  the  critical  con 
dition  of  the  fort,  and  urge  him  to  press  forward  to  its  relief. 

The  command  of  the  British  force  having  now  devolved  upon 
Sir  William  Johnson,  he  had  anticipated  the  approach  of  the 
French  and  Indians  from  the  West,  and  kept  himself  carefully  ad 
vised  of  their  movements,  by  means  of  his  Indian  runners.  On 


52  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

the  evening  of  the  23d,  he  sent  out  strong  detachments  of  troops, 
and  posted  them  along  on  either  side  of  the  road  leading  from  the 
fort  to  the  Falls,  about  two  miles  from  the  fort,  where  they  rested 
upon  their  arms  during  the  night.  Early  in  the  morning  of  the 
24th,  other  detachments  of  his  most  effective  troops  were  ordered 
from  the  trenches  before  the  fort,  to  re-inforce  those  already  posted 
upon  the  Niagara  River.  The  success  of  his  protracted  siege, 
now  depended  on  arresting  the  march  of  D'Aubrey. 

The  British  force  had  but  just  been  posted  for  the  encounter 
when  the  French  and  Indians,  under  D'Aubrey,  came  down  the 
river.  The  British  out-posts  fell  back,  and  joined  the  main  body. 
The  opposing  forces  were  now  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  and 
D'Aubrey  gave  the  order  for  attack.  His  western  Indian  allies, 
hitherto  principally  concealed,  swarmed  from  the  woods,  and  gave 
the  terrific  war-whoop,  at  the  same  time,  rushing  upon  the  English 
lines,  followed  by  the  French  troops.  The  British  regulars,  and 
such  provincials  as  had  seen  little  of  Indian  warfare,  quailed  for  a 
moment  in  view  of  the  fierce  onslaught ;  the  Iroquois  and  the  prac 
ticed  Indian  fighters,  among  both  regulars  and  provincials,  stood  firm. 
In  a  moment,  the  shock  was  met  as  firmly  as  it  had  been  impetu 
ously  made.  Volley  after  volley  was  discharged  upon  the  fierce 
assailants  from  the  whole  British  line,  and  from  the  Indian  flanking 
parties,  until  the  Indian  assailants  gave  way  and  left  the  field. 
Deserted  by  his  Indian  allies,  D'Aubrey  bravely  led  on  his  French 
troops  against  the  English  column,  and  was  pressing  it  vigorously, 
when  a  reinforcement  of  Johnson's  Indians  arrived  from  the  trench 
es,  and  assailed  his  flanks,  and  aided  powerfully  in  turning  the  tide 
of  battle  against  him.  Standing  firm  for  a  short  time,  and  return 
ing  the  English  and  the  Indian  fire,  he  gave  way  and  ordered  a  re 
treat,  which  soon  assumed  the  character  of  a  total  rout.  The 
English  pressed  upon  the  vanquished  and  retreating  French,  and 
made  prisoners,  or  shot  down  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  them. 
But  a  remnant  of  them  escaped  into  an  inhospitable  and  trackless 
wilderness.  D'Aubrey  and  most  of  his  principal  officers  were 
among  the  captives.  This  was  the  main  and  decisive  feature  of 
the  protracted  siege.  The  contest  was  but  of  short  duration ;  but 
long  enough,  with  the  vigor  and  desperation  with  which  it  was 
waged,  to  strew  the  ground  for  miles  with  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
combatants. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  53 

How  vivid  is  the  picture  presented  to  the  imagination,  of  this 
early  scene!  It  was  then  far,  far  away,  in  any  direction,  from  the 
abode  of  civilization.  There  were  no  spectators  of  that  sudden  clash 
of  arms,  of  that  protracted  siege  ;  all  were  participants.  Hundreds 
of  miles  beyond  the  heaviest  sounds  that  like  earthquake  shocks 
must  have  gone  out  from  the  conflict,  were  the  nearest  of  our  race, 
save  those  who  were  at  Frontenac  and  Oswego,  and  the  few  mis 
sionaries  and  traders  upon  our  interior  rivers.  The  outlet  of  vast 
inland  lakes,  the  shores  of  which  had  been  scarcely  tread  by  Euro 
peans,  hushed  to  comparative  stillness,  after  having  tumbled  over 
the  mighty  precipice,  and  madly  rushed  through  the  long  narrow 
gorge  that  succeeds,  was  rolling  past,  its  eddies  dashing  heavily 
againstlhe  shore,  moaning  a  requiem  over  the  dead  that  were  thickly 
strewn  upon  it.  Death  and  carnage,  the  smoke  of  battle,  the  gleam 
ing  of  steel,  had  chosen  for  their  theatre  a  marked  spot,  romantic 
and  beautiful  as  any  that  arrests  the  eye  of  the  tourist,  in  that  region 
of  sublime  and  gorgeous  landscapes.  There  was  the  roar  of  musket 
ry,  the  terrible  war-hoop  ;  the  groans  of  the  dying ;  the  fierce  assault 
and  firm  repulsion  ;  precipitate  retreat,  and  hot  and  deadly  pursuit ; 
the  red  warrior  loading  himself  with  trophies  of  the  tomahawk  and 
scalping  knife,  that  would  signalize  his  valor  in  the  war  dance,  or 
tale  out  his  deeds  of  blood  at  a  place  of  reward : 

"The  shout  of  battle,  the  barbarian  yell,  the  bray 
Of  disonant  instruments,  the  clang  of  arms, 
The  shrieks  of  agony,  the  groan  of  death, 
In  one  wild  uproar  and  continued  din 
Shook  the  still  air!" — SOUTIIEY. 

In  yonder  ancient  structure,  standing  out  in  bold  relief,  solitary 
and  isolated  even  now;  was  a  handful  of  brave  men,  their  numbers 
thinned,  holding  out  after  a  long  siege ;  encouraged  by  hopes  that 
were  crushed,  when  their  brave  countrymen,  deserted  by  treacher 
ous  allies,  gave  way  before  a  superior  force.  Stretched  out  upon 
yonder  plain,  in  long  lines  of  batteries  and  entrenchments,  were  the 
besiegers,  who,  advancing  from  day  to  day,  had  approached  so  near, 
that  every  shot  from  their  heavy  artillery  told  upon  the  massive 
walls  they  were  assailing. 

It  was  a  new  scene  in  the  wilderness ;  —  nature  in  her  solitudes 
and  fastnesses,  was  affrighted  ;  the  wild  beasts  -  hurried  farther  and 
farther,  into  the  recesses  of  the  forest,  or  huddled  in  their  lairs, 


54  PHELPS  ATTD   GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

trembling  as  each  successive  crash  came  upon  their  unaccustomed 
ears.  It  was  a  calm  July  morning.  The  surface  of  that  wide  ex 
panse  of  water,  smooth  and  unruffled,  mirrored  the  scene  of  fire  and 
smoke,  of  waving  banners  and  advancing  columns.  Stunning  and 
deafening  came  the  sounds  of  battle ;  —  then  a  hushed  silence,  as  if 
war  and  conquest  stood  appalled  in  view  of  the  work  of  death  they 
had  wrought ;  in  which  brief  pause  would  come  the  roar  of  the 
mighty  cataract,  rushing  in  as  if  impatient  to  riot  in  its  accustomed 
monopoly  of  sound !  The  "  great  thunderer"  was  contending  with 
its  first  rival !  High  over  all  arose  the  smoke .  of  the  two  battle 
grounds  to  the  clear  blue  heavens,  and  mingling  there  with  the  spray 
of  the  cataract,  was  carried  off' by  a  gentle  breeze  ;  and  at  the  suns 
decline,  when  the  strife  was  ended,  it  canopied  and  spanned  the  deep 
blue  waters,  —  a  bow  of  promise  and  a  harbinger  of  peace. 

The  French  in  the  Fort  had  been  close  observers  of  every  sign 
without,  and  had  seen  enough  to  make  them  apprehensive  of  the  re 
sult  upon  the  river  bank ;  but  hours  passed  by  before  they  could 
know  with  certainty  the  fate  of  the  gallant  men  who  had  been 
arrested  in  their  march  of  intended  relief.  An  Indian  scout  gained 
access  to  the  Fort  informing  them  of  Aubrey's  total  defeat  and  rout, 
and  in  a  few  minutes,  a  British  officer  entered  and  demanded  a 
surrender,  accompanying  the  demand  with  an  exhortation  from  Sir 
William  Johnson  against  the  necessity  of  further  bloodshed,  and  the 
intimation  that  his  exasperated  Indian  allies  could  not  be  prevented 
from  wreaking  vengence  upon  the  captives  if  the  fight  was  further 
prolonged.  Captain  Pouchot,  with  the  advice  and  concurrence  of 
of  his  officers,  yielded  to  fate  and  necessity ;  and  more  than  all,  per 
haps,  to  the  fearful  apprehension  that  farther  doubtful  resistance 
would  make  victims  to  savage  warfare,  of  his  unfortunate  country 
men  and  their  allies.  Terms  of  capitulation  were  agreed  upon,  hon 
orable  to  both  parties  ;  and  thus  ended  a  well  planned  and  well  con 
ducted  siege ;  stood  out  against  with  almost  unexampled  heroic 
fortitude  ;  and  thus  commenced  the  English  possession  of  Fort  Niag 
ara,  and  dominion  over  all  the  region  of  Western  New  York. 


NOTE.  —  The  battle  ground  is  upon  the  banks  of  the  Niagara  River  between  the  vil 
lages  of  Youngstown  and  Lewiston,  below  the  Five  Mile  Meadows.  Its  principal 
theatre  was  at  a  small  inlet  which  was  known  to  the  early  settlers  by  the  name  of 
"Bloody  Run."  Soon  after  1800,  when  settlement  of  that  region  commenced,  gun 
barrels,  gun  locks,  broken  swords,  bayonets  and  "  bill  axes'*  were  found  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  and  up  to  this  period,  the  plough  frequently  discloses  relics  of  the  battle. 


PHELPS  AND  GOBIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  55 

The  terms  of  capitulation  assented  to  by  Sir  William  Johnson, 
should  be  added  to  the  evidences  that  while  he  excelled  in  bravery 
and  military  foresight,  a  life  in  the  wilderness,  far  away  from  the 
incentives  and  examples  of  civilized  life,  had  not  made  him  insensi 
ble  to  the  obligations  of  humanity  and  courtesy.  Anticipating  the 
bloody  scenes  we  must  yet  pass  through,  to  conduct  the  reader  to  the' 
main  objects  of  our  narrative,  the  wish  obtrudes  itself  that  he  could 
have  been  spared  to  have  exercised  his  vast  influence  in  after  years 
in  arresting  the  tomahawk  and  the  scalping  knife.  The  vanquished 
were  allowed  to  pass  out  of  the  Fort  with  the  honors  of  war,  and  lay 
down  their  arms.  It  was  stipulated  that  the  French  officers  and 
soldiers  should  be  conducted  to  New  York,  where  comfortable  quar 
ters  should  be  furnished  them ;  that  the  females  and  children  should 
have  safe  convoy  to  the  nearest  port  of  France  ;  and  that  the  woun 
ded  should  be  taken  care  of,  and  conveyed  to  New  York  as  soon 
as  they  were  able  to  undertake  the  journey.  Upon  the  other  hand, 
Captain  Pouchot  stipulated  the  surrender  of  all  the  stores,  provisions 
and  arms,  with  which  the  garrison  had  been  well  supplied. 

The  French  that  capitulated  in  the  fort,  numbered  over  600 ;  be 
side  them,  were  the  prisoners  taken  in  the  battle  upon  the  river. 
Not  less  than  ten  commissioned  officers  were  among  the  prisoners, 
of  whom  were  the  gallant  D' Aubrey,  Captain  Pouchot,  and  two 
half-breed  sons  of  Joncaire.  In  marching  out  and  embarking  in 
batteux,  it  was  with  difficulty  they  were  saved  from  massacre  by 
the  Iroquois ;  and  only  saved  by  the  conciliatory  course  of  Sir 
William  Johnson,,  and  the  promise  to  his  turbulent  allies  of  a  liberal 
participation  in  the  spoils  of  victory ;  a  promise  that  he  fulfilled.* 

In  a  few  days,  after  holding  an  Indian  council  to  further  promote 


*  A  letter,  written  from  the  spot  soon  after  the  surrender,  preserved  in  some  old 
newspaper  files,  states  that  the  Indian  allies  were  allowed  all  the  plunder  in  the  fort, 
save  the  arras  and  ammunition.  Some  of  them,  it  is  stated,  obtained,  individually, 
plunder  to  the  value  of  £300.  Among  the  plunder,  were  large  quantities  of  French 
hatchets,  stored  there  for  Indian  trade  and  presents ;  the  same  that  are  even  now  occa 
sionally  uncovered  by  the  plough,  in  different  localities  in  this  region. 

NOTE.  —  It  has  been  truthfully  said,  that  the  last  French  and  English  war,  was  the 
school  of  the  Revolution.  Washington  first  unsheathed  his  sword  at  the  battle  of  the 
Great  Meadows,  and  won  his  first  laurels  at  Braddock's  defeat.  Putnam  was  at  Ticon- 
deroga  ;  Gates  and  Morgan  were  at  Braddock's  defeat ;  Stark  wa-s  a  young  officer  in 
a  corps  of  Provincial  Rangers ;  George  Clinton,  it  has  been  asserted,  bore  a  comini 


gion  among  the  Provincials,  in  the  siege  of  Niagara ;  and  there  are  other  names,  after 
wards  rendered  illustrious,  mingled  in  different  accounts  of  the  campaigns  agai 
Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga,  Quebec,  and  Niagara. 


commis- 
es,  after- 
campaigns  against 


56  PHELPS  AND   GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

and  strengthen  the  alliance  of  the  Iroquois,  and  detaching  a  suffi 
cient  force  to  repair  and  occupy  the  captured  fort,  Sir  William 
Johnson,  with  his  main  force  and  his  prisoners,  departed  for 
Oswego. 


CHAPTER  III. 


SIEGE    AND    CAPTURE    OF     TICONDEROGA,    CROWN    POIN'i,    QUEBEC,     AND 
MONTREAL PEACE  OF   1763' END   OF    FRENCH    DOMINION. 


WHILE  all  this  was  transpiring,  war  was  waging  with  equal  vigor, 
if  not  with  as  signal  success,  upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  upon  the  Northern  Lakes.  On  the  22d  of  July,  the  main  army 
under  General  Amherst,  arrived  at  Ticonderoga ;  and,  opening  a 
heavy  fire  upon  the  French  out-posts,  compelled  them  to  retire 
within  the  walls  of  the  fort,  leaving  their  heavy  breast-works  to 
shelter  the  besiegers  from  a  brisk  fire  they  poured  out  from  the 
strong-hold  to  which  they  had  retreated.  The  siege  and  stout  re 
sistance  continued  until  late  in  the  night  of  the  23d,  when  the 
French,  warned  by  the  formidable  preparations  the  besiegers  were 
making,  withdrew  their  main  force  to  Crown  Point,  leaving  but 
400  to  mark  their  retreat.  Seldom,  perhaps,  in  war's  annals,  has 
an  unequal  force  —  a  handiul  against  a  powerful  array  —  so  much 
annoyed  besiegers,  as  did  these  400  gallant  Frenchmen,  left,  as  it 
would  almost  seem,  for  a  sacrifice.  In  the  darkness  of  the  night,  a 
detachment  of  them  went  from  the  fort,  and  stealthily  approached 
the  English  in  their  entrenchments ;  breaking  them  up,  and  for  a 
brief  space,  creating  confusion  and  dismay.  They  held  out  in  the 
fort  for  the  two  succeeding  days,  annoying  the  besiegers  in  their 
entrenchments,  by  a  continued  well-directed  fire.  On  the  night  of 
the  26th,  the  small  force,  perceiving  that  the  English  had  planted 
themselves  strongly  within  six  hundred  yards  of  the  fort  —  that 


PHELPS  Am>  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  5T 

longer  resistance  would  be  unavailing  —  blew  up  their  magazines, 
fired  their  wooden  breast-works,  barracks  and  store-houses ;  made  a 
wreck  of  their  fortress  for  the  besiegers  to  occupy,  and  secured  a 
safe  retreat,  uninterrupted  but  by  a  pursuit  across  the  Lake,  and 
the  capture  of  16  of  their  number.  At  daylight,  on  the  morning 
of  the  27th,  the  French  flag  was  struck  down,  and  the  English  flag 
raised,  amid  smoke  and  flames,  devastation  and  ruin,  that  the  torch 
and  lusee  of  the  gallant,  but  despairing  Frenchmen,  had  left  for  the 
destruction  of  works  their  valor  could  not  save. 

The  first  work  of  Gen.  Amherst  was  the  repairing  of  the  dilapi 
dated  fortress  ;  and  in  the  mean  time  some  naval  armament  was  per 
fected  necessary  to  carrying  his  conquest  further  on,  to  Crown 
Point.  He  was  soon  however,  informed  that  that  post  was  aban 
doned,  and  that  the  enemy  had  retreated  to  Aux  Nois,  at  the  lower 
end  of  Lake  Champlain.  On  the  4th  of  August,  he  advanced  with 
his  main  army,  to  the  last  deserted  French  post.  M.  de  Bourlemagne, 
who  commanded  the  French  forces  in  that  quarter,  seemed  govern 
ed  by  the  policy  of  retarding  as  far  as  possible,  the  advance  of  the 
English  force,  whose  ultimate  destination  he  was  well  aware,  was 
Quebec ;  and  their  errand  there,  to  aid  the  besiegers  in  the  reduc 
tion  of  that  strong  hold,  and  last  hope,  of  his  king  and  country  upon 
this  continent.  At  Aux  Nois,  where  he  had  made  his  stand,  he  had 
yet  an  effective  force  of  3,500  men;  100  pieces  of  cannon;  and  a 
force  of  armed  vessels,  which  gave  him  command  of  the  Lake. 
The  English  rested  at  Crown  Point,  engaging  actively  however,,  in 
strengthening  their  feeble  naval  armament ;  occasionally  sending 
out  small  scouting  parties ;  and  preparing  in  all  things,  for  breaking 
up  the  French  in  their  plan  of  retreat.  On  the  10th  of  October, 
the  army  under  Gen.  Amherst  were  embarked,  and  after  an  ineffec 
tual  attempt  to  reach  their  destination,  in  consequence  of  high  winds 
and  storms,  were  obliged  to  seek  shelter  in  a  bay,  upon  the  western 
shore  of  the  lake,  and  remain  there  for  seven  days.  On  the  18th. 
the  troops  were  again  embarked,  and  after  encountering  another 
gale,  fell  back  to  Crown  Point.  The  season  was  now  far  advanced 
—  the  rigors  of  winter,  in  a  bleak  northern  region,  had  began  seri 
ously  to  impair  the  ability  and  energy  of  the  troops.  These  con 
siderations,  allied  to  the  probability  that  he  could  not  reach  Quebec 
until  the  contest  there  was  decided,  induced  Gen.  Amherst  to  post 
pone  further  offensive  operations  to  a  more  propitious  season. 
4 


58  PHELPS  AND   GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

The  English  squadron,  destined  for  Quebec,  had  set  sail  about 
the  middle  of  February.  The  command  of  this  expedition  was 
conferred  by  Mr.  Pitt,  upon  James  Wolf;  the  youngest  man  th-at 
had  ever  borne  the  commission  of  Major  General  in  the  British 
army ;  yet,  he  was  selected  for  by  far  the  most  difficult  service  that 
the  war  involved.  The  naval  command  was  conferred  upon  Admiral 
Saunders.  The  expedition  arrived  at  Halifax,  towards  the  close  of 
the  month  of  April.  The  force  destined  to  act  upon  land  under 
Wolf,  was  over  8,000.  From  the  first  landing  upon  the  American 
coast,  the  British  Admiral  had  anticipated  the  arrival  of  a  convoy 
from  France,  destined  for  supplies  and  men,  and  had  watched  to  in 
tercept  it,  but  it  had  eluded  his  vigilance  and  reached  Quebec. 

It  was  not  until  the  27th  of  June  that  the  imposing  force  had 
reached  the  Island  of  Orleans,  a  few  leagues  below  Quebec,  and 
disembarked.  A  recent  historian*  has  thus  eloquently  described 
the  English  commander's  first  view  of  Quebec,  and  the  task  that  lay 
before  him :  —  "  Accompanied  by  the  chief  engineer,  Major  M.  Kel 
ler,  and  an  escort  of  light  infantry,  he  pushed  on  to  the  extremity 
of  the  Island  nearest  to  Quebec.  A  magnificent  but  disheartening 
scene  lay  before  him.  On  the  summit  of  the  highest  eminence ;  on 
the  straits  of  the  great  river  from  whence  the  basin  before  him  open 
ed,  the  French  flag  waved.  The  crest  of  the  rocky  height  was 
crowned  with  formidable  works  redoubted  and  planked.  On  every 
favorable  spot,  above,  below,  on  the  rugged  assent,  were  batteries 
bristelling  with  guns.  This  strong-hold  formed  the  right  flank  of  a 
position  eight  miles  in  extent ;  the  falls  and  the  deep  and  rapid  stream 
of  the  Montmorency,  was  the  left.  The  shoals  and  rocks  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  protected  the  broad  front,  and  the  rich  vallies  of  the 
St.  Charles,  with  the  prosperous  and  beautiful  villages  of  Charles- 
burg,  and  Beauport,  gave  shelter  and  hospitality  in  the  rear.  A 
crested  bank  of  some  height  over  the  great  river,  marked  the  main 
line  of  defences  from  east  to  west,  parapets  planked  at  every  favor 
able  spot,  aided  their  natural  strength.  Crowding  on  this  embattled 
bank,  swarming  in  the  irregular  village  streets,  and  formed  in  mass 
es  on  the  hills  beyond,  were  12,000  French  and  Canadian  troops, 
led  by  the  gallant  Montcalm." 

The  scenes  that  followed  —  all  the  details  of  that  protracted  and 

*  Author  of  Conquest  of  Canada. 


PHELPS   AND    GOKHAM'S    PUPvCHASE.  59 

eventful  siege  —  form  prominent  pages  in  our  general  history.  It 
would  be  but  repeating  that  with  which  most  readers  are  familiar, 
to  give  them  a  place  in  these  local  annals. 

The  siege  commenced  on  the  29th  of  June,  and  lasted  with  but 
brief  intermissions,  until  the  18th  day  of  September.  Upon  that 
memorable  day  the  French,  after  a  gallant  resistance  —  a  holding  out 
almost  unparalelled,  considered  in  reference  to  time  and  the  fierce 
and  frequent  approaches  they  had  to  resist  — -  surrendered  the  great 
citadel  of  their  strength  in  America ;  the  Gibraltar  upon  which 
they  had  fallen  back  in  other  days  of  untoward  events  ;  the  spot 
they  had  occupied  since  Champlain  chose  it  in  1608,  as  the  seat 
and  centre  of  French  colonization. 

The  American  reader  has  been  surfeited,  through  English  sources 
principally,  with  accounts  of  the  bravery,  the  skill  and  the  fortitude, 
of  the  besiegers  and  conquerors  of  Quebec.  The  story  of  the  gal 
lant  Wolf,  the  mild,  unassuming  and  amiable  commander ;  in  whose 
character  there  is  mixed  up  the  finest  sensibilities  of  our  nature ; 
child  like  simplicity,  with  as  stern  heroism  as  Britain  can  boast  in 
her  long  catalogue  of  military  conquerors ;  his  almost  shout  of  tri 
umph,  when  the  news  reached  him  that  the  enemy  was  yielding, 
even  when  the  film  of  death  was  upon  his  eyes,  just  as  his  noble 
spirit  was  about  to  take  its  flight  far  away  from  worldly  conflict ;  — 
has  become  as  familiar  as  house-hold  words.  But  little  has  been 
said,  or  known,  in  our  language,  of  the  brave  defenders  of  the  be 
sieged  citadel ;  and  of  him  especially,  the  gallant  but  unfortunate 
Montcalm ;  whose  end  was  as  glorious  as  that  of  his  conqueror ; 
though  no  shouts  of  victory  cheered  him  upon  his  entrance  into  the 
dark  valley  of  death. 

A  recent  English  historian,*  has  in  this  respect,  set  an  example 
of  magnanimity ;  and  to  his  pages  are  we  indebted  for  much  that  is 
new  in  all  that  concerned  the  defence  of  Quebec.  From  the  mo 
ment  the  English  had  obtained  a  footing  upon  the  Island  of  Orleans, 
the  French  commander  was  like  a  noble  stag  at  bay.  Confronted 
by  a  powerful  force,  chafed  and  harrassed  in  his  preparation  for  de 
fence  ;  distrustful  as  the  result  proved  he  had  reason  to  be,  of  the 
courage  and  counsels  of  the  Governor,  Vaudreuil,  who  had  an 
immediate  command  of  the  Canadian  militia ;  his  courage  was  that 

*  Author  of  "Conquest  of  Canada." 


60  PHELPS  AND    GOTHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

of  desperation:  —  restive,  impulsive,  chivalric, to  a  fault.  Forget 
ful  of  superiority  of  rank,  he  said  to  Vaudreuil,  in  reference  to  some 
policy  he  had  pursued  :  "  You  have  sold  your  country,  but  while 
I  live  I  will  not  surrender  it  up."  Of  the  provincial  troops,  he  wrote, 
on  the  eve  of  battle  :  "My  Canadians  without  discipline,  deaf  to 
the  sound  of  the  drum,  and  badly  armed,  nothing  remains  for  them 
but  to  fly ;  and  behold  me  beaten  without  resources.  But  one  thing 
I  can  assure  you,  I  shall  not  survive  the  probable  loss  of  the  colony. 
There  are  times  when  a  general's  only  resource  is  to  die  with  honor ; 
this  is  such  a  time.  No  stain  shall  rest  upon  my  memory.  But  in 
defeat  and  death  there  is  consolation  left.  The  loss  of  the  colony 
will  one  day  be  of  more  value  to  my  country,  than  a  victory.  The 
conqueror  shall  here  find  a  tomb ;  his  aggrandizement  shall  prove 
his  ultimate  ruin/'* 

Never  did  the  general  of  an  army,  or  the  defender  of  a  citadel 
have  more  upon  his  hands.  There  was  disaffection  among  the 
militia  to  conciliate  ;  desertion  to  prevent ;  a  scanty  and  bad  supply 
of  provisions  to  obviate,  with  but  feeble  prospects  of  obtaining  new 
supplies ;  an  unreaped  harvest  wasting  in  the  fields,  for  the  preser 
vation  of  which  he  was  obliged  to  spare  2,000  of  his  men  at  a  crit 
ical  moment;  the  supply  of  ammunition  was  scanty;  the  vigorous 
and  almost  incessant  prosecution  of  the  seige,  left  him  with  little 
of  that  confidence  which  is  essential  to  efficient  action.  His  co- 
operator,  and  superior,  (Vaudreuil,)  was  but  a  clog  upon  his  move 
ments.  Yet  he  manfully  and  heroically  contended  against  impend 
ing  and  fearfully  foreshadowed  fate.  He  compelled  obedience  to 
his  orders  by  iron  rules  and  summary  inflictions  of  severe  penalties  ; 
inspired  by  his  determined  impetuous  bearing,  terror,  where  duty 
and  courage  failed  or  flagged ;  moved  from  point  to  point  issuing 
his  orders ;  here  to  repair  a  breach,  there  to  prevent  desertion  ;  and 
.there,  to  push  forward  attacking  columns. 

"  I  am  safe,"  said  he  on  the  12th  of  September,  "unless  Wolf  lands 
above  the  town.'"'  Even  then,  there  was  a  movement  with  the  Brit 
ish  force  to  gain  the  position,  from  the  possession  of  which  he  had 
impliedly  foretold  his  ruin. 


*  There  is  some  difficulty  in  determining  to  what  event  this  looked  forward  :  —  If 
to  defeat  and  expulsion  from  the  region  the  English  were  conquering,  it  has  not  been 
realized.  If  it  meant  that  the  war  that  was  then  waging  would  pave  the  way  to  the 
loss  of  most  of  the  American  Colonies,  it  was  singularly  and  truthfully  prophetic. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  61 

While  he  was  listening  to  the  sound  of  cannon  from  an  unexpec 
ted  quarter,  a  horseman  came  to  him  in  full  speed,  and  announced 
that  the  English  were  occupying  the  plains  of  Abraham.  He 
aroused  a  sleeping  and  wearied  soldiery,  and  by  prompt  action  had 
them  soon  hurrying  in  long  lines  over  the  valley  of  the  St.  Charles 
to  the  battle  ground.  Incredulous  at  first,  that  the  besiegers  had 
ventured  and  succeeded  in  gaining  the  rugged  ascent  —  almost  be 
lieving  it  a  feint;  —  when  convinced  of  its  reality  he  nerved  him 
self  for  the  decisive  contest  which  he  knew  had  come.  The  hour 
of  conflict  found  him  at  the  head  of  his  army ;  as  Wolf  was  of  his. 
Where  danger  was  most  imminent,  he  was  to  be  found ;  flying  from 
column  to  column,  inspiring  confidence  by  his  presence  and  infusing 
into  his  ranks,  a  desperate  courage  that  England's  veteran  troops  had 
no  where  before  contended  with.  At  one  moment,  simultaneously  al 
most,  as  if  each  charge  was  exploded  by  an  electric  circuit,  came  a 
volley  from  the  drawn  up  columns  of  the  British  lines.  The  French 
were  swept  down  like  forest  trees  before  a  whirlwind.  Upon  this 
hand,  fell  his  second  in  command,  upon  the  other,  one  of  his  bravest 
generals ;  the  day  and  the  battle,  the  citadel  and  an  Empire  was  al 
ready  lost ;  and  yet  Montcalm  was  undismayed.  Recoiling  from 
the  shock,  like  hardened  steel  that  has  been  bent  almost  to  breaking, 
again  he  collected  his  scattered  forces  and  presented  a  bold  front 
to  the  enemy.  Then  came  another  terrible  fire  from  the  British 
lines,  and  with  it  a  charge,  such  as  has  but  few  parallels  in  the  his 
tories  of  battles.  Overcome,  trampled  down,  yielding  and  flying  in 
every  direction,  was  the  whole  French  force.  Amid  this  scene  of 
death  and  carnage,  Montcalm  died  as  he  had  hoped  he  should ; 
when-  h&  could  no  longer  resist  the  march  of  the  invader.  He  fell 
mortally  wounded  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  that  he  was  in  vain  at 
tempting  to  rally  and  make  stand  firm,  in  the  face  of  a  fire  and  a 
charge,  incessant  and  desperate.  When  the  surgeon  had  examined 
his  wound,  he  told  him  it  was  mortal.  "  I  am  glad  of  it,"  said  he, 
"  how  long  can  I  survive  ?  "  "  Perhaps  a  day,  perhaps  less/'  was 
the  reply  of  the  surgeon.  "  So  much  the  better,"  replied  Montcalm, 
"  I  shall  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of  Quebec."  It  is  given  on 
the  atuhority  of  a  British  officer,  who  was  present  at  the  siege  of 
Quebec,  that  Montcalm,  in  his  last  moments,  paid  a  high  compliment 
to  his  conquerors  ;  and  at  the  same  time  bitterly  reflected  upon  his 
own  troops.  That  he  said :  "  If  I  could  survive  this  wound,  I  would 


62  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

engage  to  beat  three  times  the  number  of  such  forces  as  I  comman 
ded  this  morning,  with  a  third  of  their  number  of  British  troops." 

The  siege  continued.  On  the  17th,  when  the  British  fleet  had 
prepared  to  attack  the  lower  town,  and  118  guns  were  mounted  up 
on  the  British  batteries,  ready  to  opsn  a  fire,  there  came  from  the 
besieged  city  a  stipulation  to  surrender,  if  no  reinforcements  came 
before  the  next  morning.  This  was  in  anticipation  of  the  arrival 
of  French  troops  from  Montreal  that  had  been  ordered  down.  In  the 
mean  time,  Vaudreuil  had  retreated  with  his  immediate  command  at 
Montmorency,  as  had  also  another  large  division  of  the  French 
army,  under  De  Bougainville,  that  had  been  posted  at  another  point. 
They  retired  to  Port  aux  Trembles.  When  the  Governor  of  Mon 
treal  came  down  and  joined  them,  it  was  agreed  to  send  encoura 
ging  words  to  M.  de  Ramsay,  the  Governor  of  Quebec,  urging  him 
to  hold  out  against  the  siege.  The  courier  reached  the  besieged  city 
on  the  day  —  the  18th  of  September  —  in  the  morning  of  which  it 
had  surrendered. 

The  English  army  took  possession  of  Quebec,  and  the  French 
army  retired  to  Three  Rivers  and  Montreal.  Thus  ended  the 
campaign  in  that  quarter,  for  the  season  of  1759.  Its  results  had 
been  the  conquest  of  Quebec,  Crown  Point,  Ticonderoga,  and 
Niagara.  Occupying  these  vantage  grounds,  the  English  may 
well  be  supposed  to  have  surmounted  the  most  formidable  barriers 
against  the  complete  success  of  the  campaign ;  yet,  on  the  part  of 
the  French  colonists,  the  stake  they  were  contending  for,  was  too 
large  —  the  issue  was  too  momentous  — •  to  admit  of  entire  surrender, 
as  long  as  there  was  the  least  chance  of  winning. 

M.  de  Levi,  the  Governor  of  Montreal,  had  succeeded  Montcalm 
as  commander-in-chief.  The  French  army,  during  the  winter  of 
1759,  '60,  had  been  reinforced  by  six  thousand  militia,  and  a  large 

NOTE.  —  The  author  of  the  "Conquest  of  Canada,"  says:  —  "Under  some  mysteri 
ous  and  incomprehensible  impulse,  Montcalm  at  once  determined  to  meet  his  danger 
ous  enemy  in  the  open  field.  To  account  for  this  extraordinary  resolution,  is  impossi 
ble.  Had  the  French  General  thrown  himself  into  Quebec,  he  might  have  securely 
defied  his  assailants  from  behind  its  ramparts,  till  winter  drove  them  away.  But  a 
short  time  before,  he  had  recorded  his  deliberate  conviction,  that  he  could  not  face  the 
British  army  in  a  general  engagement.  He  was  well  aware  that  all  the  efforts  of  his 
indefatigable  enemy  had  been  throughout  exerted  to  bring  on  an  action  upon  any 
terms  :  and  yet,  at  length,  on  an  open  plain,  without  even  waiting  for  his  artillery, 
unaided  by  any  advantage  of  position,  he  threw  the  rude  Canadian  militia  against  the 
veterans  of  England.  Once,  and  once  only,  in  a  successful  and  illustrious  career,  did 
this  gallant  Frenchman  forget  his  wisdom  and  his  military  skill.  But  that  one  tremen 
dous  error  led  hirn  to  defeat  and  death.' 


PIIELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.  63 

body  of  Indians.  In  April,  as  soon  as  the  upper  portion  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  was  open  enough  to  admit  of  the  transportation  of 
his  artillery,  heavy  baggage,  and  military  stores,  M.  de  Levi  re 
solved  upon  a  descent  and  an  attempt  to  re-conquer  Quebec.  It 
was  a  rash  attempt,  but  he  relied  much  upon  the  effects  a  cold  win 
ter  had  had  in  reducing  and  enfeebling  the  British  force,  that  had 
been  left  at  Quebec ;  and  in  fact,  shut  up  as  they  had  been,  but 
scantily  supplied  with  salt  provisions,  death  and  disability  had  fear 
fully  thinned  their  ranks.  The  defence  had  devolved  upon  Gen. 
Murray.  On  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  April,  M.  de  Levi  had 
posted  his  strong  force  within  three  miles  of  Quebec.  The  British 
General,  fully  aware  that  investment,  for  any  considerable  period,  in 
the  condition  of  his  army,  would  be  equally  as  fatal  as  defeat,  re 
solved  to  follow  the  example  of  Montcalm.  His  unequal  force  was 
marched  out,  and  an  attack  commenced.  After  a  desperate  fight, 
and  the  loss,  in  killed  and  wounded,  of  nearly  one-third  of  his  army, 
he  retired  within  the  walls.  M.  de  Levi  followed  up  his  success, 
approaching  and  strongly  entrenching ;  the  lost  citadel  was  apparent 
ly  within  his  grasp;  when  a  small,  but  efficient  English  fleet  came 
up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  made  quick  work  in  destroying  and  cap 
turing  the  whole  French  armament ;  a  new  spirit  was  infused  in  the 
English  camp ;  and  M.  de  Levi,  with  hopes  so  suddenly  crushed, 
made  a  hasty  retreat  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  guns,  amunition,  stores, 
and  entrenching  tools.  Thus  ended  an  expedition  that  the  chagrined 
Canadians  stigmatized  as  "  de  Levi's  folly." 

On  his  way  to  Niagara,  Prideux  had  left  Col.  Haldimand  in  com 
mand  at  Oswego.  On  the  4th  of  July,  the  fort  was  besieged  by  a 
large  force  of  Canadian  militia  and  Indians,  under  the  command  of 
M.  de  la  Corne.  A  surprise  was  attempted  and  failed,  the  garrison, 
being  forewarned,  was  ready  for  their  reception,  and  opened  a  fire 
upon  the  besiegers,  which  compelled  a  dispersion.  An  attempt  to 
burn  the  English  boats  in  the  harbor  failed,  and  the  besiegers  re- 
crossed  the  Lake. 

The  English  opened  the  campaign  in  1760,  to  complete  their  con 
quest.  Early  in  May,  Gen.  Amherst  had  collected  a  large  force  at 
Oswego.  Two  armed  vessels  succeeded  in  forcing  all  the  French 
armament  upon  the  Lake  to  take  refuge  among  the  "  Thousand 
Isles."  The  army  at  Oswego  consisted  of  over  10,000;  allied  to 
which,  were  700  Indians  that  Sir  William  Johnson  had  brought  into 


64  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  field.  The  main  army  under  Gen.  Amherst,  went  down  the 
Lake,  and  the  St.  Lawrence ;  a  detachment  under  Col.  Haviland 
going  via  Lake  Charnplain  to  Crown  Point,  to  be  joined  by  the  force 
stationed  there.  The  first  point  of  attack  was  the  small  garrison 
upon  Isle  Royal,  commanded  by  captain  Pouchot.  That  surrender 
ed  after  a  spirited  resistance.  Here  the  Indian  allies  mostly  deser 
ted,  or  marched  off  in  a  body,  chagrined  at  Amherst  and  Johnson's 
refusal  to  allow  them  to  massacre  the  whole  French  garrison,  as 
they  had  intended.  After  a  perilous  passage  down  the  St.  Lawrence, 
in  which  80  men  and  60  boats  were  lost,  Amherst's  army  landed 
nine  miles  from  Montreal  on  the  6th  of  September.  Murray,  with 
all  his  disposable  force,  had  left  Quebec  and  sailed  up  the  St.  Law 
rence  on  the  14th  of  June.  As  an  evidence  how  stiong,  was  yet 
the  attachment  of  the  Canadians  to  the  French  interests  —  even  in 
this  hour  where  there  was  little  hope,  it  is  mentioned  that  Murray's 
force  was  constantly  annoyed  by  guerrilla  attacks  from  the  banks  of 
the  river,  as  they  ascended.  After  a  slow  passage,  delayed  in  expect 
ation  of  being  joined  by  fresh  troops  from  England,  the  squadron 
reached  the  Island  of  Montreal  on  the  7th  of  September,  and  were 
disembarked.  Col.  Haviland  having  come  down  Lake  Champlain, 
captured  the  post  at  Isle  Aux  Nois,  to  which  the  French  had  re 
treated  before  Amherst,  the  previous  season,  was  near  at  hand,  and 
reached  the  Island  on  the  8th. 

Under  Amherst,  Murray  and  Haviland,  there  was  now  an 
English  force  of  16,000  effective  troops.  With  but  little  delay,  in 
view  of  so  formidable  an  army  of  besiegers,  M  de  Vaudreuil  surren 
dered  Montreal  and  signed  articles  of  capitulation,  which  included, 
all  of  Canada,  western  New  York,  and  to  the  extent  of  the  French 
claims  at  the  west. 

If  any  thing  excused  the  French  Governor,  Vaudreuil,  for  so  sud 
den  a  surrender,  it  was  the  favorable  terms  he  exacted  from  the  be 
siegers,  which  were  conceded  to,  as  a  better  alternative,  than  the 
shedding  of  more  blood,  of  which  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  the  shores  of  the  Lakes,  had  already  seen  enough  to  satiate  the 
most  morbid  desire  for  human  sacrifice,  in  the  respective  countries 
to  which  the  thousands  of  victims  owed  allegiance.  The  foreign 
French  troops ;  the  civil  officers,  their  families  and  baggage ;  were 
to  be  sent  home  in  English  vessels ;  the  troops  under  parol,  to  serve 
no  more  during  the  war.  The  militia  were  allowed  to  return  to 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  65 

their  homes.  The  French  colonists  were  to  enjoy  the  same  privi 
leges  and  immunities  as  British  subjects.  The  Indians  that  had  ad 
hered  to  the  French  interests,  were  to  be  unmolested,  and  disturbed 
in  no  right  they  had  enjoyed  under  French  dominion. 

Thus  terminated  French  dominion  upon  this  continent,  which 
had  existed  for  a  century  and  a  half.  How  badly  was  all  that  time 
improved !  The  sympathies  which  are  naturally  excited  by  a  peru 
sal  of  all  the  details  of  the  final  contest ;  the  misfortunes  and  casual 
ties,  we  may  well  call  them,  that  one  after  another  baffled  the  arms 
of  France,  and  paralized  the  arms  of  as  brave  men  as  were  ever 
trained  in  her  armies ;  shutting  them  up  in  fortresses ;  closing  the 
avenues  by  which  succor  could  reach  them,  with  ice 'and  snow,  or 
adverse  winds  ;  cutting  off  reinforcements  in  their  march  of  relief; 
disease  prostrating  them,  and  famine  staring  them  in  the  face,  while 
hosts  of  armed  men  were  thundering  at  their  gates,  and  their  strong 
walls  were  swaying  and  trembling  over  their  heads ;  are  in  a  mea 
sure  abated  by  the  reflection,  that  they  so  long  held  dominion  over 
as  fine  a  region  as  arms  ever  conquered,  or  enterprise  ever  reach 
ed,  and  were  so  unmindful  of  the  value  of  their  possession.  An 
occupancy  of  five  generations,  and  how  little  did  it  leave  behind  of 
its  impress !  How  little  was  done  for  France !  how  little  for  man 
kind! 

There  was  in  Canada,  (East,)  the  two  considerable  cities  of 
Quebec  and  Montreal,  and  a  few  small  villages  upon  the  St.  Law 
rence.  In  their  vicinities,  upon  the  most  favorable  soils,  there  was 
an  agricultural  population,  but  little  more  than  supplying  their  own 
food.  In  Canada,  (West,)  but  a  small  garrison  at  Frontenac,  (Kings 
ton,)  with  a  little  agricultural  improvement  in  its  immediate  neigh 
borhood  ;  a  small  trading  station  at  Toronto ;  and  a  few  missionary 
and  trading  stations  in  the  interior,  and  upon  Lake  Huron.  In 
western  New  York,  the  valley  of  the  Lakes,  and  the  upper  vallies 
of  the  Mississippi,  over  all  of  which  the  French  claimed  dominion, 
there  was  but  fur  trading  and  missionary  stations  ;  with  few  excep 
tions  of  agricultural  enterprise ;  by  far  the  most  considerable  of 
which,  was  upon  a  narrow  strip  upon  the  Detroit  river. 

There  is  much  that  is  admirable  in  the  French  Missionary  enter- 
prize  in  all  the  region  they  occupied.  The  world  has  no  where 
seen  as  much  of  devotion,  of  self-sacrifice,  of  courage,  perseverance 
and  endurance.  A  host  of  gifted  men  who  had  left  the  highest 


66  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

walks  of  civilization  and  refinement,  which  they  had  helped  to- 
adorn,  took  up  their  abode  in  the  wilderness,  in  rude  huts  ;  here  and 
there,  upon  the  banks  of  lakes  and  rivers,  where  there  were  none 
of  even  the  foot  prints  of  civilization,  save  their  own.  Solitary  and 
alone,  they  wrestled  with  the  rude  savage ;  displayed  the  cross, 
the  emblem  of  salvation,  to  his  wondering  gaze,  and  disarmed  his 
fierce  resentments  by  mild  persuasion  ;  adapting  themselves  to  his 
condition,  and  inducting  him  into  the  sublime  mysteries  of  a  re 
ligion  of  peace  and  universal  brotherhood.  Each  missionary  was 
a  wanderer:  —  ice,  snow,  swollen  streams,  winds  and  tempests, 
summer's  heats  and  winter's  chills,  were  to  him  no  hindrances,  when 
duty  and  devotion  urged  him  onward.  Inured  to  toil  and  priva 
tion,  a  small  parcel  of  parched  corn  and  a  bit  of  jerked  beef,  would 
be  his  only  sustenance  in  long  journeys  through  the  forests,  seeking 
new  fields  of  missionary  labor.  Often  were  they  martyrs  —  there 
are  few  localities  in  all  the  vast  region  they  traversed,  where  one  or 
more  of  them  did  not  yield  up  his  life  as  an  earnest  of  his  faith.  — 
As  often  as  they  perished  by  the  tomahawk,  the  rigors  of  the  cli 
mate,  exposure,  fatigue  or  disease,  their  ranks  were  supplied.  Like 
disciplined  soldiers,  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  one  after  ano-ther,  would 
fill  ranks,  the  vacancy  of  which  would  admonish  them  of  danger. 

And  where  are  now  the  evidences  of  all  these  long  years  of  mis 
sionary  enterprize,  zeal  and  martyrdom  ?  In  the  small  villages  of 
Western  New  York,  which  now  contain  remnants  of  the  once 
powerful  Iroquois,  there  is  the  form  of  the  cross  in  their  silver  or 
naments,  and  around  the  western  Lakes  and  Rivers,  the  traveller 
may  see  in  addition  to  this,  occasionally,  a  rude  cross,  over  an  Indian 
grave.  This  is  all  that  is  left,  save  written  records,  to  remind  us  of 
that  extraordinary,  long  continued,  missionary  advent.  All  else 
faded  away  with  the  decline  of  French  power.  The  good  mission 
ary,  wrorn  out  in  the  service,  either  rested  from  his  labors  under  the 
mould  of  the  forests  he  had  penetrated,  or  retired  when  the  flag  of 
his  country  no  longer  gave  him  confidence  and  protection.  The 
treaty  of  1763  forbid  any  recruits  of  his  order.  In  his  absence, 
his  simple  neophytes  soon  forgot  his  teachings.  The  symbols  of 
his  faith  no  longer  reminded  them  of  the  "glad  tidings"  he  had 
proclaimed.  Tradition  even  of  his  presence,  has  become  obscure. 

Never  perhaps,  was  rejoicing  in  England,  as  universal  and  enthu 
siastic,  as  when  the  news  of  the  conquest  of  Quebec  —  the  con- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  67 

quest  of  Canada  as  it  was  rightly  construed  —  reached  there. 
High  expectations  of  the  value  and  importance  of  the  French  pos 
sessions  had  been  raised  ;  and  hatred  of  the  French  had  become  a 
universal  public  sentiment.  A  series  of  defeats  and  misfortunes 
that  had  previously  attended  the  British  arms  in  this  quarter;  in  the 
war  then  waging,  had  disposed  the  people  of  England  to  make  the 
most  of  victories  when  they  finally  came.  A  public  thanksgiving 
was  proclaimed,  pageants  upon  land  and  water  succeeded,  with 
bonfires  and  illuminations.  The  victory  was  the  theme  of  the  press 
and  the  pulpit,  of  the  poet  and  the  player.  Mingled  with  all  this, 
was  mourning  for  the  brave  men  that  had  perished  in  the  long  suc 
cession  of  conflicts,  or  rather  the  reverse  of  the  picture,  was  the 
funeral  pageant,  the  widow's  and  the  orphan's  tears,  the  hearths 
made  desolate.  When  the  remains  of  the  lamented  Wolf  were 
carried  home  and  conveyed  to  Greenwich  cemetry,  there  was  a 
solemn  and  imposing  hiatus  in  the  national  jubilee  ;  —  but  that  over, 
England  became  again  joyous  in  view  of  an  immense  accession  of 
empire,  and  the  triumph  of  its  armies. 

We  know  how  wrell  it  is  ordered  for  us,  as  individuals,  that  a 
curtain  is  drawn  between  the  present  and  the  future ;  that  our  pres 
ent  happiness  is  unalloyed  by  any  taste  of  the  bitter  drugs  that  are 
concealed  even  in  the  cup  of  bliss.  So  with  nations,  if  they  could 
always  see  the  tendency  and  the  end  of  events,  there  would  have 
been  less  rejoicing  at  the  triumphs  of  arms.  How  would  it  have 
appalled  England  ;  how  would  her  King,  her  Statesmen,  sitting  un 
der  triumphal  arches,  or  holding  saturnalias  at  festive  boards,  have 
been  affrighted  and  dismayed,  if  some  prophetic  hand  had  inscribed 
upon  their  walls:  —  "You  HAVE  GAINED  A  PROVINCE  AND  LOST  AN 
EMPIRE  ! " 

And  such  was  the  destiny ;  —  crowding  into  a  brief  space,  the 
cause  and  the  effect,  the  triumph  and  its  consequences.  Illy  fitted 
for  the  great  task  that  was  before  them,  would  the  feeble  colonies 
have  been,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  in  the  absence 
of  the  apprenticeship  in  the  trade  of  war,  that  the  last  French  and 
English  war  upon  this  continent  afforded.  What  better  discipline 
could  men  have  had  ;  what  better  experience,  to  inure  them  to  toil, 
privation  and  danger,  than  was  had  in  the  expeditions  to  the  Ohio 
and  the  Allegany,  the  siege  of  Louisburg,  Quebec,  Montreal, 
Crown  Point  and  Niagara?  Every  campaign  was  a  school  far 


68  PHELPS  AND  GOKIIAM'S  PUECHASE. 

better  than  West  Point  and  Annapolis.  Mingled  in  all  these  were 
the  colonists  of  New  York  and  New  England,  New  Jersey,  Penn 
sylvania,  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Out  of  the  ranks  of  those  retired 
armies,  came  a  host  of  the  efficient  men,  who,  upon  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Revolution,  so  well  convinced  their  military  instructors  of 
the  proficiency  they  had  made  under  their  tuition.  The  military 
skill  and  genius  necessary  to  organize  armies,  the  courage  and  chiv 
alry  necessary  to  lead  them  to  triumph,  which  had  been  inert,  was 
aroused  in  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  French  war ;  its  succession 
of  splendid  triumphs.  England  had  made  war  a  profession  with  a 
large  number  of  the  colonists,  little  thinking  where  would  be  the 
field  and  what  the  occasion  of  its  practice.  In  the  prosecution  of 
the  French  war,  England  had  fearfully  augmented  its  public  debt ; 
in  an  hour  of  evil  councils,  against  the  protestations  of  her  wisest 
statesmen,  taxation  of  the  colonies  was  added  to  the  burthens,  the 
privations  and  sufferings  that  had  borne  so  heavily  upon  them. 
And  it  may  be  added,  that  a  handful  of  feeble  colonies  would  hardly 
have  ventured  to  strike  a  blow  for  separation,  as  long  as  the  French 
held  dominion  here.  Independence  achieved,  the  colonies  would 
necessarily  have  had  to  assume  the  relative  condition  that  England 
bore  with  France.  They  would  have  assumed  England's  quarrels, 
growing  out  of  unsettled  boundaries  and  disputed  dominions. 

Had  there  been  no  English  conquest  of  French  dominions,  the 
separation  of  the  colonies,  if  realized  at  all,  would  have  been  an 
event  far  removed  from  the  period  in  which  it  was  consummated. 
France  surrendered  her  splendid  possessions  in  America,  sullenly 
and  grudgingly,  yielded  to  destiny  and  a  succession  of  untoward 
events,  hoping  for  some  event  —  some  "tide  in  the  affairs  of  men," 
that  would  wrest  from  England's  Crown  the  bright  jewel  she  had 
picked  up  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  bathed  in  blood ;  and 
which  she  was  displaying  with  a  provoking  air  of  triumph.  It 
came  more  speedily  than  the  keenest  eye  of  prophecy  could  have 
foreseen.  In  a  little  more  than  twenty  years  after  the  fall  of  Que 
bec,  La  Fayette,  Rochambeau,  Chastelleux,  D'Estang,  M.  de  Choisy, 
Viomenil,  de  Grasse,  M.  de  St.  Simon,  and  a  host  of  gallant  French 
men  beside,  saw  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis  at  Yorktown ;  an 
event  as  crowning  and  decisive,  in  the  loss  of  an  empire,  as  was 
the  surrender  of  Quebec,  in  the  loss  of  a  colony. 


PHELP3    AND    GOKHAM7S    PURCHASE.  69 


CHAPTER   IV. 


ENGLISH  DOMINION' BORDER  WARS  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


FROM  the  end  of  French  dominion  in  Western  New  York,  to 
the  close  of  the  Revolution,  constituted  a  period  of  twenty-four 
years ;  the  events  of  which,  having  an  immediate  bearing  upon  our 
local  region,  must  be  crowded  into  a  space  too  limited  for  elaborate 
detail ;  allowing  of  but  little  more  than  what  is  necessary  to  pre 
vent  a  break  in  the  chain  of  events  that  leads  us  to  the  main  de 
sign  of  the  work  in  hand. 

Little  of  historical  interest  occurred  previous  to  the  Revolution. 
The  English  would  seem  to  have  made  no  better  use  of  the  rich 
prize  that  the  fortunes  of  war  had  thrown  into  their  hands,  than  had 
their  French  predecessors.  Settlements  made  the  advance  of  but 
a  day's  walk,  and  occupancy  in  any  form,  west  of  the  lower  valley 
of  the  Mohawk,  was  but  the  fortresses  of  Oswego  and  Niagara,  and 
small  English  trading  establishments,  that  had  succeeded  those  of 
the  French.  The  rich  soil,  that  has  made  this  region  the  prosper 
ous  home  of  hundreds  of  thousands;  in  which  lay  dormant  the 
elements  of  more  enduring  wealth  than  would  have  been  the  rich 
est  "  placers  "  of  California,  had  no  attractions  for  their  adventur 
ers,  and  were  without  the  narrow  circle  of  enterprize  that  bound 
ed  the  views  of  colonial  governors  and  legislators. 

The  change  of  occupants  does  not  seem  to  have  pleased  the 
Senecas.  Scarcely  had  the  English  got  a  foothold  in  their  coun 
ty,  before  a  war  was  commenced  by  an  attack  upon  a  British 
wagon-train  and  its  guard,  as  they  were  passing  over  the  Portage 
from  Lewiston  to  Schlosser.  A  tragical  event  that  has  much 
prominence  in  the  local  reminiscences  of  that  region.  This  was 
followed  by  an  attack  upon  a  detachment  of  British  soldiers  at 
Black  Rock,  on  their  way  from  Niagara  to  Detroit.  Sir  William 
Johnson,  in  his  official  correspondence,  called  the  Senecas  a  "trou 
blesome  people." 


70  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PUECIIASE. 

All  of  English  dominion  west  of  Albany,  other  than  its  military 
posts,  was  a  "  one  man  power ;"  and  before  proceeding  farther,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  give  some  account  of  that  one  man,  who  has 
alreadv,  incidentally,  been  introduced  in  our  narrative. 


SIR  WILLIAM  JOHNSON. 

He  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  of  a  good  family,  and  was  well  edu 
cated.  Soon  after  he  became  of  age,  in  1737  or  '8,  he  came  to 
America  as  the  land  agent  of  his  uncle,  Sir  Peter  Warren,  an  Ad 
miral  in  the  English  navy,  who  had  acquired  a  considerable  tract  of 
land  upon  the  Mohawk,  in  the  present  county  of  Montgomery.  He 
located  a  few  miles  from  the  present  village  of  Port  Jackson.  Of  a 
romantic  disposition,  and  having  acquired,  from  the  unsuccessful 
termination  of  a  love  affair  in  his  native  country,  some  distaste  for 
civilized  society,  which  he  was  well  qualified  to  adorn,  he  had  not 
been  long  a  resident  in  the  backwoods  of  America,  when  he  had 
determined  upon  permament  settlement.  He  formed  an  exception 
to  a  large  majority  of  his  countymen,  in  the  ease  and  facility  with 
which  he  exchanged  the  refinements  of  civilized  society  for  life  in 
the  woods,  with  few  but  the  native  Indians  for  neighbors  or  associ 
ates.  No  Frenchman  ever  sit  himself  down  upon  the  borders  of 
our  western  lakes,  alone  of  all  his  race,  in  the  midst  of  Indian  wig 
wams,  and  sooner  merged  and  blended  himself  with  all  about  him. 
Says  the  London  Gentleman's  Magazine,  (1755) :  — "Besides  his 
skill  and  experience  as  an  officer,  he  is  particularly  happy  in  making 
himself  beloved  by  all  sorts  of  people,  and  can  conform  to  all  com 
panies  and  conversations.  He  is  very  much  the  fine  gentleman  in 
genteel  company.  But  as  the  inhabitants  next  to  him  are  mostly 
Dutch,  he  sits  down  with  them  and  smokes  his  tobacco,  drinks  flip, 
and  talks  of  improvements,  bear  and  beaver  skins.  Being  surround 
ed  with  Indians,  he  speaks  several  of  their  languages  well,  and  has 
always  some  of  them  with  him.  He  takes  care  of  their  wives  and 
old  Indians,  when  they  go  out  on  parties,  and  even  wears  their 
dress.  In  short,  by  his  honest  dealings  with  them  in  trade,  and  his 
courage,  which  has  often  been  successfully  tried  with  them,  and  his 
courteous  behavior,  he  has  so  endeared  himself  to  them,  that  they 
chose  him  one  of  their  chief  Sachems,  or  Princes,  and  esteem  him 
as  their  father." 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  71 

He  was  just  the  man  the  English  government  required  in  the 
contest  they  were  waging  with  the  French;  and  he  had  not  been 
long  in  the  Mohawk  valley,  before  he  became  its  Indian  agent,  and 
the  dispenser  of  its  gifts,  which  added  to  his  personal  popularity 
with  the  Indians,  gave  him  an  influence  over  them  greater  than 
any  one  of  our  own  race  has  ever  possessed.  He  was  the  first 
Englishman  to  contend,  with  any  great  measure  of  success,  with 
French  Indian  diplomacy ;  their  governors,  missionaries  and  tra 
ders. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  last  English  and  French  war  upon 
this  continent,  he  was  made  a  General  of  colonial  militia,  and  by 
virtue  of  a  leadership  that  had  been  created  by  the  Iroquois,  he  was 
head  warrior  of  all  of  them  that  inclined  to  the  English  interests. 
His  first  military  service,  was  to  head  the  formidable  expedition 
against  Crown  Point,  in  which  he  was  the  vanquisher  of  the  Baron 
Dieskeu.  For  this  signal  service,  he  was  made  a  Baronet.  The 
other  prominent  event  in  his  military  career,  was  the  siege  and  con 
quest  of  Fort  Niagara,  which  mainly  devolved  upon  him,  by  the 
death  of  his  superior  in  command,  Gen.  Prideaux. 

The  gifts  of  his  sovereign,  and  the  facilities  he  enjoyed  for  pur 
chasing  Indian  lands,  made  him  the  possessor  of  great  wealth,  which, 
with  his  military  honors,  the  partiality  of  his  countrymen,  and  his 
great  influence  with  the  Indians,  rendered  him  as  near  a  Prince  as 
any  thing  the  backwoods  of  America  have  witnessed.  * 

After  the  close  of  the  French  war,  as  a  British  agent,  he  held 
treaties  and  negotiated  with  the  Iroquois,  and  some  of  the  western 
nations,  all  of  the  territorial  acquisitions  in  middle  New  York,  north 
ern  Pennsylvania,  and  upon  the  Ohio  River,  that  was  made  pre- 


*  "  He  built  two  spacious  and  convenient  residences  on  the  Mohawk  River,  known 
afterwards  as  Johnson  Castle  and  Johnson  Hall.  The  Hall  was  his  summer  residence. 
Here  this  singular  man  lived  like  a  little  sovereign,  kept  an  excellent  table  for  strangers 
and  officers,  whom  the  course  of  their  duty  now  led  into  these  wilds  ;  and  by  con 
fiding  entirely  in  the  Indians,  and  treating  them  with  unwearied  truth  and  justice 
without  even  yielding  to  solicitations  he  had  once  refused,  he  taught  them  to  repose 
entire  confidence  in  him.  So  perfect  was  his  dependence  on  those  people,  whom  his 
fortitude  and  other  manly  virtues  had  attached  1o  him,  that  when  they  returned  from 
their  summer  excursions  and  exchanged  their  last  year  furs  for  fire  arms,  (fee.,  they 
used  to  pass  a  few  days  at  the  Castle,  when  his  family  and  most  of  his  domestics  were 
down  at  the  Hall.  There  they  were  all  liberally  entertained  by  Sir  William ,  and  500 
of  them  have  been  known,  for  nights  together,  after  drinking  pretty  freely,  to  lie 
around  him  on  the  ground,  while  he  was  the  only  white  person  in  a  house  containing 
great  quantities  of  every  thing  that  was  to  them  valuable  or  desirable." —  Memoirs  of 
ait  American  Lady. 


72  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

vious  to  the  Revolution.  To  his  influence  with  the  Indians  as  a 
British  agent,  inherited  by  his  family,  may  be  attributed  in  a  great 
measure  their  alliance  with  the  British  throughout  the  Revolution  ; 
and  yet  had  he  lived  when  the  contest  was  waged,  it  is  doubtful 
what  would  have  been  his  position.  There  are  strong  reasons  for 
assuming  that  he  would  have  been  at  least  a  neutral.  He  died  at 
Johnson  Hall,  in  June,  1774,  just  as  the  storm  was  gathering,  soon 
after  he  had  himself  predicted  that  "  England  and  her  colonies  \vere 
approaching  a  terrible  war,  which  he  should  never  live  to  witness," 
His  health  had  been  for  some  years  declining.* 

In  his  youth,  soon  after  he  became  a  resident  upon  the  Mohawk, 
he  took  for  his  wife,  (conventionally,)  a  comely,  German  girl,  who 
being  a  redemptionist,  was  serving  her  time  with  one  of  his  neighbors, 
She  was  the  mother  of  his  son  and  successor,  Sir  John  Johnson, 
and  of  his  daughters,  who  became  the  wives  of  Col.  Glaus,  and  Col. 
Guy  Johnson,  a  distant  relative  of  Sir  William.  A  legal  marriage 
took  place  when  Sir  William  was  on  his  death  bed,  which  ceremony 
had  reference  to  the  descent  of  property.  And  here  it  would  be 
historical  delinquency  to  conceal  the  fact,  that  Sir  William,  away 
from  the  restraints  of  civilized  life,  had  indulged  in  what  Mr.  Ban 
croft  would  call  the  "freedom  of  the  backwoods."  Ebenezer  Allan, 
who  was  at  one  period,  in  the  valley  of  the  Genesee,  what  Sir 
William  was  in  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  without  taking  his  many 
virtues  as  his  examples,  was  but  an  humble  imitator  of  his  one  prom 
inent  vice.  The  fruits  of  his  amours  may  be  traced  at  this  day  in 
all  the  retreats  of  the  remnants  of  the  Six  nations.  Upon  the  banks 
of  the  Allegany,  the  observing  traveller  will  recognize  the  family 
resemblance  in  the  contour  of  faces  ;  the  "  blood  of  the  Johnsons," 
coursing  the  veins  and  harmoniously  blending  with  that  of  the  Iro- 
quois.  The  sister  of  Joseph  Brant,  in  some  respects  as  good  a  speci 
men  of  her  race,  as  was  her  renowned  brother,  was  the  mother  of 
several  of  his  children  who  were  also  legitimatized  by  a  private 
marriage  that  took  place  a  few  years  before  his  death. 


Histories  of  the  Revolution  exist   in  too  many  forms,   are  too 
easily  accessible  to  all  classes  of  readers,  to  make  it  necessary  to  em- 

*  Documentary  History.  Vol.  2d.  p.  957  ;  Col  Duncan,  to  a  Friend  of  Sir  Williams: 
"Yr  friend  Sir  William  is  sore  failed,  he  is  ever  now  and  then  in  a  bad  way,  wherefore 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  73 

brace  even  any  considerable  allusion  to  it  in  a  work  of  this  character. 
All  of  it  that  has  any  more  than  a  remote  connection  with  the  his 
tory  of  our  local  region,  are  the  Border  Wars  of  New  York,  and 
with  them  the  author  will  assume  that  his  readers  are  generally 
familiar. 

On  the  death  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  his  son,  John  Johnson,  suc 
ceeded  to  his  titles  and  estates,  and  his  officer  of  General  Superin 
tendent  of  Indian  Affairs  fell  into  the  hands  of  Col.  Guy  Johnson, 
his  son-in-law,  who  had  as  his  deputy  Col.  Claus,  another  son-in- 
law.  Thus  inherited,  all  the  official  and  personal  influence  that  had 
been  acquired  was  wielded  against  the  Colonies  and  in  favor  of  the 
mother  country.  The  natives  unschooled  in  all  that  could  enable 
them  to  understand  the  merits  of  the  quarrel  —  themselves  recog 
nizing  in  their  simple  form  of  government  heriditary  rulers  —  could 
see  in  the  up  rising  of  the  Colonies  against  their  King,  little  else  than 
unjustifiable  rebellion,  and  they  were  told  by  the  Johnsons  that  the 
outbreaks  in  Boston,  and  the  battle  of  Lexington,  were  the  acts  of 
disobedient  children  against  the  King  their  Father,  who  had  been 
kind  to  them  as  he  had  to  the  Six  Nations.  Sir  William  Johnson  had  . 
been  the  almoner  of  annual  gifts  from  his  sovereign,  and  mingling  a 
sincere  regard  for  them,  with  his  official  duties,  had  wedded  them 
strongly  to  him  and  to  his  government. 

Joseph  Brant,  (in  Indian,  Thay-en-da-ga,)  had  been  the  protege 
of  Sir  William  Johnson.  When  quite  a  youth  he  had  sent  him  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Wheelock's  school  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  after 
wards  employed  him  in  his  private  business.  *  Engaged  in  military 
service,  when  he  took  the  field,  the  young  chief  took  the  war  path, 
one  of  the  leaders  of  Sir  William's  Indian  allies.  Under  these  cir 
cumstances  it  was  very  natural  that  Brant  should  have  been  found 
a  follower  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Johnson  family. 

With  those  influences  bearing  upon  them,  the  Six  Nations,  with 

is  thought  not  to  last  many  years  more  which  will  be  a  great  loss  to  mankind  in  gen 
eral,  but  particularly  to  this  neighborhood,  and  I  don't  se.e  that  any  one  of  the  family 
is  capable  of  keeping  up  the  general  applause  when  he  is  gone." 

*  His  nativity  is  a  mooted  question.  Bishop  Strachan  of  Toronto,  in  an  article 
written  for  the  Christian  Messenger,  assumed  that  he  was  a  Mohawk,  born  on  the  Ohio 
river,  his  parents  having  emigrated.  This  is  upon  the  authority  of  Dr.  Stewart,  for 
merly  a  missionary  in  the  Mohawk  valley  ;  Col.  Stone  accredits  this.  But  better  au 
thority  than  either,  because  he  has  been  a  far  more  industrious  researcher — L.  C.  Dra 
per,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia  —  assumes  that  he  was  a  native  Cherokee.  There  were 
Cherokecs  in  all  the  nations  of  the  Iroquois ;  captives  and  their  descendants. 
5 


74:  PHELPS    A1STD    GOBHAM's    PURCHASE. 

the  exception  of  a  part  of  the  Tuscaroras  and  Oneidas,  were  the  firm 
allies  of  England  throughout  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  Immedi 
ately  after  the  death  of  Sir  William,  Guy  Johnson  renewed  allian 
ces,  and  as  hostilities  approached  the  Mohawk  valley,  "  brightened 
the  chain  of  friendship"  with  gifts  and  lavish  promises  of  increased 
patronage  from  his  master,  the  King.  A  "  committee  of  safety," 
which  was  early  organized  in  "  Tryon  county,"  were  jealous  of 
every  movement  of  the  Johnsons,  and  especially  those  of  Guy  John 
son.  It  would  seem,  in  fact,  that  he  had  at  first  rashly  determined  to 
maintain  his  ground,  and,  for  that  purpose,  under  pretence  of  fear 
of  attack  from  "  the  rebels,"  had  fortified  his  house,  and  drawn 
around  it  as  guards,  a  formidable  body  of  Indians.  This  alarmed 
the  Tryon  county  committee,  which  had  been  early  organized  as 
auxiliary  to  the  central  committee  at  Albany.  They  made  re 
presentations  to  the  Albany  committee  of  all  that  was  going  on, 
and  in  allusion  to  Johnson's  fortified  castle  and  the  hostile  Indians, 
they  say  : — "  We  are,  gentlemen,  in  a  worse  situation  than  any  part 
of  America  at  present.  We  have  an  open  enemy  before  our  faces, 
and  a  treacherous  enemy  at  our  backs."  They  assure  the  Albany 
committee  that  they  will  "neither  submit  to  the  acts  of  Parliament 
nor  Col.  Johnson's  arbitrary  conduct." 

A  series  of  stirring  local  events  followed  :  —  The  Johnson  family 
closely  allied  in  interest  and  friendship  with  other  influential  fami 
lies  of  Tryon  county,  not  only  controlled  the  Indians,  but  had  such 
an  influence  with  the  whites  as  almost  to  enable  them  to  coerce 
local  obedience  to  them,  and  fealty  to  the  King.  They  even 
ventured,  and  partially  were  successful,  in  using  the  civil  authori 
ties  of  Tryon  county  to  subserve  these  purposes;  interfering  in  one 
or  two  instances  in  breaking  up  what  they  termed  "rebel  meetings." 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1775  however,  Guy  Johnson  had  deter 
mined  that  his  own  safety  and  the  interests  of  his  King,  would  both 
be  promoted  by  removal  to  Canada.  Up  to  this  time,  he  had  relied 
upon  hopes  that  the  revolutionary  movements  were  but  temporary 
outbreaks,  which  would  be  suppressed  by  the  strong  arm  of  his 
government,  or  conciliated  by  a  redress  of  some  of  the  grievances 
complained  of.  But  admonished  by  the  dark  clouds  of  war  that 
were  gathering,  that  the  crisis  had  arrived,  that  he  could  not  preserve 
where  he  was  with  safety,  a  position  even  of  neutrality,  he  resolved 
upon  placing  himself  in  a  position  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  con- 


PHELPS  AKD  GOEIIAM'S  PUECHASE.  75 


test.  Under  the  pretence  that  he  could  better  control  the  Indians, 
and  keep  them  from  harming  the  inhabitants  by  fixing  his  head 
quarters  at  Fort  Stanwix,  he  left  "  Guy  Park  "  and  repaired  to  that 
post,  where  he  was  soon  joined  by  John  and  Waiter  Butler,  Brant, 
and  a  formidable  body  of  Tories  and  Indians.  He  soon  removed 
with  most  of  his  retinue  to  Oswego. 

It  should  here  be  observed,  that  inured  to  war  as  had  been  the 
Iroquois  —  fond  of  it  as  would  seem  from  the  avidity  with  which 
they  had  engaged  in  it  with  their  own  race  and  ours  —  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolution,  found  them  with  somewhat  altered  inclina 
tions.  Vastly  reduced  by  wars  \vith  the  southern  and  western 
Indians,  and  with  the  French,  the  remnant  of  them  that  had  enjoy 
ed  a  few  years  of  peace  had  learned  in  some  degree  to  estimate  its 
value.  Fully  realizing  the  consequences,  should  they  take  up  the 
hatchet  for  the  King,  the  local  committees  of  safety  for  Tryon  and 
Albany  counties,  held  conferences  with  the  Mohawks  and  received 
assurances  of  neutrality.  In  June,  1776,  General  Schuyler,  appoint 
ed  for  that  purpose  by  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia,  held  a  council 
with  all  of  the  Six  Nations  upon  the  German  Flats,  where  assur 
ances  of  neutrality  were  renewed.  But  the  superior  influences  that 
have  been  spoken  of,  finally  prevailed. 

Guy  Johnson  soon  repaired  to  Montreal,  where  he  made  his 
head  quarters,  and  engaged  with  zeal  and  activity,  in  enlisting  the 
Indians  in  a  harrassing  border  war,  chiefly  directed  against  his  old 
neighbors.  Sir  John  Johnson,  previous  to  the  flight,  or  hegira  of 
his  brother-in-law,  had  stipulated  with  Gen.  Schuyler  that  he  would 
remain  and  be  a  neutral,  the  chief  motive  being  the  preservation  of 
the  vast  estate  he  had  inherited  ;  but  encouraged  by  the  prospect  of 
a  final  triumph  of  the  King  over  the  colonies,  he  followed  his  incli 
nations,  violated  his  pledges  of  neutrality,  and  taking  with  him 
three  hundred  of  his  neighbors  and  dependents,  (chiefly  Scotch,) 
joined  his  brother  in  Montreal,  and  became  like  him  an  active  par- 
tizan.  The  immediate  presence  of  the  powerful  family  was  thus 
withdrawn  from  the  Mohawk,  and  little  left  of  them  but  their  deser 
ted  fields  and  mansions  ;  but  the  devoted  valley  had  yet  to  feel  the 
terrible  scourge  which  loyalty  could  inflict,  when  sharpened  by  mo 
tives  of  private  vengeance. 

Col.  John  Butler  soon  fixed  his  residence  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Ontario,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  village  of  Niagara,  where 


76  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

he  was  soon  installed  as  the  leader  of  the  tory  refugees.  Erecting 
barracks  upon  the  plain,  near  where  Fort  George  was  afterwards 
built,  there  they  were  organized  and  quartered ;  and  from  that  point 
they  sallied  out  in  marauding  expeditions  to  the  vallies  oi  the  Mo 
hawk  and  Susquehannah,  with  their  Indian  allies ;  and  to  that  point 
they  returned  when  their  errands  of  mischief  had  been  executed. 
It  was  there  the  expeditions  to  the  devoted  valley  of  Wyoming,  and 
to  arrest  the  march  of  Sullivan,  were  projected. 

After  leaving  the  Mohawk  valley,  Brant  was  alternately  at  Oswego, 
Niagara,  upon  the  Susquehannah  and  Genesee  Rivers,  until  July 
1777,  when  he  made  his  appearance  with  an  armed  band  of  warriors 
at  Unadilla,  an  Indian  village  upon  the  Susquehannah.  There  Gen. 
Herkimer,  with  a  strong  guard  of  Tryon  county  militia,  sought  an 
interview  with  him,  in  hopes  of  changing  his  purpose  of  engaging 
in  the  King's  service.  They  met,  Brant  rather  haughtily  demanded 
the  object  of  the  interview,  which  was  explained.  Hinting  to  Gen. 
Herkimer  that  his  attendants  were  pretty  numerous  for  a  peace 
ambassador,  he  assured  him  that  he  had  a  superior  force,  five  hundred 
warriors,  with  which  he  could  crush  him  and  his  party  at  a  word ; 
but  said  he,  "we  are  old  neighbors  and  friends  and  I  will  not  do  it." 
A  hot-headed  and  imprudent  Col.  Cox,  who  had  accompanied  Gen. 
Herkimer,  grossly  insulted  Brant,  which  came  near  bringing  on  an 
unequal  contest,  but  Brant  hushed  the  impending  storm  and  promised 
another  interview.  It  was  had  according  to  promise ;  Brant  assur 
ed  the  General  that  he  fully  understood  his  errand ;  "  but"  s-aid  he, 
"  you  are  too  late,  I  am  already  engaged  to  serve  the  King.  We 
are  old  friends,  I  can  do  no  less  than  to  let  you  return  home  unmo 
lested,  although  you  are  entirely  within  my  power."  This  was  the 
last  conference  held  by  the  agents  of  Congress  with  the  Indians, 
pending  or  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution ;  and  after  this,  soon 
followed  the  terrible  scenes  with  which  the  author  presumes  the 
reader  to  be  familiar. 

Immediately  following  this  interview  with  Brant,  Sir  John  John 
son  and  Col.  Walter  Butler  sent  out  runners  and  convened  delega 
tions  from  air  of  the  Six  Nations  at  Oswego.  The  council  was 
opened  by  a  speech  from  Sir  John,  in  which  he  assured  the  Indians 
that  their  assistance  was  wanted  "  to  subdue  the  rebels  who  had 
taken  up  arms  against  their  good  Father  the  King,  and  was  about 
to  rob  him  of  a  great  part  of  his  possessions  and  wealth."  The 


PHELPS   AOT>    GORimi's   PUECHASE.  77 

chiefs  then  rose  and  severally  assured  the  British  agents  that  they 
had  only  one  year  before  in  council  with  General  Schuyler,  pledged 
themselves  to  neutrality,  and  that  they  should  not  violate  the  pledge 
by  taking  up  the  hatchet.  The  British  agents  told  them  that  the 
;<  rebels  "  were  few  in  number  and  easily  subdued,  and  that  on  ac 
count  of  their  disobedience  they  fully  merited  all  the  punishment  that 
white  men  and  Indians  united  could  inflict ;  that  the  King  was  rich 
and  powerful,  both  in  money  and  subjects ;  that  his  "  rum  wras  as 
plenty  as  the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario."  This  appeal  to  the  appetites 
of  the  simple  natives  which  British  agents  had  done  much  before  to 
vitiate,  accompanied  by  promises  of  rich  gifts,  prevailed,  and  a  treaty 
was  made  in  which  they  pledge  themselves  to  take  up  arms  against 
the  rebels,  and  continue  in  service  during  the  war.  "  Upon  the  con 
clusion  of  the  treaty,  each  Indian  was  presented  with  a  suit  of  clothes, 
a  brass  kettle,  a  gun,  a  tomahawk,  a  scalping  knife,  a  quantity  of 
powder  and  lead,  and  a  piece  of  gold."  * 

In  the  speech  of  Cornplanter  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania, 
in  1822,  he  said  :  —  "  The  cause  of  Indians  having  been  led  into  sin 
at  that  time,  was,  that  many  of  them  were  in  the  practice  of  drink 
ing  and  getting  intoxicated.  Great  Britain  requested  us  to  join 
them  in  the  conflict  against  Americans,  and  promised  the  Indians 
land  and  liquor." 

Soon  after  the  war  commenced,  Brant  collected  the  Mohawks  at 
Lewiston,  selecting  for  their  home  some  of  the  fine  grounds  on  the 
Ridge  Road,  near  the  present  village.  He  built  a  small  log  church, 
using  the  bell  of  one  of  the  Indian  churches  upon  the  Mohawk, 
which  was  hung  upon  the  notch  of  a  tree,  the  British  chaplain  at 
Fort  Niagara,  frequently  holding  service  there.  After  the  Revolu 
tion,  he  removed  to  Brantford,  C.  W.,  where  large  grants  of  land 
were  secured  to  him  by  the  British  government.  He  died  in  1807, 
aged  64  years. 

Col.  John  Butler,  who  was  respectably  connected  upon  the  Mo 
hawk,  became,  from  the  first  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  a 

*  Life  of  Mary  Jemison. 

NOTE. — In  few  things  is  tlie  poverty  of  the  colonies,  when  the  war  commenced, 
more  strikingly  evinced,  than  in  these  Indian  negotiations.  With  a  few  thousand 
doUars.expended  in  the  form  of  presents,  when  Gen.  Schuyler  held  his  treaty  with 
them,  their  neutrality  could  have  been  secured  ;  but  he  gave  them  nothing,  for  he  had 
nothing  to  give.  The  British  took  advantage  of  this,  secured  their  services,  and  made 
them  a  scourge  to  border  settlers  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania. 


78  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

zealous  tory,  and  fled  from  his  friends  and  home  with  the  Johnsons, 
fixed  his  residence  at  Niagara,  as  has  already  been  mentioned. 
With  the  doings  of  him  and  his  Rangers,  the  readers  of  the  Revo 
lutionary  history  are  familiar ;  he  is  connected  with  some  of  the 
darkest  pages  of  it.  With  more  of  the  savage  in  his  nature  by  far, 
than  Brant,  he  was  far  ahead  of  him  in  acts  of  cruelty,  and  incapa 
ble  of  the  exercise  of  any  of  his  sterling  virtues.  He  was  well 
educated,  and  his  letters  and  the  part  he  acted  in  various  Indian 
treaties  for  the  sale  of  the  lands  of  this  region,  induce  the  conclu 
sion,  that  he  had  a  good  share  of  business  talents.  At  the  close  of 
the  Revolution,  he  became  Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  for  Up 
per  Canada,  and  was  also  a  half-pay  British  Colonel.  The  patron 
age  of  a  King  he  had  served  so  devotedly  at  the  sacrifice  of  the 
private  esteem  of  even  those  who  had  been  his  companions  in  arms, 
enabled  him  to  surround  himself  with  all  the  comforts  and  many  of 
the  luxuries  of  life.  The  home  of  which  he  was  the  founder,  even 
now  in  its  neglected  condition,  exhibits  in  all  its  primitive  appoint 
ments,  much  of  cultivated  taste  and  refinement,  which  it  is  difficult 
to  reconcile  with  the  character  of  the  man,  as  given  to  us  in  the 
annals  of  Border  Wars.  He  died  at  Niagara,  in  1794. 

The  influence  of  the  Johnson  family  with  the  Indians,  was  hard 
ly  less  potent  than  with  their  white  neighbors.  No  where  in  all 
the  colonies,  was  there  so  large  a  proportionate  diversion  of  the 
inhabitants  from  an  espousal  of  the  Revolution,  as  in  the  valley 
of  the  Mohawk  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  no  where  were  there  bet 
ter  examples  of  patriotism,  bravery  and  self-sacrifice.  It  was,  em 
phatically,  "the  dark  and  bloody  ground."  At  first,  the  contest 
had  all  the  features  of  civil  war ;  households  were  divided ;  it  was 
brother  against  brother,  and  neighbor  against  neighbor ;  and  when, 
after  the  tories  and  Indians  had  withdrawn  to  Oswego,  Montreal, 
Fort  Niagara  and  Canada,  they  returned  from  time  to  time  upon 
their  errands  of  blood-shed  and  rapine ;  they  were  upon  familiar 
ground,  and  well  knew  where  most  effectually  to  direct  their  steps, 

NOTE.  —  In  1791,  James  Wadswortli  visited  Niagara,  principally  to  inform  himself 
as  to  the  prospect  of  an  Indian  war.  He  wrote  to  a  friend  :  —  "  You  will  not  suppose 
that  we  are  under  much  fears  from  the  Indians,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  started  from 
the  Geuesee  river  without  company,  and  reached  Niagara  in  two  days,  without  any 
difficulty.  But  sir,  it  was  a  most  solitary  ride."  "I  had  an  excellent  dinner  witli  Col. 
Butler.  We  were  served  with  apples, ' chestnuts,  hazel  nuts  and  walnuts;  but  what 
surprised  me  most,  was,  to  see  a  plate  of  malacatoon  peaches  as  good  as  I  ever  saw." 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  79 

and  where  to  execute  the  most  terrible  mischief.  In  the  retrospect, 
when  nations  have  settled  down  in  peace,  and  look  back  upon  the 
excesses  they  have  committed  in  the  strife  and  heat  of  war,  there 
is  always  much  even  for  self-accusation ;  but  in  all  the  history  of 
wars,  there  is  nothing  that  so  stands  out  in  bold  relief,  without  miti 
gation  or  excuse,  as  was  the  sanguine  policy  of  England  in  the  em 
ployment  of  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  to  aid  her  in  warring 
against  her  colonies.  In  all  her  own  dark  catalogue  of  wrongs,  in 
the  east,  at  home,  in  compelling  obedience  to  the  throne,  there  is 
nothing  that  so  far  outraged  humanity,  that  so  far  transcended  the 
rules  of  civilized  warfare,  as  was  the  arming  of  savage  allies,  and 
sending  them  to  lay  waste  unprotected  backwoods  settlements  and 
massacre  their  inhabitants,  without  regard  to  age,  condition,  or  sex. 
What  the  feeble  colonies  scorned  to  do  in  self-defence  —  after  they 
had  determined  upon  asking  nothing  farther  than  to  have  the  toma 
hawk  and  scalping  knife  kept  out  of  the  contest  —  British  agents, 
with  the  sanction  of  their  government,  did  not  hesitate  to  do  in  a 
spirit  of  inhumanity  so  sanguinary  aud  unrelenting,  that  it  urged  on 
Indian  warfare,  even  when  it  hesitated  in  the  execution  of  its 
stealthy  and  bloody  missions. 

The  Border  Wars,  the  tory  and  Indian  incursions  from  Canada, 
Oswego  and  Niagara,  continued  at  intervals  from  the  flight  of  the 
Johnsons,  Butler  and  Brant  in  '75,  until  August  1779.  The  horrid 
details  already  fill  volumes  of  published  history.*  With  powerful 
British  armies  to  contend  with  upon  the  sea  board  —  work  enough 
for  the  feeble  and  exhausted  colonies  —  inadequate  help  had  been 
afforded  to  repel  invaders  of  the  frontier  settlements  of  New  York. 
The  stealthy  foe  could  make  descents  by  land  or  water  through  dif 
ferent  unguarded  avenues,  and  when  their  work  of  death  was 
accomplished,  retreat  to  their  strong  holds  at  Oswego  and  Niagara^ 
a  wide  wilderness  their  defence  and  security  against  pursuit  and 
retribution.  When  expeditions  were  planned  at  Niagara,  if  designed 
for  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  the  Indians  and  tories  would  concen 
trate  at  Oswego;  and  if  the  valley  of  the  Susquehannah  was  the 
destination,  they  would  concentrate  upon  the  Genesee  river,  Seneca 


*For  these  details  the  reader  is  referred  to  Campbell's  Annals  of  Tryon  County. 
Simm's  History  of  Schoharie  and  the  Border  Wars,  Stone's  Life  of  Brant,  History  of 
Onondaga,  and  the  Holland  Purchase. 


80  PIEELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Lake,  or  the  Tioga  river.  Their  prisoners  were  usually  taken  to 
Fort  Niagara,  the  Bastile  of  the  then  western  wilderness 

At  last,  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1779,  Gen.  Washington  de 
termined  upon  a  measure  for  carrying  the  war  home  upon  the  inva 
ders,  routing  the  Indians  from  their  villages,  and  if  practicable,  the 
seige  and  capture  of  Fort  Niagara.  The  command  was  entrusted 
to  Gen.  Sullivan.  The  army  organized  for  the  expedition  was  in 
three  divisions.  That  part  of  it  under  the  immediate  command  of 
Gen.  Sullivan,  coming  from  Pennsylvania,  ascended  the  Susquehan- 
nah  to  Tioga  Point.  Another  division  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
James  Clinton,  constructing  batteaux  at  Schenectady,  ascended  the 
Mohawk  and  rendezvoused  at  Canajoharrie,  opened  a  road  to  the 
head  of  Otsego  Lake,  and  from  thence  proceeded  in  a  formidable 
fleet  of  over  two  hundred  batteaux,  to  Tioga  Point,  forming  a 
junction  with  the  force  under  Gen.  Sullivan,  on  the  22d  of  August. 
Previous  to  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Clinton,  Sullivan  had  sent  forward 
a  detachment  which  fell  in  with  a  scouting  party  of  Indians,  and  a 
skirmish  ensued. 

The  combined  forces  amounted  to  5,000  men.  The  expedition 
had  been  so  long  preparing,  and  upon  the  march,  that  the  enemy 
were  well  apprized  of  all  that  was-  going  on.  Their  plan  of  de 
fence  contemplated  a  decisive  engagement  upon  the  Chemung  river. 
For  this  purpose  the  Rangers  and  regular  British  troops,  under  the 
command  of  Col.  John  Butler,  Cols.  Guy  and  Sir  John  Johnson, 
Major  Walter  N.  Butler  and  Capt.  M'Donald,  and  the  Indians 
under  Brant  had  concentrated  their  forces  upon  a  bend  of  the  river, 
near  the  present  village  of  Elmira,  where  they  had  thrown  up  a 
long  breast  work  of  logs.  The  united  forces  of  the  British  allies 
as  computed  by  Gen.  Sullivan,  was  about  1500.*  Having  ascer 
tained  their  position,  Gen.  Sullivan  marched  in  full  force  and  attacked 
them  in  the  forenoon  of  the  29th  of  August.  He  found  the  enemy 
partly  entrenched  and  partly  arranged  in  scouting  and  flanking 
parties,  the  Indians  especially  adopting  their  favorite  mode  of  war 
fare.  Well  provided  with  artillery,  a  heavy  fire  was  opened  upon 
the  enemies  entrenchments,  which  soon  proved  them  a  weak  de 
fence  ;  a  part  of  the  Indians  were  panic  stricken  by  the  heavy 
cannonade,  and  fled,  while  other  portions  of  them  were  rallied  by 

*  Assumed  to  be  much  less  in  the  British  accounts. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S    PURCHASE.  81 

their  intrepid  leader,  Brant,  and  well  maintained  the  unequal  contest. 
"  Both  tories  and  Indians  were  entitled  to  the  credit  of  fighting 
manfully.  Every  rock  and  tree  and  bush,  sheltered  its  man,  from 
hehind  which  the  winged  messengers  of  death  were  thickly  sent, 
but  with  so  little  effect  as  to  excite  astonishment.  The  Indians 
yielded  ground  only  inch  by  inch ;  and  in  their  retreat  darted  from 
tree  to  tree  with  the  agility  of  a  panther,  often  contesting  each  new- 
position  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet  —  a  thing  very  unusual  even 
with  militiamen,  and  still  more  rare  among  the  undisciplined  warriors 
of  the  woods."  *  The  battle  had  been  waged  about  two  hours, 
when  the  British  and  Indians  perceiving  their  forces  inadequate, 
and  that  a  maneuver  to  surround  them  was  likely  to  be  successful, 
broke  and  fled  in  great  disorder. 

"  This  "  says  John  Salmon,  of  Livingston  county,  who  belonged  to 
the  expedition  and  gave  an  account  of  it  to  the  author  of  the  Life 
of  Mary  Jemison,  "  was  the  only  regular  stand  made  by  the  In 
dians.  In  their  retreat  they  were  pursued  by  our  men  to  the  Nar 
rows,  where  they  were  attacked  and  killed  in  great  numbers,  so  that 
the  sides  of  the  rocks  next  the  River  looked  as  if  blood  had  been 
poured  on  them  by  pailfuls." 

The  details  of  all  that  transpired  in  this  campaign  are  before  the 
public  in  so  many  forms,  that  their  repetition  here  is  unnecessary. 
The  route  of  the  army  was  via  "  French  Catherine's  Town,"  f  head 
of  Seneca  Lake,  down  the  east  shore  of  the  Lake  to  the  Indian 
village  of  Kanadesaga,  (Old  Castle,)  and  from  thence  to  Canandai- 
gua,  Honeoye,  head  of  Conesus  Lake,  to  Groveland.  The  villages 
destroyed,  (with  the  apple  trees  and  growing  crops  of  the  Indians,) 
were  at  Catherinestown,  Kendai,  or  "  Apple  Town "  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Lake,  eleven  miles  from  its  foot,  Kanadesaga,  Honeoye, 
Conesus,  Canascraga,  Little  Beard's  Town,  Big  Tree,  Canawagus, 
arid  on  the  return  of  the  army,  Scawyace,  a  village  between  the 

*  Life  of  Brant. 

t  Name  from  Catherine  Montour.  She  was  a  half  blood,  is  'said  to  have  been  the 
daughter  of  one  of  the  French  Governors  of  Canada.  She  was  made  a  captive  and 
adopted  by  the  Senecas  when  she  was  ten  years  of  age,  becoming  afterwards  the  wife 
of  a  distinguished  Seneca  Chief.  When  on  several  occasions  she  accompanied  the 
chief  to  Philadelphia  her  extraordinary  beauty,  joined  to  a  considerable  polish  of 
manners,  made  her  the  "observed  of  all  observers;"  she  was  invited  to  a  private  house 
and  treated  with  much  respect.  She  resided  at  the  head  of  Seneca  Lake  previous  to 
Sullivan's  expedition,  and  afterwards  at  Fort  Niagara,  where  she  was  treated  with 
marked  attention  by  the  British  officers. 


82  PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Cayuga  and  Seneca  Lakes,  and  several  other  Cayuga  villages. 
Captain  Machin  was  at  the  head  oi  the  engineers  in  this  expedition. 
The  industrious  gleaner  of  Border  War  reminiscences,  the  author 
of  the  History  of  Schoharie,  has  found  among  his  papers  the  fol 
lowing,  which  accompanied  a  map  of  Sullivan's  entire  route  :  — 

"  Distance  of  places  from  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  to  Chenesee,  [Gen- 
esee]  Castle,  taken  in  1779,  by  actual  survey  :  — 

NAMES  OF  PLACES.  MILES.       TOTAL. 

From  Easton  to  Weomining,      -----  65  65 

To  Lackewaneck  Creek,  .....  10  75 

Quailuternunk,          __-----  7 

Tuiiklianuurik  Creek,        .....  11 

Meshohing  Creek,  9  102 

Vanderlips  Plantation,      ......  5  107 

Wealusking  Town,  '8  115 

Wessawkin,  or  Pine  Creek,        .....  14!-,<          129)£ 

Tioga,      -  .....  15>£          145 

Chemung,         -         -  .....  12  157 

Newton,  -        - 

French  Catherinestown, 

Kandia  or  Appleton 

Outlet  of  Seneca  Lake, 

Kanadesaga,  or  Seneca  Castle 

Kanandaque, 

Haunyauya,  .......  13>|  255 

Adjusta,  ........  12)£          267^ 

Cossauwauloughby,  -------  7  274^ 

Chenesee  Castle        .......  5^          280 

It  is  probable  a  better  table  of  distances  than  has  since  been 
made.  Among  the  papers  of  Capt.  Machin,  is  the  following  certifi 
cate  :  — 

"  This  may  certify  that  Kayingwaurto  the  Sanakee  chief,  has  been  on  an  expedition 
to  Fort  Stanwix  and  taken  two  scalps,  one  from  an  officer  and  a  corporal,  they  were 
gunning  near  the  Fort,  for  which  I  promise  to  pay  at  sight,  ten  dollars  for  each  scalp. 
Given  under  my  hand  at  Buck's  Island.  JOHN  BUTLER,  Col.  and 

Supt.  of  the  Six  Nations  and  the  allies  of  his  Majesty." 

This  Kayingwaurto  was  a  principal  Seneca  chief  at  Kanadesaga. 
He  was  killed  by  a  scouting  party  of  Gen.  Sullivan's  army,  and  in 
his  pocket  the  certificate  was  found.  The  history  of  those  scalps  is 
one  of  the  most  melancholy  tales  of  that  era  of  terrible  savage  war 
fare.  The  chief  in  1777,  with  a  scouting  party  of  Seneca  warriors, 
was  prowling  about  Fort  Stanwix.  Capt.  Gregg,  and  a  Corporal  of 
the  Fort,  had  ventured  out  to  shoot  pigeons,  when  they  were  fired  at 
by  the  Indian  scouts  ;  the  corporal  being  killed  and  Capt.  Gregg 
severely  wounded.  Both  were  scalped  ;  but  after  the  Indians  had  left 


211 

31 


PIIELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  83 

Capt  Gregg  revived.  His  clog  ran  off  to  some  fishermen  of  the 
Fort,  a  mile  distant,  alarmed  them  by  his  moaning,  attracted  them 
in  the  direction  of  his  wounded  master.  Capt.  Gregg  was  thus 
discovered,  and  lived  to  relate  the  story  of  his  preservation.  It  is 
given  upon  the  authority  of  Dr.  D wight. 

The  march  of  Sullivan,  the  devastations  committed  by  his  army, 
would  at  this  distant  period  seem  like  Vandalism,  in  the  absence 
of  the  consideration  that  he  was  acting  under  strict  orders ;  and 
that  those  orders  were  approved,  if  not  dictated  by  Washington. 
The  campaign  was  a  matter  of  necessity ;  to  be  effectual,  it  was 
not  only  necessary  that  its  acts  should  be  retaliatory  and  retributive, 
but  that  the  haunts,  the  retreats,  of  a  foe  so  ruthless,  must  be  bro 
ken  up.  The  object  was  to  destroy  all  the  means  of  subsistence 
of  the  Senecas,  desolate  their  homes,  prevent  their  return  to  them, 
and  if  possible,  induce  their  permanent  retreat  beyond  the  Niagara 
River.  The  imprudence,  the  want  of  sagacity,  which  Col.  Stone 
has  imputed  to  Gen.  Sullivan  in  alarming  every  village  he  approach 
ed  by  the  sound  of  his  cannon,  the  author  conceives,  a  misappre 
hension  of  his  motives.  Stealthy,  quiet  approaches,  would  .have 
found  as  victims  in  every  village,  the  old  men,  the  women  and 
children  —  the  warriors  away,  banded  with  their  British  allies. 
Humanity  dictated  the  forewarning,  that  those  he  did  not  come  to 
war  against  could  have  time  to  flee.  It  would  have  been  a  far 
darker  feature  of  the  campaign  than  those  that  have  been  complained 
of,  anS  one  that  could  not  have  been  mitigated,  if  old  men,  women 
and  children,  had  been  unalarmed,  and  exposed  to  the  vengeance 
of  those  who  came  from  the  valleys  of  the  Susquehannah  and  the 
Mohawk  to  punish  murderers  of  their  kindred  and  neighbors.  The 
march  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  after  leaving  the  Chemung,  was  bloodless, 
except  in  a  small  degree — just  as  it  should  have  been,  if  he  could 
not  make  victims  of  those  he  was  sent  to  punish. 

The  third  expedition  of  this  campaign,  which  has  generally  been 
lost  sight  of  by  historians,  was  that  of  Gen.  Broadhead.  He  left 
Fort  Pitt  in  August  with  six  hundred  men,  and  destroyed  several 
Mingo  and  Muncey  tribes  living  on  the  Allegany,  French  Creek, 
and  other  tributaries  of  the  Ohio. 

The  heavy  artillery  that  Gen.  Sullivan  brought  as  far  as  Newton, 
would  indicate  that  Niagara  was  originally  the  destination.  There 
the  General  arid  his  officers,  seeing  how  loner  it  had  taken  to  reach 


84  PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAM'S  PURCHASE. 

that  point,  in  all  probability  determined  that  too  much  of  the  season 
had  been  wasted,  to  allow  of  executing  their  tasks  in  the  Indian 
country,  making  their  roads  and  moving  the  army  and  all  its  ap 
pointments  to  Niagara  before  the  setting  in  of  winter.  Besides,  before 
the  army  had  reached  the  valley  of  the  Chemung,  the  fact  was 
ascertained  that  there  would  be  a  failure  in  a  contemplated  junction 
with  the  army  under  Gen.  Broadhead. 

After  the  expedition  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  the  Indians  never  had  any 
considerable  permanent  re- occupancy  of  their  villages  east  of  the 
Genesee  river.  They  settled  down  after  a  brief  flight,  in  their 
villages  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  in  the  neighborhood  of  Gen- 
eseo,  Mt.  Morris  and  Avon,  and  at  Gardeau,  Canadea,  Tonawanda, 
Tuscarora,  Buffalo  Creek,  Cattaraugus  and  Allegany.  For  retreats 
of  the  Johnsons,  Butler  and  their  troops,  see  narrative  of  William 
Hincher,  in  subsequent  pages;  and  for  Gen.  Washington's  official 
account  of  Sullivan's  expedition,  as  copied  from  the  manuscripts 
of  a  Revolutionary  officer  for  the  History  of  the  Holland  Purchase, 
see  Appendix,  No.  3. 

NOTE. — The  author  derives  from  James  Otis  Esq.  of  Perry,  Wyoming  County,  a 
more  satisfactory  account  of  the  retreat  of  the  Indians  upon  the  Genesee  River,  than 
he  has  seen  from  any  other  source.  He  became  acquainted  with  Mary  Jemison  in 
1810.  She  told  him  that  when  Sullivan's  army  was  approaching  the  place  of  her  resi 
dence,  Little  Beard's  Town,  the  Indians  retreated  upon  the  Silver  Lake  trail.  When 
about  two  miles  from  the  Lake  they  halted  to  await  expected  re-inforcements  fro  in 
Buffalo  Creek.  They  had  a  white  person  with  them  that  they  hung  by  bending  down 
a  small  tree,  fastening  to  it  a  bark  halter  they  had  around  his  neck,  and  letting  it  fly 
back  ;  thus  suspending  their  victim  in  the  air.  The  bones  and  the  bent  tree  attested 
the  truth  of  the  relation  long  after  white  settlements  commenced.  Reinforcements 
from  Buffalo  arrived,  a  council  was  held  which  terminated  in  the  conclusion  that  they 
were  too  weak  to  risk  an  attack  of  Sullivan.  When  their  invaders  had  retreated,  the 
great  body  of  the  Indians  went  back  to  the  sites  of  their  old  villages  upon  the  River. 
Mrs.  Jemison,  went  around  on  the  west  side  of  Silver  Lake,  and  then  down  to  Gardeau 
flats,  where  she  found  two  negroes  living  that  had  raised  some  corn.  She  husked  corn 
for  the  negroes  and  earned  enough  to  supply  her  family  with  bread  until  the  next 
harvest.  This  occupancy  continued,  Mrs.  Jemison  had  the  Gardeau  tract  granted  to 
her  at  the  Morris  treaty. 


PART  SECOND 


CHAPTER  I. 


OUR  IMMEDIATE   PREDECESSORS THE  SENEGAS WITH  A  GLANCE  AT 

THE  IROQUOIS. 


IT  is  not  the  design  of  this  work  to  embrace  a  detailed  account  of 
the  Five  Nations.  The  Senecas,  however,  the  Tsonnontouans  of 
French  chronicle,  who  guarded  the  western  door  of  the  Long 
House,  looking  out  on  the  Great  Lakes,  demand  a  passing  notice,  as 
we  are  approaching  a  series  of  events  connected  with  the  "  par 
tition  "  of  their  wide  and  beautiful  domain. 

In  common  with  the  red  races,  they  are  the  "  autochthonal  "  of  the 
soil  —  "fresher  from  the  hand  that  formed  of  earth  the  human 
face,"  than  the  present  rulers  of  the  land  that  was  once  theirs. 
On  their  hunting  grounds,  the  pioneers  of  the  Genesee  country, 
preparatory  to  settlement,  kindled  their  camp-fires.  Our  clustering 
cities  and  villages  are  on  the  sites  of  their  ancient  castles,  forts  and 
places  of  burial.  In  the  vallies  where  they  lived,  and  on  hills 
where  blazed  their  beacons,  a  people  with  the  best  blood  of  Europe 
in  their  veins,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  are  founding  halls  of  learn 
ing,  and  gathering  in  the  golden  harvests.  The  early  annals  of 
their  occupation,  to  which  the  reader  is  soon  to  be  introduced,  are 
intimately  blended  with  this  once  powerful  and  numerous  branch 
of  the  Iroquois  confederacy,  that  furnished  under  the  toteiuic 
bond,  at  the  era  of  confederation,  two  of  the  presiding  law-givers 
and  chiefs.  * 

An  opinion  prevails,  that  the  guardians  of  the  Eastern  Door,  the 
Mohawks ;  or,  as  called  by  their  brethren,  "  Do-de-o-gah,"  or 


*  Documentary  History. 


86  PIIELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

"message  bearers,"  were  the  most  warlike;  but  a  careful  exami 
nation  of  history  and  the  pages  of  Jesuit  journals,  establishes  the 
fact,  that  the  Senecas  were  not  their  inferiors  in  every  martial  at 
tribute,  and  were  always  represented  at  a  general  gathering  of  the 
clans,  in  time  of  danger,  by  a  more  formidable  force.  There  is  no 
foundation  for  the  remark  of  Buchanan,  speaking  in  reference  to 
the  Mohawks,  that  their  allies  neither  made  war  or  peace  without 
their  consent. 

Unquestionable  proof  is  on  record,  that  the  fierce  Senecas  were 
not  always  governed  in  their  action  by  the  general  voice  at  Onon- 
daga.  Sternly  independent,  they  some  times  took  up  arms,  when 
the  other  tribes,  to  use  an  Indian  metaphor,  sate  smoking  in  quiet 
on  their  mats.  After  the  rapid  decline  of  French  ascendancy  on 
this  continent,  and  many  of  the  tribes  beheld  with  terror  the  gov 
ernment  of  Canada  falling  into  English  hands,  the  Senecas,  un 
daunted  by  the  danger,  adhered  with  dogged  obstinacy,  to  the 
vanquished. 

For  a  time,  they  were  in  alliance  with  Pontiac,  and  played  a 
conspicuous  part  with  the  great "  Ottawa  "  in  his  plan  of  surprising 
a  cordon  of  posts  in  the  Lake  country,  and  exterminating  the 
:'  dogs  in  red  clothing,"  that  guarded  them.  This  statement  does 
not  rest  on  vague  conjecture,  or  blind  tradition.  By  reference  to 
the  British  Annual  Register,  for  1764,  we  learn  that  on  the  3d  of 
April,  1763,  Sir  William  Johnson  concluded  at  Johnson  Hall,  on 
the  Mohawk,  preliminary  articles  of  peace  with  eight  deputies  of 
the  Seneca  nation,  which  alone  of  the  Iroquois  league,  had  joined 
Pontiac.  While  the  proud  and  conquering  Mohawks  imposed 
tribute  on  the  Mohegans,  and  scoured  the  pine-forests  of  distant 
Maine  in  pursuit  of  flying  foes,  westward  the  track  of  the  Senecas 
was  literally  marked  in  blood.  The  Neuter  Nation,  with  homes  on 
both  sides  of  the  Niagara,  were  "  blotted  from  the  things  that  be ;" 
and  the  Eries,  after  a  brave  resistance,  destroyed  —  the  prize  of 
conquest,  the  loveliest  portion  of  our  trans-Genessean  country. 
The  barren  coast  of  Superior,  a  thousand  miles  away  from  their 
great  council-fire,  was  trodden  by  their  warriors. 

The  Illinois  turned  pale  at  their  approach  on  the  shores  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  no  hatchets  were  redder  than  theirs  in  the 
Herculean  task  of  humbling  the  Lenni  Lenapes,  and  for  ever 
hushing  into  silence  their  boasting  tongues. 


PIIELPS  AUTD  GORI-IAM'S  PURCHASE.  87 

The  Chippewas,  a  valiant  people,  discomfitted  and  utterly  dis 
mayed  by  their  prowess,  fled  like  hunted  deer  to  the  remote  vil- 
lao-es  of  the  Sioux.  The  long  and  bloody  wars  waged  by  the  Five 
Nations  with  the  Southern  tribes,  owed  their  origin  to  an  attack 
made  on  the  Senecas  in  one  of  their  distant  expeditions  to  the 
south  west,  by  a  party  of  Cherokees.  The  war-post  was  at  once 
struck,  and  the  confederates  joined  with  their  injured  brethren  in 
resenting  the  insult,  and  taming  the  pride  of  their  wily  antagonists. 
Though  a  vast  extent  of  territory  lay  between  the  hunting  grounds 
of  the  latter  and  the  central  fire  of  their  cantons,  the  dreaded 
war-whoop  of  the  Iroquois  w.as  heard  on  the  banks  of  the  Talla- 
poosa  and  Ocmulgee.  Forbidding  wilds,  draped  in  the  long  gray 
moss  of  milder  latitudes,  and  swampy  fastnesses,  the  savage  haunts 
of  the  alligator  and  terrapin,  were  explored  by  the  infuriated  in 
vaders. 

Nature  opposed  no  barrier  to  a  triumphant  campaign,  and  dis 
tance  was  no  obstacle  in  the  fearful  work  of  retaliation. 

Hiokatoo,  the  renowned  husband  of  the  "  White  Woman,"  was  a 
leader  in  one  of  these  wild  forays,  and  when  a'  gray-haired  ancient, 
cheered  many  a  listening  circle  at  his  lodge  fire,  with  a  narrative 
of  his  exploits  on  that  occasion. 

Individuals  of  Cherokee  extraction,  still  reside  on  the  Tonawan- 
da  Reservation.  They  trace  their  descent  to  captives,  saved  from 
torture  at  the  stake,  and  adopted  as  tribesmen  by  their  victors. 

I  must  differ  from  many  writers,  misled  by  Heckewelder,  in  the 
opinion  that  compared  with  surrounding  nations,  the  Iroquois  were 
not  a  superior  race  of  men.  No  primitive  people  can  boast  of 
nobler  war  captains,  than  Kan-ah-je-a-gah,  Hon-ne-ya-was,  Brant, 
Hendrick  and  Skenandoah ;  —  no  abler  orators  and  statesmen  than 
Dekanissora,  Canassetego,  Logan  and  Red  Jacket. 

When  the  adventurous  Frenchmen  first  set  foot  on  Canadian  soil, 
in  1G03,  he  found  the  tribes  of  the  League  settled  near  Hochelaga, 
on  the  site  of  Montreal.  Previous  to  this  eventful  period,  they  were 
said  to  have  been  a  peaceful  and  happy  people  —  more  inclined  to 
till  the  earth  than  follow  the  war-path.  The  unprovoked  encroach 
ment  of  the  Adirondacks  on  their  land  —  a  powerful  nation  residing 
300  miles  above  Trois-Rivieres,  at  length  woke  their  latent  energies, 
and  roused  their  martial  qualities.  After  their  expulsion  from  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  one  of  America's  mighty  arteries,  and 


88  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  , 

conquering  the  Satanas  in  their  migrations,  they  laid  the  founda 
tion  of  empire  on  the  borders  of  our  beautiful  Lakes.  Seasoned, 
like  Caesar's  veterans,  by  hardship,  long  marches  and  victory,  they 
bravely  resisted  the  inroads  of  their  old  enemies,  the  Hurons  and 
Adirondacks.  Though  inferior  in  physical  force,  they  made  ample 
amends  therefor,  by  the  exercise  of  greater  prudence,  and  superior 
strategy.  Fighting  in  small  detached  parties,  and  under  intrepid 
leaders,  they  struck  blows  in  remote  points,  at  one  and  the  same 
moment  of  time,  producing  a  general  panic  and  surprise. 

In  turn,  assuming  the  offensive,  they  drove  back  the  invaders, 
disheartened  and  discomfitted,  to  the  neighborhood  of  Quebec. 
Then  came  the  tug  of  war.  Through  the  .intervention  of  Jesuit 
influence,  so  puissant  in  the  17th  century,  that  Kings  and  Pontiffs 
submitted  to  its  dictation,  the  French  colonists  formed  an  alliance 
with  the  vanquished  tribes.  Supplied  with  more  deadly  weapons  — 
the  fire-locks  of  civilization  —  the  Algonquin  and  Huron  again 
struggled  for  the  mastery.  By  consulting  Golden,  we  learn  that 
previous  to  the  conflict  between  Champlain  and  the  Iroquois,  on  the 
Lake  that  bears  his  name,  the  latter  had  never  heard  the  thunder 
or  seen  the  lightning  of  the  pale  faces.  Though  defeated  on  that 
occasion,  they  were  not  humbled  ;  all  fear  of  consequences  was 
merged  in  a  feeling  of  deep  and  deadly  exasperation.  The  re 
doubtable  Champlain  himself,  was  doomed  a  few  years  after  to  feel 
the  heavy  weight  of  their  vengeance.  *  Incautiously  laying  siege 
to  one  of  their  forts  on  Oiiondaga  Lake,  in  October,  1615,  he  was 
twice  wounded  by  arrows,  and  forced  to  retire  in  disgrace  with  his 
motley  array  of  French  and  Indians. 

He  who  foils,  in  hard  encounter,  a  dexterous  swordsman,  with 
an  oaken  staff,  gives  proof  of  matchless  address  and  prowess  — 
and  the  fact  that  the  Five  Nations,  recovering  from  the  effects  of  a 
first  surprise,  boldly  maintained  their  ground,  even  at  this  period, 
and  often  played  an  aggressive  part,  proves  their  native  superiority. 
and  gives  them  indisputable  right  to  their  own  haughty  term  of 
designation  —  "  On-gui-hion-wi "  —  men  without  peers. 

French  interference,  in  behalf  of  their  old  and  implacable  foes, 
only  developed  the  genius  of  their  Sachems,  and  attested  the  devo 
tion  of  their  warriors. 

*0.  H.  Marshall's  able. address  before  the  Young  Men's  Association  at  Buffalo. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  89 

It  was  extremely  impolitic  on  the  part  of  the  Canadian  colony, 
far  from  the  resources  of  the  mother  country,  thus  in  a  state  of  in 
fancy,  to  provoke  the  hate  of  unconquerable  tribes.  The  Charis- 
toone,  or  Iron  Workers,  as  they  termed  their  neighbors,  the  Dutch, 
and  after  their  decline,  the  English,  supplied  the  Konoshioni  with 
ammunition  and  arms.  Jealous  of  French  influence,  they  encouraged 
them  to  wage  a  war  that  should  ask  no  quarter,  and  know  no  end 
ing,  until  Canada  was  depopulated.  Then  blacker  grew  the  tem 
pest: —  from  the  pine  plains  of  Ske-nec-ta-da  to  the  great  Lake, 
a  gathering-cry  was  heard,  that  rang  through  the  arches  of  the 
forest,  more  dreadful  than  the  panther's  scream.  Towns  and  out 
posts  were  burned  —  the  Carignan  was  struck  down  at  his  door- 
stone,  and  the  settler  scalped  in  the  midst  of  his  clearing.  Neither 
age  nor  sex  was  spared. 

The  fur-trader  found  a  red  grave  in  the  wilderness ;  even  the 
sentinel  was  shot  pacing  his  rounds,  and  the  unwary  batteauman 
dyed  with  liis  heart's  best  blood  the  waters  of  Cataracqui. 

French  America,  through  the  administration  of  successive  Vice 
roys  of  Louis  XIV.,  atoned  for  her  folly  in  the  dispersion  of  her 
Abenaqui  —  the  sack  of  Montreal  —  the  defeat  of  her  faithful 
Hurons  under  the  guns  of  Quebec,  and  humiliating  irruptions  of  a 
foe  that  overran  the  province,  to  use  the  strong  figure  of  her  annal 
ists,  "  as  a  torrent  does  the  low-lands,  when  it  overflows  its  banks, 
and  there  is  no  withstanding  it." 

Compare  for  a  moment-  the  Atahualpas  and  Huan  Capacs  of 
Peruvian  history,  with  the  dreaded  founders  and  rulers  of  this 
Aboriginal  League.  Though  mighty  armies  came  at  their  call, 
resplendant  with  gold  and  blazing  with  jewels,  they  were  routed  by 
Pizarro,  with  a  few  horsemen  at  his  back.  Charging  steed  and 
shouting  rider — deemed  by  the  silly  natives  one  animal,  like  the 
Centaur  of  fable  —  rattling  gun  and  the  blast  of  the  trumpet 
subdued  them  with  a  terror  that  no  appeal  to  patriotism  could 
overcome.  In  sight  of  their  homes  and  altars,  thousands  were 
slain  like  unresisting  sheep,  the  survivors  bowing  their  necks  to  the 
yoke,  and  looking  tamely  on,  while  their  heart-broken  Incas  suffer 
ed  ignominious  death.  The  mighty  empire  of  the  Aztecs  had  ex 
perienced  a  few  years  before,  the  same  disastrous  fate  ;  it  crumbled 
away,  as  it  were,  in  a  night ;  the  splendor  of  its  adorning  more  ef 
fectually  insuring  its  destruction. 
6 


90  PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

The  romantic  valor  of  a  few  Castiiian  adventurers,  outweighed 
in  the  scale  of  conflict,  the  countless  multitudes  that  opposed  them. 

Montezuma  and  Guatimozin,  after  all,  were  nothing  more  than 
royal  shadows,  notwithstanding  their  patient  martyrdom. 

The  sceptred  phantoms  invoked  by  the  weird  sisters  were  less 
frail  and  unsubstantial,  for  they  inspired  fear  —  extorting  this  shud 
dering  cry  from  a  tyrant  and  regicide,  bloody  and  false  like  Cortez  — 

"Let  this  pernicious  hour 

Stand,  aye,  accursed  in  the  calendar." 

Of  different  mould  and  mettle,  were  the  Sachems  and  Attotarhos 
of  the  Five  Nations.  They  were  endowed  with  the  will  to  dare  — 
the  hand  to  execute.  Their  Garangulas  and  Decanissoras  —  their 
Oundiagas  and  Karistageas  united  to  indomitable  courage,  talents 
for  negotiation,  and  resistless  eloquence. 

Less  brilliant  than  banded  states  that  paid  submissive  tribute  to 
the  Aztec  emperor,  there  was  more  stability  and  strength  in  their 
unwritten  compact  of  union.  Though  a  mere  handful,  compared 
with  the  swarming  and  priest-ridden  slaves  of  Mexico,  they  posses 
sed  an  inherent  valor  and  spirit  of  independence,  that  submitted  to 
no  wrong,  and  brooked  no  rivalry.  Seldom  in  the  field  with  more 
than  a  thousand  warriors,  they  went  forth  conquering  and  to  con 
quer  —  bound  by  an  heraldic  tie  that  evoked  a  deeply-rooted  senti 
ment  of  regard  and  national  pride. 

Less  formidable  by  far  was  Spanish  inroad  at  the  extreme  south 
than  French  military  power  on  this  continent  so  vainly  exerted, 
under  De  Nonville  and  Frontenac,  to  overawe  and  subdue  them, 
"  and  it  can  scarcely  be  deemed  fanciful  to  assert,"  says  a  dis 
tinguished  writer,  *  "  that  had  Hernando  Cortez  entered  the  Mohawk 
valley  instead  of  that  of  Mexico,  with  the  force  he  actually  had,  his 
ranks  would  have  gone  down  under  the  skilfulness  of  the  Iroquois 
ambuscades,  and  himself  perished  ingloriously  at  the  stake." 

Wherever  they  were  urged  onward  by  a  martial  impulse  and 
ardor  that  no  difficulties  could  lessen  or  abate  —  whether  traversing 
the  Appalachian  chain  or  western  prairie — the  fame  of  their  ex 
ploits  proceeding  them,  created  panic,  and  paralized  resistance. 
Though  thinned  in  number  by  long  and  bloody  wars,  they  were  fear 
fully  formidable  in  modern  times :  foes  in  our  revolutionary  struggle, 

*  Sehoolcraft. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  91 

they  proved  their  devotion  to  their  British  Father  at  Wyoming, 
Minnisink  and  mournful  Oriskany  —  friends  at  a  later  epoch,  of  our 
Union,  they  followed  Oundiaka  and  Honneyawas  to  the  red  field  of 
Chippewa.  At  all  periods  of  their  history  —  flushed  with  triumph,  or 
clouded  by  disaster  —  there  has  been  no  decay  of  hereditary  valor. 
Whether  known  as  '  Massawomekes'  to  the  southern,  or  *  Na- 
dowa'  to  the  western  Tribes,  they  were  alike  terrible  and  invinci 
ble.  A  more  splendid  race  of  savages  never  launched  their  war- 
canoes  on  our  streams,  or  drew  bow  in  our  forests  ;  and  a  wild  mag- 
namity  throws  light  on  their  darker  traits,  in  their  practical  applica 
tion  of  the  motto,  "  parcere  subjectos,  et  extirpare  superbos."  Hu 
manity  blushes  to  recall  the  scenes  of  rape  and  hellish  licence  that 
have  followed  the  storming  of  towns,  and  sack  of  cities  in  the  old  world, 
but  an  Iroquois  warrior  was  never  known  to  violate  the  chastity  of 
a  female  prisoner. 

Often  a  chivalric  spirit  gave  an  air  of  romance  to  their  native 
daring.  After  a  successful  foray  into  an  enemy's  country,  pursu 
ers  on  the  trail,  finding  their  gage  of  mortal  defiance,  would  move 
with  greater  circumspection.  Like  the  generous  reptile  whose 
dread  rattle  arrests  the  step  of  the  hunter,  significant  tokens  dropped 
by  the  way,  warned  foemen  to  retire,  or  expect  no  mercy  at  their 
hands.  Thus  in  1696,  when  Frontenac's  army  was  on  the  Oswego, 
two  bundles  of  cut  rushes,  in  their  line  of  march,  a  numerical  sign, 
conveyed  the  startling  intelligence  that  more  than  fourteen  hundred 
warriors  were  on  the  watch  for  their  coming. 

Not  less  haughty  and  heroic  was  their  conduct  in  1779,  when  re 
tiring  before  the  greatly  superior  force  of  Sullivan.  They  bent  a 
tree,  and  twisted  its  rugged  top  around  the  trunk,  as  an  emblem  of 
their  own  situation  —  bent  but  not  broken  —  smitten,  but  not  over 
thrown. 

Though  all  the  tribes  of  aboriginal  America  were  competitors ;  the 
palm  for  greatest  manifestation  of  mental  power  would  be  awarded 
to  this  extraordinary  people.  The  principle  of  unity  that  banded 
them  together,  offspring  of  profound  policy  that  lifts  them  above  the 
hunter  state  —  their  love  of  liberty  that  scorned  submission  to  foreign 
control ;  their  ability  to  cope,  in  council,  with  the  most  skillful  diplo 
matists  of  a  boasted  civilization  —  the  wonderful  eloquence  of  their 
orators,  challenging  comparison  with  the  finest  periods  of  Demos 
thenes  —  their  self-reliance  that  laughed  at  the  menaces  of  kings  — 


92  PHELPS    A1STD     GOEHAM?S    PURCHASE. 

their  long  adherence  to  one  great  plan  of  conquest ;  —  bear  witness 
that  they  were  a  highly-gifted  race,  and  may  well  make  them  objects 
of  intense  interest  to  the  poet,  philosopher  and  historian.  The  climate 
enjoyed,  and  the  country  occupied  by  them  were  favorable  to  the  de- 
velopement  of  a  noble  manhood.  Their  broad  domain  was  irrigated 
by  streams  whose  rich  alluvial  bottoms  rewarded  the  rudest  tillage 
with  a  full  supply  of  golden  maize ;  its  forests  abounding  in  animals  of 
chase  —  bear,  bounding  deer,  majestic  moose  and  elk  —  furnished 
their  lodge  boards  with  venison ;  and  the  lovely  lakes  that  spotted  its 
rolling  surface,  paid  rich  tribute  to  the  bark-net^  and  barbed  spear  of 
the  fisherman. 

Man  owes  many  of  his  characteristics  to  the  scenes  amid  which 
he  is  nursed,  and  the  grand,  geographical  features  of  Iroquois  em 
pire  were  sources  to  its  upholders  and  lords,  of  high,  ennobling 
thought.  Rivers  rushing  to  find  a  level  "either  in  the  gulfs  of  St, 
Lawrence  and  Mexico,  or  in  the  intermediate  shores  of  the  Atlan 
tic  "  —  Erie  and  Ontario,  those  lonely  worlds  of  waters,  that  border 
ed  on  the  north  and  west,  with  a  blue  belt,  their  hunting  grounds ; 
the  Adirondack  chain,  with  its  deep  gorges,  vapory  cones,  and 
splintered  cliffs  —  old  mossy  woods,  where  the  mysterious  winds 
awoke  their  wildest  music ;  glades  basking  in  the  light,  and  glens, 
where  reigned  at  noon-day  a  sepulchral  gloom ;  and,  more  than 
all,  the  mighty  Cataract  of  Niagara,  singing  an  eternal  anthem  at 
the  western  door  of  their  Long  House;  were  sights  and  sounds  that 
found  a  reflex  and  an  echo,  not  only  in  their  magnificent  traditions, 
but  in  the  sublime  imagery  and  symbolic  phraseology  of  their 
orators.  Previous  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Neuter  Nation,  and 
subsequent  to  that  event,  of  the  Eries,  the  Seneca  country  extended 
westward  to  the  Genesee.  After  that  period  they  were  undisputed 
masters  of  the  soil  from  the  valley  of  Pleasant  Water,  to  the  banks 
of  the  De-o-se-o-wa,  or  Buffalo  Creek.  Disputes  have  arisen  among 
antiquarians,  as  to  the  question  whether  the  Kah-kwahs  and  Eries 
were  one  and  the  same  people.  All  Indian  history  proves  that  a 
tribe  is  often  known  by  diverse  names  in  their  own  tongue,  as  well 
as  in  different  dialects.  For  example,  referring  to  their  position,  the 
Senecas  were  called  " Swan-ne-ho-ont,"  (door  on  the  hinge) — in 
reference  to  the  place  of  their  origin —  an  elevated  point  at  the 
head  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  "  Nun-do-wa-ga,"  or  people  of  the  Hill. 
Whether  known  as  Allegan,  Erie,  or  Kah-kwah,  the  western  door- 


PHELPS    A1STD    GOKHAM7S    PURCHASE.  93 

keepers  struggled  many  years  in  vain  to  give  the  Long  House 
of  the  League  a  greater  extension.  For  the  first  time  since  quitting 
their  Canadian  seats,  on  the  St.  Lawrence  and  its  tributaries,  were 
they  checked  in  their  march  toward  the  setting  sun.  Their  rivals 
in  arms  were  inclined,  while  hand  could  wield  hatchet,  not  to  sur 
render  without  a  blow  the  broad  spreading  chase-grounds  of  their 
fathers :  —  and  a  glorious  land  it  was  —  a  Canaan  of  the  wilderness 
—  well  worth  the  bloody  sacrifice  that  was  made  by  a  luckless  and 
gallant  people  in  defending  the  integrity  of  its  aoil.  Opposed  to 
them  was  a  foe,  renowned  throughout  the  nations,  for  courage,  en 
durance,  enterprise  and  boundless  ambition. 

The  latter  assign  as  cause  of  war,  the  defeat  of  the  Kah-kwahs 
in  ball  playing,  and  other  athletic  sports,  though  the  challenging 
party. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe,  however,  that  the  Senecas  were  the  ag 
gressors, —  competitors  for  the  spoils  in  one  of  those  games  of  life 
and  death  that  the  human  race,  savage  and  civilized,  have  played  in 
all  ages  and  in  all  lands. 

O 

Their  fierce  and  restless  natures  could  ill  bear  aught  that  blocked 
the  way  to  a  more  extended  rule  :  —  bounds  to  their  supremacy, 
westward,  were  not  to  be  found  on  the  Genesee,  while  beyond  its 
channel  lay  one  of  the  fairest  gardens  of  this  western  World.  It 
was  an  easy  task  for  their  subtle  minds  to  frame  a  pretext  —  a  much 
harder  one  for  their  strong  right  arms  to  wrest  a  priceless  heritage 
from  its  heroic  defenders. 

In  August  of  the  year  1653,  Father  Le  Moyne  —  known  among 
red  men  as  Ondessonk  —  visited  the  Onondagas,  and  found  them 
bitterly  bewailing  the  loss  that  the  confederacy  had  sustained  in  the 
massacre  of  the  great  Seneca  Chief  "  An-nen-cra-os "  by  their 
enemies,  the  Kah-kwahs.  The  war  raged  for  a  time  without  any 
very  disastrous  result  to  either  party. 

Unaided  by  their  eastern  brethren,  the  Senecas,  however,  triumph 
ed  in  the  first  general  engagement  —  unmistakeable  proof  of  their 
high,  martial  qualities  ;  for  their  opponents  displayed  a  desperate 
hardihood,  on  that  day,  worthy  of  a  more  fortunate  issue. 

Some  writers  are  of  opinion,  that  the  battle  was  fought  near  the 
Honeoye  outlet,  and  midway  between  Canandaigua  Lake  and  the 
Genesee  River :  — •  others  locate  the  scene  of  carnage  more  than  a 
day's  march  from  the  old  village  of  Cannewaugus,  in  a  westward 


94  PHELPS  AOT)  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 


direction.  The  place  of  final  conflict  is  better  known.  Leaving 
more  than  half  of  their  warriors,  pierced  by  the  shafts,  and  crushed 
by  the  war  clubs  of  the  conquerors,  the  survivors  fled  to  their  prin 
cipal  village,  and  strong-hold  on  the  De-o-se-o-wa. 

Reinforced  by  tlieir  ailies,  the  Senecas  pursued  and  attacked  them 
in  their  fortress.  After  a  brave  resistance  a  feeble  remnant  of  the 
once  haughty  Eries  fled  from  their  old  hearth-stones  and  possessions 
to  an  Island  of  the  Allegany  ;  but  a  foe  was  on  their  trail,  truer 
than  the  sleuth-hound  when  he  has  tasted  blood.  The  unhappy 
fugitives,  surprised  in  their  encampment,  fled  down  the  river,  under 
cover  of  night,  losing  forever  in  distant  wilds,  their  identity  as  a 
nation.  A  few,  saved  from  the  general  slaughter  and  dispersion, 
were  adopted  by  the  confederates  ;  for  by  this  politic  course,  they 
in  part,  repaired  the  dreadful  ravages  of  war,  and  postponed  the 
dismal  hour  of  their  own  inevitable  declension  and  fall. 

I  cannot  forbear,  in  my  brief  sketch  of  their  extirpation,  from 
closing  in  the  eloquent  words  of  my  friend  Marshall  :  —  "  They  are 
a  people  of  whom  there  is  scarcely  a  memorial,  save  the  name  of 
the  Lake  that  washes  the  shore  they  ruled.  Fit  mausoleum  of  an 
extinct  tribe  !  Even  the  vague  tradition  that  transmits  their  mem 
ory,  will  soon  be  lost,  with  the  last  remnant  of  the  'Nun-de-wa-gas' 
that  swept  them  from  existence." 

Enraged  by  continued  infraction  of  their  territory,  during  the  ad 
ministration  of  De  la  Barre,  by  the  passage  of  French  trading 
parties  to  the  south  west,  laden  with  material  to  arm  their  enemies, 
the  Senecas  began  hostilities  by  wresting  from  them  their  powder 
and  lead  —  seizing  their  canoes,  and  dismissing  them,  homeward, 
with  threats  of  torture  and  death  if  they  ever  returned.  In  his  in 
structions  to  the  French  Governor,  on  receipt  of  the  alarming  intelli 
gence,  Louis  XIV.  recommended  a  prompt  invasion  of  the  hostile 
country,  and  directed  that  all  prisoners  of  war  taken  in  the  cam 
paign,  when  opportunity  offered,  should  be  shipped  to  France,  re 
marking,  in  his  despatch,  that  "  the  Iroquois,  being  stout  and  robust, 
would  serve  with  advantage  in  his  galleys.' 

What  plan,  by  the  rash  Bourbon,  could  have  been  devised,  I  ask, 
more  certain  than  this  to  undermine  his  sovreignty  on  this  conti 
nent?  An  attempt  to  enslave  a  high  spirited  race,  that  preferred 
liberty  to  life,  was  a  long  stride,  on  the  part  of  French  America, 
towards  certain  destruction.  Captives,  treacherously  seized,  were, 


PHELPS  AND   GOEIIAM'S  PUECHASE.  95 

actually  carried  to  France,  in  pusurance  of  royal  policy,  and  forced 
into  degrading  service. 

At  a  subsequent  period  they  were  liberated  and  laden  with  pres 
ents,  brought  back  to  Canada.  But  the  dragon-teeth  had  been  sown, 
and  it  was  too  late  to  hope  for  a  burial  of  the  hatchet.  The  insult 
was  one  that  the  Five  Nations  would  neither  forget  nor  forgive  : — 
and  many  were  the  bloody  scalps  that  soon  hung  drying  in  the 
smoke  of  their  wigwams.  De  la  Barre's  expedition  to  La  Famine, 
or  Hungry  Bay,  in  compliance  with  the  royal  pleasure,  was  attended 
by  disastrous  results.  A  terrible  distemper  broke  out  in  his  camp, 
and  the  half- famished  troops,  spurning  restraints  of  discipline,  clamor 
ed  for  speedy  departure  to  their  homes. 

While  thus  in  a  condition  to  become  an  easy  prey  for  enemies, 
ever  on  the  watch,  he  endeavored  to  achieve  by  diplomacy  what  he 
could  not  effect  by  force.  Messengers  were  sent  entreating  the  Five 
Nations  to  meet  him  in  council  on  the  shore  of  the  Lake. 

The  Mohawks  and  Senecas  returned  a  haughty  refusal,  but  the 
remaining  tribes  complied  with  his  request.  The  speech  of  Garan- 
gula,  on  that  occasion,  has  been  justly  deemed  a  master-piece  of 
argument  and  eloquence. 

De  la  Barre  had  indulged  in  idle  bravado,  thinking  that  his  real 
situation  was  unknown  to  his  eagle-eyed  adversary ;  and  nothing 
could  have  astonished  him  more  than  the  picture  drawn  by  the 
sarcastic  chief,  of  his  utter  inability  to  strike  a  blow  —  or  more 
galling  to  a  soldier's  pride,  than  the  taunting  language  that  he  em 
ployed  :  _  nv 

"  Hear,  Yonnondio !  our  women  had  taken  their  clubs,  our  chil 
dren  and  old  men  had  carried  their  bows  and  arrows  into  the  heart 
of  your  camp,  if  our  warriors  had  not  disarmed  them,  and  kept 
them  back." 

Soon  after  this  signal  exposure  of  his  weakness,  the  Governor 
returned  to  Canada,  with  a  dispirited  army,  and  a  tarnished  reputa 
tion. 

Tha  Marquis  De  Nonville,  successor  of  De  la  Barre,  though  an 
accomplished  officer,  was  taught  a  still  sterner  lesson  in  1687.  In 
July  of  that  year,  with  two  thousand  regulars  and  militia,  and  a 
thousand  friendly  Indians,  he  landed  at  "  O-nyui-da-on-da-gwat,"  or 
Irondequoit  Bay.  The  plan  of  campaign  was  to  attack  the  dread 
ed  "  Long-house/'at  a  point  never  before  invaded,  by  securing 


96  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

greater  chances  of  success.  In  crushing  the  Senecas,  justly  re 
garded  the  most  ferocious  and  formidable  of  the  Five  Nations, 
the  Marquis  hoped  to  curb  the  pride,  and  paralize  the  power  of 
their  strong  League  for  ever.  Great  glory  would  also  accrue  to 
his  name,  in  conquering  a  region,  and  annexing  it  to  the  crown 
of  France,  unsurpassed  in  beauty  and  fertility,  "of  regular  sea 
sons,"  mild  of  climate,  intersected  by  numerous  lakes  and  rivers, 
and  said,  by  writers  of  the  period,  to  be  "  capable  of  bearing  all 
the  fru-its  of  Touraine  and  Provence." 

In  addition,  by  erecting  a  fort  at  "  the  extremity  of  a  tongue  of 
land  between  the  Niagara  River  and  Lake  Ontario,"  he  intended  to 
secure  uninterrupted  command  of  the  great  lakes,  monopolize  the 
beaver  trade,  and  furnish  a  place  ol  rendezvous  and  supplies  for  the 
savage  allies  of  France  in  their  wars  with  the  Iroquois. 

After  building  a  redoubt,  manned  by  several  companies,  to  pro 
tect  the  canoes  and  batteaux,  four  hundred  in  number,  De  Non- 
ville  put  his  army  in  motion.  Warned  of  the  danger,  the  main 
body  of  the  Seneca  warriors  hastened  to  remove  their  old  men, 
women  and  children  to  places  of  safety,  leaving  a  hundred  picked 
men  at  a  small  fort  to  act  as  a  corps  of  observation,  and  closely 
watch  the  progress  of  the  invaders. 

The  latter,  informed  that  "Yonnondio"  was  on  the  war-path, 
sent  runners  to  their  friends,  and  350  young  men  turned  back  to 
give  him  a  suitable  reception. 

An  ambuscade  was  skillfully  laid  on  a  small  wooded  hill,  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  Indian  castle  of  Ganagarro,  at  the  foot  of 
which  was  a  deep  and  dangerous  defile. 

The  -scouts  of  the  army,  on  the  second  day  of  their  march,  passed 
without  being  molested,  or  observing  their  crafty  enemies,  even  to 
the  corn  fields  of  the  village.  The  lions  of  the  Genesee  lay 
crouched  in  their  hidden  lair,  to  pounce  on  more  formidable  prey. 
No  note  of  alarm  being  heard,  command  was  given  to  centre  and 
wings  to  quicken  their  movements.  Thinking  that  the  braves  of 
the  nation  had  fled,  and  that  they  would  meet  with  no  opposition, 
the  French  plunged  rashly  into  the  defile.  While  in  confused  array, 
the  dreaded  and  blood-curdling  war  whoops  of  the  Iroquois  rang  in 
their  ears,  followed  by  a  heavy  volley  of  musketry.  While  their 
bravest  went  down  under  the  close  discharge,  the  foremost  ranks 
recoiled  ;  then,  emulating  French  speed  at  the  "  Battle  of  the  spurs/' 


PIIELPS  AND  GORIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  9*7 

shamefully  fled,  disorganizing  the  whole  line,  and  carrying  dismay 
in  their  course.  "  Battalions/'  —  says  La  Hontan,  a  spectator,  and 
the  historian  of  the  fight  —  "  separated  into  platoons,  that  ran  with 
out  order,  pell-mell,  to  the  right  and  left,  not  knowing  whither  they 
went"  A  more  vivid  picture  of  utter  overthrow  for  the  time,  and 
the  contagion  of  fear,  could  not  be  drawn. 

Before  the  panic  subsided,  the  Senecas  broke  cover,  and  charged 
the  flying  foe,  tomahawk  in  hand. 

Many  of  the  fugitives  were  slain,  but  the  pursuers  -followed  too 
far,  losing  the  advantage  of  a  thick  wood,  and  strong  position.  Such 
was  their  paucity  of  numbers,  that  they  could  only  for  a  brief  period 
make  head  against  a  host.  By  rallying  his  routed  troops,  and 
making  a  combined  attack  of  regulars,  militia  and  Indians,  De  Non- 
ville  checked  the  Senecas,  and  after  a  valiant  stand,  and  desperate 
efforts  to  stem  the  refluent  tide  of  conflict,  they  were  compelled 
reluctantly  to  give  way. 

Spartan  prowess  could  have  done  no  more.  A  General,  thirty 
years  in  service,  and  a  favorite  officer  of  ''the  Magnificent  Louis," 
had  been  surprised ;  his  savage  hordes,  colonial  levies,  and  veteran 
regiments  disordered,  charged  and  driven  back  by  a  much  smaller 
force  than  his  own  rear-guard  —  and  only  saved,  by  overwhelming 
numbers,  from  the  crowning  disgrace  of  a  disastrous  defeat. 

Though  repulsed,  the  Senecas  were  not  disheartened,  and  when 
challenged,  in  their  retreat,  to  stand  and  fight,  halted  on  the  brow 
of  a  hill,  and  replied  :  —  "  Come  on,  four  hundred  to  our  four  hun 
dred,  and  we  have  but  a  hundred  men,  and  three  hundred  boys,  and 
we  will  fight  you  hand  to  fist."  *  It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that 
the  proposition  was  not  accepted,  for  we  have  French  authority  for 
saying  that  the  Iroquois  were  more  skillful  in  the  use  of  the  gun 
than  Europeans,  f 

If  De  Nonville  was  the  chivalrous  soldier  and  Christian,  that 
Charlevoix  represents  him  to  have  been,  he  left  his  good  name  be 
hind  him  in  this  unfortunate  expedition.  In  his  report  of  the  battle 
he  has  mingled  much  that  is  obviously  false,  an  act  unworthy  of  a 
gallant  gentleman ;  and  he  little  honored  the  Christian  character, 
by  permiting  his  wampum-decked  allies,  whose  poltroonry  was  only 

*  Doc.  "His."  Vol.  1,  p.  248. 
I  Doc.  "His."  p.  231. 


98  PHELPS  A:ND  GOKHAM'S  PUECIIASE. 

surpassed  by  their  horrid  barbarities,  to   torture   the  helpless  and 
wounded,  breathing  defiance  to  the  lost,  that  fell  into  his  hands. 

How  can  we  reconcile  with  common  ideas  of  honor,  his  official 
statement,  that  the  skulking  Ottawas  performed  their  duty  admirably 
in  the  action,  with  a  passage  in  his  published  letter  to  the  Minister, 
in  which  he  bitterly  denounces  their  cowardice  and  cruelly  ?  How 
can  we  reconcile  his  idle,  and  vain-glorious  claim  to  an  almost 
bloodless  victory,  with  La  Hontan's,  that  besides  twenty-two  woun 
ded,  an  hundred  Frenchmen,  and  ten  savages  were  slain  ? 

The  Baron's  honest  narrative,  so  little  flattering  to  the  military 
pride  of  his  countrymen,  is  corroborated,  in  the  main,  by  other 
witnesses  of  the  engagement.  Well  might  an  indignant  savage, 
in  view  of  their  utter  inefficiency  to  cope  with  the  "  Western  Ro 
mans,"  sneeringly  exclaim,  that  "they  were  only  fit  to  make  war  on 
Indian  corn,  and  bark  canoes ;  "  for  there  is  proof  on  record,  that 
the  French  officers,  at  Mount  Royal,  jeered  one  another  for  being 
appalled  by  the  Seneca  war  whoop  to  such  a  degree,  as  to  fall 
terror-stricken  and  powerless  to  the  ground.  * 

The  memory  of  illustrious  women  who  have  matched,  in  defence 
of  altar  and  hearth,  the  deeds  of  the  sterner  sex,  has  been  enshrined 
in  song,  and  honored  by  the  Historic  Muse.  Joan  of  Arc,  and  the 
dark-eyed  maid  of  Saragossa,  in  all  coming  time,  will  be  chivalric 
watchwords  for  France  and  Spain,  but  not  less  worthy  of  record, 
and  poetic  embalmment,  were  the  five  devoted  heroines  who  followed 
their  red  lords  to  the  battle-field,  near  ancient  Ganagarro,  and 
fought  with  unflinching  resolution  by  their  sides,  f  Children  of 
such  wives  could  not  be  otherwise  than  valiant.  "  Bring  back  your 
shield,  or  be  brought  upon  it,"  was  the  Spartan  mother's  stern  in 
junction  to  her  son ;  but,  roused  to  a  higher  pitch  of  courage,  the 
wild  daughters  of  the  Genesee  stood  in  the  perilous  pass,  and,  in 
defence  of  their  forest  homes,  "  turned  not  back  from  the  sword  — 
the  thunder  of  the  captains,  and  the  shouting." 

The  results  of  this  ill-conceived  irruption  into  the  Seneca  can 
ton,  though  preceded  by  months  of  busy  preparation,  great  con 
sumption  of  material,  and  attended  by  the  pomp  and  parade  of  war, 
may  be  summed  up  in  few  words. 

*  Doc.  "His."  Vol.  1,  p.  246. 
tDoc.  "His."  Yol.  1,  p.  248. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  99 

A  battle  was  fought  in  which  the  field  was  won  by  the  French  — 
the  glory  by  their  foe.  Then  a  few  unarmed  prisoners  were  tor 
tured,  corn  fields  laid  waste,  and  bark  villages  burned,  followed  by 
alarms  that  caused  a  precipitate  retreat  to  their  boats,  harrassed 
every  step  of  the  way  by  hovering  parties  in  pursuit.  Embarking 
at  Irondequoit,  after  the  loss  of  about  twenty  men,  *  they  coasted 
along  the  Lake,  leaving  a  feeble  garrison  at  Niagara  to  defend  an 
isolated  post. 

The  greater  part  of  them,  soon  after,  including  the  commander, 
De  Troyes,  while  closely  besieged  by  the  Iroquois,  fell  victims 
within  their  stockade,  to  the  not  less  fearful  assaults  of  famine  and 
disease. 


CHAPTER  II. 


CONFLICTING   CLAIMS  TO  WESTERN    NEW   YORK INDIAN    TREATIES 

THE   LESSEE  COMPANY  —  THE  MILITARY  TRACT. 


IN  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1783,  which  ended  the  Revolutionary 
war,  England,  forgetful  of  their  obligations  to  the  Six  Nations, 
most  of  whom  had  served  them  faithfully,  as  the  devastated  fron 
tier  settlements  fully  attested,  made  no  provisions  for  their  allies ; 
but  left  them  to  the  mercy  or  discretion  of  those  against  whom  they 
had  carried  on  a  long  and  sanguinary  warfare.  "  The  ancient 
country  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  residence  of  their  ancestors,  from 
the  time  far  beyond  their  earliest  traditions,  was  included  in  the 
boundary  granted  to  Americans."  f  According  to  the  usages  of 

*  "We  have  the  news  of  Keman,  that  the  Indians  have  taken  8  men,  1  woman,  8 
crowns  or  scalps,  aud  killed  near  upon  20  men  at  the  place  where  the  Barks  lay." 
[Maj.  Schuyler  to  Gov.  Dongan,  Doc.  His.  v.  1  p.  255. 

t  Memorial  of  the  Six  Nations,  presented  to  Lord  Camden. 


100       PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

war  and  the  laws  of  civilized  nations,  they  were  a  conquered  peo 
ple,  and  their  country  forfeited  to  the  conqueror.  But  the  authori 
ties  of  our  General  and  State  Governments  did  not  choose  to  apply 
so  stringent  a  rule  to  the  simple  natives,  who  were  unlearned  in 
reference  to  the  position  in  which  their  action  in  the  war  had  pla 
ced  them,  and  had  been  the  dupes  of  their  unprincipled,  ungrateful, 
and  neglectful  employers.  A  strong  disposition  prevailed  in  the 
state  to  regard  their  lands  a  forfeit — especially  among  those  who 
had  suffered  most  at  their  hands  ;  at  one  period,  the  State  Legisla 
ture  entertained  such  a  proposition  —  with  so  much  favor,  that  it 
is  probable  it  would  have  prevailed,  but  for  the  decided  opposition  of 
General  Schuyler,  aided  by  the  influence  of  Washington,  with  the 
General  Government.  A  different  course  was  dictated  by  a  feeling 
of  humanity,  as  well  as  that  of  economy ;  for  renewed  war  and 
conquest  would  have  been  far  more  expensive  than  peace  negotia 
tion  and  purchase  proved  to  be.  The  wiser  and  better  policy 
prevailed. 

The  cessation  of  hostilities  on  the  part  of  those  to  whom  they  had 
lately  been  allies,  left  them  in  an  embarrassing  position.  England 
had  made  a  peace,  and  left  her  allies  in  the  field  to  fight  it  out,  or 
seek  a  peace  upon  their  own  account.  British  perfidy  has  seldom 
been  more  clearly  exhibited. 

Previous  to  the  cession  by  all  the  states,  of  lands  within  their 
boundaries  to  the  General  Government,  the  respective  rights  of 
General  and  State  Governments  were  but  illy  defined ;  and  so  far 
as  this  State  was  concerned,  especially,  a  collision  was  had.  As 
early  as  April,  1784,  the  Legislature  of  this  State  passed  an  act, 
making  the  Governor  and  a  Board  of  commissioners  the  Superin 
tendents  of  Indian  affairs.  The  commissioners  designated  were  :  — 
Abraham  Cuyler,  Peter  Schuyler,  Henry  Glen,  who  associated  with 
them,  Philip  Schuyler,  Robert  Yates,  Abraham  Ten  Broeck,  A. 
Yates,  jr.,  P.  W.  Yates,  John  J.  Beekman,  Mathew  Vischer,  Gen. 
Ganesvoort.  Governor  George  Clinton,  as  the  head  of  the  Board, 
assumed  the  laboring  oar  of  negotiation.  The  services  of  the  mis- 


E— Had  a  different  course  been  pursued,  the  Indians  would  have  called  to 
their  aid  some  of  the  western  nations,  and  prolonged  the  war.  The  venerable  chief 
Blacksnake,  now  an  hundred  years  old,  residing  upon  the  Allegany  Reservation,  in 
sists  that  the  Six  Nations  went  to  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  not  as  a  conquered 
oeople  sueing  for  peace,  but  with  arms  in  their  hands. 


PHELPS  AHD  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE,  101 

sionary,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland,  of  Peter  Ryckfnab;  ~  3aCob  Reed," 
James  Deane,  Major  Fonda,  Col.  Wemple,  •  Major  Fry,  GpL-Van 
Dyke,  —  most  of  whom  had  been  Indian  traders'  ©r1  captive^  ~» were 
enlisted.  Peter  Ryckman  became  to  the  Board,  a  species  of 
"  winged  Mercury,"  flying  from  locality  to  locality — now  at  Oneida, 
then  at  Kanadesaga,  then  at  Niagara,  consulting  with  Brant;  and 
next  at  Albany,  reporting  the  result  of  his  conferences  with  the 
statesmen  and  diplomatists  of  the  forest.  The  time  and  place 
of  a  treaty  was  partially  agreed  upon. 

In  the  mean  time,  Congress  had  contemplated  a  general  treaty 
with  the  Indians,  bordering  upon  the  settlements  in  New  York, 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio ;  and  had  appointed  as  its  commissioners, 
Oliver  Wolcott,  Richard  Butler  and  Arthur  Lee.  A  correspond 
ence  took  place  between  the  New  York  Board  and  the  Commis 
sioners  of  the  United  States,  in  which  the  question  of  jurisdiction, 
the  respective  rights  to  treat  with  the  Indians,  was  seriously  involv 
ed.  The  New  York  Commissioners  found  the  Indians  generally 
averse  to  treating  with  a  State,  but  generally  disposed  to  meet  the 
"  Thirteen  Fires,"  and  hold  a  treaty  of  peace  jointly  with  their 
people  of  some  of  the  western  nations.  Most  of  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1784,  was  consumed  by  endeavors  of  the  New  York 
Board  to  get  a  council  of  the  Six  Nations  convened.  On  the  first 
of  September,  they  met  at  Fort  Schuyler  —  deputies  from  the  Mo 
hawks,  Cayugas,  Onondagas  and  Senecas.  The  Oneidas  and  Tus- 
caroras  held  back ;  but  deputations  from  them,  were  brought  in  by 
runners  on  the  third  day.  The  deputies  of  these  two  nations  were 
first  addressed  by  Governor  Clinton.  He  assured  them  of  a  dis 
position  to  be  at  peace ;  disclaimed  any  intention  to  deprive  them 
of  their  lands ;  proposed  a  settlement  of  boundaries ;  and  warned, 
them  against  disposing  of  their  lands  to  other  than  commissioners 
regularly  appointed  by  the  State  of  New  York,  who  would  treat 
with  them  for  lands,  when  they  were  disposed  to  sell  them.  In  re 
ply  to  this  speech,  a  delegate  of  the  two  nations  expressed  their 
gratification  that  the  war  had  ended,  and  that  they  could  now  meet 
and  "  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace."  "  You  have  come  up,"  said  he, 
"what  has  been  an  untrodden  path  to  you  for  many  years;  and 
this  path  which  you  have  seen  as  you  have  come  along,  has  been 
strewed  with  blood.  We,  therefore,  in  our  turn,  console  your  loss 
es  and  sorrows  during  these  troublesome  times.  We  rejoice  that 


102  PHELPS   AJSTD    GOPvHAM's   PURCHASE. 


ave",  opened  the  path  of  peace  to  this  country."  He  thanked 
the  porrtfmss-ioners  for  iheir  advice  to  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras, 
&Gt  4o  \.iistey  ,tcx  ^individuals  who  proposed  the  purchase  of  their 
lands. 

At  this  stage  of  the  council,  the  Cayuga  and  Tuscarora  chiefs 
exhibited  a  letter  from  the  commissioners  of  Congress.  The  letter 
was  read.  It  informed  the  Indians  that  they,  the  commissioners, 
were  appointed  by  Congress  "to  settle  a  general  peace  with  all  the 
Indian  nations,  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Great  Lake  "  —  that  the  Gov 
ernor  of  New  York  had  no  authority  from  Congress  ;  but  as  he  had 
invited  the  Indians  to  assemble  at  Fort  Stanwix,  on  the  20th  of 
September,  the  commissioners,  to  save  the  trouble  of  two  councils, 
would  alter  the  determination  of  holding  their  council  at  Niagara, 
and  meet  them  at  For  Stanwix  on  the  day  named. 

Gov.  Clinton  next  addressed  the  "  Sachems  and  warriors  of  the 
Mohawks,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas."  He  assured  them 
that  what  was  a  colony  had  become  a  State  ;  that  he  and  his  friends 
had  met  them  to  open  the  paths  of  peace,  to  establish  that  friendly 
relation  that  existed  between  the  Indians  and  their  white  neighbors 
previous  to  the  war.  Some  passages  of  the  Governor's  speech  was 
as  truly  eloquent  as  any  thing  that  will  be  found  among  our  State 
records.  He  said  :  "  The  council  fires  which  was  lighted  both  at 
Albany  and  Onondaga  by  our  ancestors  and  those  of  the  Six  Na 
tions,  which  burned  so  bright,  and  shone  with  so  friendly  a  light 
over  our  common  country,  has  unhappily  been  almost  extinguished 
by  the  late  war  with  Great  Britain.  I  now  gather  together  at  this 
place  the  remaining  brands,  add  fresh  fuel,  and  with  the  true  spirit 
of  reconciliation  and  returning  friendship,  rekindle  the  fire,  in  hopes 
that  no  future  events  may  ever  arise  to  extinguish  it  ;  but  that  you 
and  we,  and  the  offspring  of  us  both,  may  enjoy  its  benign  influence 
as  long  as  the  sun  shall  shine,  or  waters  flow."  In  reference  to 
the  letters  of  the  commissioners  of  Congress,  he  assured  them  that 
their  business  was  with  Indians  residing  out  of  any  State  ;  but  that 
New  York  had  a  right  to  deal  with  those  residing  within  her  boun 
daries. 

The  answer  to  the  Governor's  speech  was  made  by  Brant.  He 
said  that  "  it  meets  with  our  dispositions  and  feelings  of  our  minds." 
In  reference  to  the  respective  claims  of  Congress  and  New  York 
to  treat  with  the  Indians,  he  thought  it  strange  that  "  there  should 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.       103 

be  two  bodies  to  manage  the  same  business."  Several  speeches 
followed,  Brant  and  Cornplanter  being  the  spokesmen  of  the  Indi 
ans.  The  utmost  harmony  prevailed ;  the  Indian  orators  treating 
all  subjects  adroitly,  manifesting  a  disposition  to  make  a  treaty,  but 
evidently  intending  to  stave  off  any  direct  action,  until  they  met 
in  council  the  U.  S.  Commissioners.  To  a  proposition  from  Gov. 
Clinton,  that  the  State  of  New  York  would  look  for  a  cession  of 
lands  to  help  "  indemnify  them  for  the  expenses  .and  sacrifices  of 
the  war ; "  they  replied,  admitting  the  justice  of  the  claim,  but  say 
ing  they  were  peace  ambassadors,  and  had  no  authority  to  dispose 
of  lands.  The  council  broke  up  after  distributing  presents,  and 
leaving  the  Indians  a  supply  of  provisions  for  subsistence  while 
waiting  to  meet  the  U.  S.  Commissioners. 

O  * 

The  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  followed,  conducted  by  the  United 
States  Commissioners,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Richard  Butler,  and  Arthur 
Lee.  No  record  of  the  proceedings  exist  in  our  public  archives ; 
the  general  result  is  however  known.  Terms  of  peace  were  con 
cluded  ;  the  western  boundaries  of  the  Six  Nations  were  so  fixed 
as  to  enlarge  the  "  carrying  place"  on  the  Niagara  river  they  had 
previously  ceded  to  the  King  of  Great  Britian,  and  starting  from 
the  mouth  of  Buffalo  Creek,  was  to  be  a  line  running  due  south  to 
the  northern  boundary  of  Pennsylvania ;  thence  west  to  the  end  of 
said  boundary;  thence  south  along  the  west  boundary  of  said  State 
to  the  river  Ohio.  The  treaty  was  effected  with  considerable  diffi 
culty,  a  large  number  of  the  Indians  insisting  that  it  should  be  gen 
eral,  and  embrace  the  western  Indians,  so  that  all  questions  of  boun 
daries  could  be  settled  at  once.  Brant  was  absent,  transacting 
some  business  with  the  Governor  of  Canada.  Had  he  been  present, 
it  is  doubtful  whether  any  treaty  would  have  oeen  concluded.  Red 
Jacket,  then  a  youth,  made  his  first  public  speech,  and  as  Levasseur, 
(who  derived  his  information  from  La  Fayette,)  says  :  —  "His  speech 
was  a  masterpiece,  and  every  warrior  who  heard  him,  was  carried 

NOTE. — La  Fayette  was  present  at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix.  After  the  lapse  of 
forty  years,  the  generous  Frenchman,  the  companion  of  Washington,  and  the  Seneca 
orator,  again  met.  The  author  was  present  at  the  interview.  A  concourse  of  citizens 
had  been  assembled  for  nearly  two  days,  awaiting  the  anival  of  the  steam  boat  from 
Dunkirk,  which  had  been  chartered  by  the  committee  of  Erie  county,  to  convey  La 
Fayette  to  Buffalo,  and  among  them  was  Red  Jacket.  He  made,  as  usual,  a  somewhat 
ostentatious  display  of  his  medal — a  gift  from  Washington  —  and  it  required  the  es 
pecial  attention  of  a  select  committee  to  keep  the  aged  chief  from  an  indulgence  — 
a  "sin  that  so  easy  beset  him," — which  would  have  marred  the  dignity  if  not  the 


104      PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 


away  with  his  eloquence."  He  strongly  protested  against  ceding 
away  the  hunting  grounds  of  his  people  at  the  west,  and  boldly 
advocated  a  renewal  of  the  war.  The  better  councils  of  Corn- 
planter,  however,  prevailed.  The  so  highly  extolled  eloquence  of 
Red  Jacket,  had  little  in  it  of  practicability.  The  Six  Nations 
agreed  to  surrender  all  of  their  captives,  most  of  whom  had  been 
brought  to  the  treaty  ground  for  that  purpose.  The  commissioners 
in  behalf  of  the  United  States,  guaranteed  to  the  Six  Nations  the 
quiet  possession  of  the  lands  they  occupied,  which  was  recognized 
as  embracing  all  of  New  York,  west  of  cessions  they  had  made 
under  English  dominion. 

The  next  council  of  the  commissioners  of  New  York,  after  the 
one  that  has  been  named,  was  convened  at  Fort  Herkimer,  in  June 
1785.  This  was  with  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras.  Gov.  Clinton 
made  an  opening  speech  in  which,  after  defining  their  rights,  and 
advising  them  that  the  State  held  the  exclusive  right  to  purchase, 
informed  them  that  it  was  understood  they  were  prepared  to  sell 
some  of  their  lands  south  of  the  Unadilla ;  and  if  so,  the  commis 
sioners  were  ready  to  purchase.  After  nearly  two  days  delibera 
tion,  the  Governor's  speech  was  replied  to  by  "  Petrus,  the  minis 
ter."  The  orator  said  his  people  were  averse  to  parting  with  lands 
—  alluded  to  the  frauds  that  had  been  practiced  upon  the  Mohawks 
before  the  Revolution ;  said  "  the  German  Flats  people  when  they 
were  poor,  applied  to  us  for  lands  and  they  were  friends  ;  but  now 
they  are  rich,  they  do  not  use  us  kindly."  The  speech  was  one  of 
consummate  ability ;  especially  did  the  chief  turn  the  tables  upon  the 
Governor,  in  a  frequent  allusion  to  his  former  advice  to  the  Indians 
to  keep  their  lands.  Days  of  deliberation  and  speech  making  suc 
ceeded,  the  Indians  nfaking  propositions  to  lease  a  small  quantity  of 
land,  then  to  sell  a  small  quantity  of  their  poorest  lands,  but  failing 


romance  of  the  intended  interview.  The  reception,  the  ceremonies  generally,  were 
upon  a  staging  erected  in  front  of  "  Rathbun's  Eagle."  After  they  were  through  with, 
Red  Jacket  was  escorted  upon  the  staging,  by  a  committee.  "  The  Douglass  in  his 
hall," — himself  in  his  native  forest — never  walked  with  a  firmer  step  or  a  prouder 
bearing!  There  was  the  stoicism  of  the  Indian  —  seemingly,  the  condecension,  if  it 
existed,  was  his,  and  not  the  "Nation's  Guest."  He  addressed  the  General  in  his 
native  tongue,  through  an  interpreter  who  was  present.  During  the  interview,  La  Fay  - 
ette  not  recognizing  him,  alluded  to  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix :  "And  what"  said 
he,  "has  become  of  the  young  Seneca,  who  on  that  occasion  so  eloquently  opposed 
the  burying  of  the  tomahawk  ?  "  "He  is  now  before  you,"  replied  Red  Jacket.  The 
circumstance,  as  the  reader  will  infer,  revived  in  the  mind  of  La  Fayette,  the  scenea 
of  the  Revolution,  and  in  his  journey  the  next  two  days,  his  conversation  was  enrich 
ed  by  the  reminiscences  which  it  called  up, 


PIEELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECIIASE.  105 

to  come  up  to  what  the  commissioners  required.  In  a  speech  made 
by  the  Grasshopper,  he  alluded  to  the  attempt  the  British  agents 
made  during  the  war,  to  induce  the  Tuscaroras  and  Oneidas  to  join 
them.  He  said :  — "They  told  us  by  joining  the  Americans,  we  would 
get  lice,  as  they  were  only  a  lousy  people  ;  but  however,  although 
they  expressed  the  Americans  were  lousy,  they  have  although  lousy, 
overcome  their  enemies." 

The  commissioners  finally  succeeded  in  purchasing  the  land  lying 
between  the  Unadilla  and  Chenango  Rivers,  south  of  a  line  drawn 
east  and  \vest  through  those  streams,  and  north  of  the  Pennsylva 
ilia  line,  &c.,  for  which  they  paid  811,500,  and  distributed  among 
them  a  liberal  amount  of  goods,  trinkets  and  provisions.  In  finally 
announcing  the  conclusion  to  sell  the  land,  the  Grasshopper  said  :  — 
"  This  news  about  selling  our  lands  will  make  a  great  noise  in  the 
Six  Nations,  when  they  hear  we  have  sold  so  much ;  and  therefore 
we  hope  we  shall  not  be  applied  to  any  more  for  any  of  our  country." 
How  was  the  future  curtained  before  the  simple  backwood's  diplo 
matist  !  Little  did  he  think  that  the  narrow  strip  of  land  thus 
grudgingly  and  unwillingly  parted  with,  would  be  added  to,  and 
widened  out,  until  his  people  were  mostly  shorn  of  their  broad  pos 
sessions  ! 

Here,  in  the  order  of  time,  it  becomes  necessary  to  notice  two 
hindrances  that  were  interposed  to  temporarily  delay  the  prelimin 
ary  measures  for  the  advance  of  settlement  westward  from  the 
lower  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  after  the  Revolution  :  —  The  Kings 
of  England  and  France  were  either  poor  geographers,  or  very 
careless  in  their  grants  of  territory  in  the  new  world.  They  gran 
ted  what  they  never  possessed,  paid  very  little  attention  to  each 
other's  rights,  and  created  cross  or  conflicting  claims.  In  the  year 
1620,  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  granted  to  the  Plymouth  Compa 
ny  a  tract  of  country  denominated  New  England,  extending  several 
degrees  of  latitude  north  and  South,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  ocean,  east  and  west.  A  charter  for  the  government  of  a 
portion  of  this  territory,  granted  by  Charles  I.,  in  1628,  was  vacated 
in  1684,  but  a  second  charter  was  granted  by  William  and  Mary 
1691.  The  territory  comprised  in  this  second  charter,  extended  on 
the  Atlantic  ocean,  from  north  latitude  42°  2,  to  44°  15,  and  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  Charles  L,  in  1663,  granted  to  the 
Duke  of  York  and  Albany,  the  province  of  New  York,  including 
7 


106  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  present  State  of  New  Jersey.  The  tract  thus  granted  extended 
from  a  line  twenty  miles  east  of  the  Hudson  river,  westward,  rather 
indefinitely,  and  from  the  Atlantic  ocean  north, 'to  the  south  line  of 
Canada,  then  a  French  province. 

By  this  collision  of  description,  each  of  these  colonies,  (after 
wards  States,)  laid  claim  to  the  jurisdiction  as  well  as  pre-emption 
right  of  the  same  land,  being  a  tract  sufficiently  large  to  form  several 
States.  The  State  of  New  York,  however,  in  1781,  and  Massa 
chusetts,  in  1785,  ceded  to  the  United  States  all  their  rights,  either 
of  jurisdiction  or  proprietorship,  to  all  the  territory  lying  west  of  a 
meridian,  line  run  south  from  the  westerly  bend  of  Lake  Ontario. 
Although  the  nominal  amount  in  controversy,  by  these  acts,  was 
much  diminished,  it  still  left  some  nineteen  thousand  square  miles 
of  territory  in  dispute  ;  but  this  controversy  was  finally  settled  by  a 
convention  of  commissioners,  appointed  by  the  parties,  held  at 
Hartford,  Conn.,  on  the  16th  day  of  December,  1786.  According 
to  the  stipulations  entered  into  by  the  convention,  Massachusetts 
ceded  to  the  State  of  New  York,  all  her  claim  to  the  government, 
sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  of  all  the  territory  lying  west  of  the 
present  east  line  of  the  State  of  New  York ;  and  New  York  ceded 
to  Massachusetts  the  pre-emption  right,  or  fee  of  the  land,  subject 
to  the  title  of  natives,  of  all  that  part  of  the  State  of  New  York 
lying  west  of  a  line,  beginning  at  a  point  in  the  north  line  oi  Penn 
sylvania,  82  miles  north  of  the  north-east  corner  of  said  State,  and 
running  from  thence  due  north  through  Seneca  Lake,  to  Lake  On 
tario  ;  excepting  and  reserving  to  the  State  of  New  York,  a  strip 
of  land  east  of,  and  adjoining  the  eastern  bank  of  Niagara  river, 
one  mile  wide,  and  extending  its  whole  length.  The  land,  the  pre 
emption  right  of  which  was  thus  ceded,  amounted  to  about  six 
millions  of  acres. 

The  other  difficulty  alluded  to,  arose  from  the  organization  and 
operations  of  two  joint  Lessee  Companies.  The  constitution  of  the 
state  forbade  the  purchase  of  the  fee  in  lands  of  the  Indians,  by 
individuals,  reserving  the  right  to  the  state  alone.  To  evade  this, 
and  come  in  possession  of  the  lands,  an  association  of  individuals 
was  organized  in  the  winter  of  1787,  '8,  who  styled  themselves  the 
"  New  York  Genesee  Land  Company."  The  company  was  com 
posed  of  some  eighty  or  ninety  individuals,  mostly  residing  upon  the 
Hudson ;  many  of  whom  were  wealthy  and  influential  The  prin- 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE.  107 

cipal  seat  of  the  company  was  at  Hudson.  Dr.  Caleb  Benton, 
John  Livingston,  and  Jared  Coffin  were  the  principal  managers 
At  the  same  time  a  branch  company  was  organized  in  Canada, 
called  the  "  Niagara  Genesee  Land  Company."  This  consisted  of 
John  Butler,  Samuel  Street,  John  Powell,  Johnson  and  Murphy,  and 
Benjamin  Barton  ;  all  but  the  last  named,  being  residents  of  Canada. 
This  branch  organization  enabled  the  company  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  then  potent  influence  of  Col.  John  Butler  with  the  Six 
Nations,  and  the  influence  of  his  associates.  Benjamin  Barton,  the 
father  of  the  late  Benjamin  Barton  Jr.  of  Lewiston,  was  an  active 
member  of  the  association.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution, 
he  had  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade,  and  as  a  drover  from  New 
Jersey,  via.  the  Susquehannah  River,  to  the  British  garrison  at 
Niagara.  By  this  means  he  had  become  well  acquainted  with  the 
Senecas,  was  adopted  by  them,  and  had  taken  while  a  youth,  Henry 
O'Bail,  the  son  of  Cornplanter,  and  placed  him  in  a  school  in  N. 
Jersey.  In  addition  to  the  influence  thus  acquired,  there  belonged 
to  the  New  York  Company,  several  who  had  for  a  long  period  been 
Indian  traders.  Thus  organized,  by  such  appliances  as  usually  for 
warded  negotiations  with  the  Indians,  the  company  in  November, 
1787,  obtained  a  Lease  for  "  nine  hundred  and  ninety  nine  years," 
of  all  the  lands  of  the  Six  Nations  in  the  state  of  New  York,  except 
some  small  reservations,  the  privilege  of  hunting,  fishing  &c. 
The  annual  rent  was  to  be  two  thousand  Spanish  milled  dollars  ;  and 
a  bonus  of  $20,000  was  also  promised. 

In  March,  1788,  John  Taylor  had  been  appointed  an  agent  of  the 
New  York  board  of  commissioners,  or  superintendent  of  Indian 
affairs.  In  that  month,  he  was  sent  to  the  Indian  country  to  coun 
teract  the  unlawful  proceedings  of  the  Lessees.  On  his  return  he 
reported  that  he  had  fallen  in  with  the  clerk  of  an  Indian  trader, 
just  from  Tioga,  who  told  him  that  "  Livingston  had  sent  fourteen 
sleighs  loaded  with  goods  into  the  Indian  country.  They  got  within 
50  miles  of  Tioga,  and  would  proceed  no  farther.  That  the  Sene 
cas  were  exceedingly  dissatisfied  with  Livingston,  and  would  not 
abide  by  the  bargain,  charging  him  with  having  cheated  them ;  and 
threatened  Ryckman  for  having  assisted  him  in  cheating  them. 
That  near  160  families  were  at  Tioga,  with  a  considerable  number 
of  cattle,  in  order  to  form  a  settlement  on  those  lands ;  but  were 
very  much  at  a  loss,  as  they  had  heard  that  the  state  intended 


108  PHELPS  AND    GOKHAM'S   PURCHASE. 

that  no  settlement  should  be  made."  Governor  Clinton  issued  a 
proclamation  warning  purchasers  that  the  Lessee  title  would  be 
annulled,  and  sent  runners  to  all  the  Six  Nations  warning  them  of 
the  fraud  that  had  been  practiced  against  them. 

It  was  a  formidable  organization,  embracing  men  of  wealth  and 
political  influence,  and  those  who,  if  their  own  plans  could  not  be 
consummated,  had  an  influence  with  the  Indians  that  would  enable 
them  to  throw  serious  obstacles  in  the  way  of  legal  negotiations  with 
them  for  their  lands.  The  lease  consummated,  the  next  object  of  the 
association  was  to  procure  an  act  of  the  legislature  sanctioning  the 
proceedings,  and  for  that  purpose,  an  attempt  was  made  to  intimidate, 
by  threats  of  dismemberment,  and  the  formation  of  a  new  state, 
embracing  all  the  leased  territory.  But  the  whole  matter  was  met 
with  energy  and  promptness  by  Gov.  George  Clinton,  who  urged 
upon  the  Legislature  measures  to  counteract  the  intended  mischief. 
In  March,  1788,  an  act  was  passed  which  authorised  the  Governor 
to  disregard  all  contracts  made  with  the  Indians,  not  sanctioned  by 
the  state  as  null  and  void,  and  to  cause  all  persons  who  had  entered 
upon  Indian  lands  under  such  contracts,  to  be  driven  off  by  force, 
and  their  buildings  destroyed.  Governor  Clinton  ordered  William 
Colbraith,  then  Sheriff  of  the  county  of  Herkimer, (which  then  em 
braced  all  of  the  present  county  of  Herkimer  and  all  west  of  it  to 
the  west  bounds  of  the  state,)  to  dispossess  intruders  and  burn  their 
dwellings.  A  military  force  was  called  out,  and  the  orders  strictly 
executed.  One  of  the  prominent  settlers,  and  a  co-operator  of  the 
Lessees,  was  taken  to  New  York  in  irons,  upon  a  charge  of  high 
treason. 

Thus  baffled,  the  managers  of  the  two  associations  determined  to 
retaliate  and  coerce  a  compromise,  if  they  failed  to  carry  out  their 
original  design,  by  meeting  the  State  upon  treaty  grounds,  where 
they  could  bring  a  stronger  lobby  than  they  could  command  for 
the  halls  of  legislation.  At  the  treaty,  held  in  Fort  Stanwix,  in 
September,  1778,  with  the  Onondagas,  for  the  purchase  of  their 
lands  by  the  State,  Governor  Clinton  took  the  field  in  person,  back 
ed  by  all  the  official  influence  he  could  command ;  and  yet,  he 
found  for  a  wrhile,  extreme  difficulty  in  effecting  any  thing.  Little 
opposition  from  the  Lessees  showed  itself  openly,  but  it  was  there 
with  its  strongest  appliances.  In  after  years,  when  preferring  a 
claim  against  the  "  New  York  Genesee  Company,"  in  behalf  of  the 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  109 

"  Niagara  Genesee  Company,"  a  prominent  individual  among  the 
claimants,  urged  that  the  Canada  company  had  kept  the  Indians 
back  from  the  treaties ;  and  when  they  could  no  longer  do  so,  had 
on  one  occasion,  baffled  Governor  Clinton  for  nearly  three  weeks. 
Treaties,  however,  went  on,  until  the  State  had  possessed  itself  of 
the  lands  of  the  Six  Nations  east  of  the  pre-emption  line.  The  les 
sees,  seeing  little  hopes  of  accomplishing  their  designs,  finally  peti 
tioned  the  legislature  for  relief;  and  after  considerable  delay,  in 
1793,  an  act  was  passed,  authorizing  the  commissioners  of  the  land 
office  to  set  off  for  them  from  any  of  the  vacant  unappropriated 
lands  of  the  State,  a  tract  equal  to  ten  miles  square.  The  allot 
ment  was  finally  made  in  township  number  three,  of  the  "  Old  Mili 
tary  tract/'  Thus  terminated  a  magnificent  scheme,  so  far  as  the 
State  was  concerned,  which  contemplated  the  possession  of  a  vast 
domain,  and  perhaps,  as  has  been  alleged,  a  separate  State  organi 
zation.  It  marks  an  important  era  in  the  early  history  of  our  State. 
The  influence  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Indians  from  Canada,  by 
which  the  extraordinary  lease  was  obtained,  was  stimulated  by 
the  prospect  of  individual  gain;  but  may  we  not  well  infer  —  with 
out  an  implication  of  the  many  respectable  individuals  who  com 
posed  the  association  in  this  State  to  that  extent  —  that  it  looked 
forward  to  future  events;  the  maintenance  of  British  dominion, 
which  was  afterwards  asserted  and  reluctantly  yielded.  It  was 
long  after  this,  before  the  potent  influence  which  the  Johnsons,  But 
ler  and  Brant  had  carried  with  them,  even  in  their  retreat  to  Cana 
da,  was  counteracted.  They  were  yet  constantly  inculcating  the 
idea  among  the  Six  Nations,  that  they  were  under  British  dominion, 
the  Senecas  at  least.  What  could  better  have  promoted  this  pre 
tension,  than  such  a  scheme,  especially  if  it  contemplated  the  ex 
treme  measure  of  a  dismemberment  of  this  State  —  such  as  was 
alleged  at  the  time,  was  embraced  in  the  plan  of  the  two  organiza 
tions  ?  The  calculations  of  the  "  New  York  Genesee  Company  " 
may  have  been  circumscribed  by  the  boundaries  of  loss  and  gain ; 
that  of  their  associates  and  co-operators  may  have  taken  a  wider 
range,  and  embraced  national  interest,  to  which  it  was  wedded  by 
ties  even  stronger  if  possible,  than  motives  of  gain  and  private 
emolument.  As  late  as  November,  1793,  James  Wadsworth  and 
Oliver  Phelps,  received  a  circular,  signed  by  John  Livingston  and 
Caleb  Benton,  as  officers  of  a  convention  purporting  to  have  been! 


110  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

held  at  Geneva,  urging  the  people  to  hold  town  meetings  and  sign 
petitions  for  a  new  state  to  be  set  off  from  New  York,  and  to  em 
brace  the  counties  of  Otsego,  Tioga,  Herkimer  and  Ontario. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1788,  another  council  with  the  Six  Na 
tions  was  contemplated  by  the  New  York  commissioners.  In  an 
swer  to  a  message  from  them,  requesting  the  Indians  to  fix  upon  a 
time,  some  of  the  chiefs  answered  in  a  writing,  that  it  must  be 
"  after  the  corn  is  hoed."  Massachusetts,  not  having  then  parted 
with  its  pre-emption  right  west  of  Seneca  Lake,  Gov.  Clinton 
wrote  to  Gov.  Hancock  to  secure  his  co-operation  in  counter 
acting  the  designs  of  the  lessees.  The  general  court  declared  the 
leases  "  null  and  void  ;"  but  Governor  Hancock,  in  his  reply  to  the 
letter,  stated  that  Massachusetts,  on  account  of  the  "  embarrassed 
situation  of  the  Commonwealth,"  was  about  to  comply  with  the 
proposals  of  some  of  her  citizens,  for  the  purchase  of  the  pre-emp 
tion  right. 

The  first  of  September  was  fixed  as  the  period  for  the  treaty,  and 
Fort  Schuyler  was  designated  as  the  place.  Active  preparations 
for  it  were  going  on  through  the  summer,  under  the  general  super 
vision  of  John  Taylor,  who  had  the  zealous  co-operation  of  Gov. 
Clinton.  In  all  the  villages  of  the  Six  Nations,  the  lessees  had 
their  agents  and  runners,  or  Indian  traders  in  their  interest.  Even 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland  had  been  either  deceived  or  corrupted  by 
them,  and  had  played  a  part  inconsistent  with  his  profession,  and 
with  his  obligations  to  Massachusetts.  It  was  represented  to  Gov. 
Clinton  that,  in  ^preaching  to  the  Indians,  he  had  advised  them  to 
lease  to  the  New  York  and  Canada  companies,  as  their  territory 

NOTE.  —  After  the  arrangement  with  the  State,  there  was  a  long  controversy  be 
tween  the  two  associations  in  settling  their  affairs  :  in  the  course  of  which,  much  of 
the  secret  machinery  of  both  was  developed.  An  old  adage  was  pretty  well  illustra 
ted.  It  no  where  appears  that  any  thing  was  paid  to  the  Indians  in  their  national  or 
confederate  capacities ;  though  a  bonus  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  was  stipulated  to 
be  paid  in  addition  to  the  annual  rents.  The  Canada  company  refused  at  one  timeto 
pay  an  installment  into  this  general  fund,  alleging  as  a  reason,  the  non-payment  of 
this  twenty  thousand  dollars  due  the  Indians.  But  yet,  it  appears  that  it  was  a  pretty 
expensive  operation  ;  the  chiefs  who  favored  the  scheme  and  the  agents  who  operated 
upon  them,  must  have  been  well  paid ;  "presents  "  must  have  been  as  lavish  as  in  the 
palmiest  days  of  British  and  Indian  negotiations.  Remonstrances  that  were  presented 
to  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  set  forth  that  "  secret  and  unwarrantable  means  had 
been  employed  by  the  lessees  in  making  their  arrangements  with  some  of  the  In 
dians."  At  a  meeting  of  the  "New  York  Genesee  Company,"  at  Hudson,  in  Sep 
tember,  1789,  the  aggregate  expenditures,  as  liquidated,  had  been  over  twelve  thou 
sand  pounds,  N.  E.  currency.  It  will  be  necessary  to  refer  to  this  subject  again,  in 
connection  with  Indian  treaties  that  followed,  and  Charles  Williamson. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  Ill 

was  so  wide,  he  could  not  make  his  voice  heard  to  its  full  extent ; 
that  he  could  "  preach  better,"  if  their  territory  was  smaller.  At 
the  treaty  held  at  Kanadesaga,  when  the  Lease  was  procured,  he  had 
acted  efficiently  for  the  Lessees.  To  counteract  thosestrong  influ 
ences,  agents  and  runners  were  put  in  requisition  by  the  N.  Y. 
commissioners  ;  and  during  the  summer,  the  poor  Indians  had  but 
little  peace. 

The  preparations  for  the  embassy  to  the  Indian  country,  at  Al 
bany  and  New  York,  were  formidable  ones.  A  similar  expedition 
now  to  Santa  Fee,  or  Oregon,  would  be  attended  with  less  of  pre 
liminary  arrangements.  A  sloop  came  up  from  New  York  with  In 
dian  goods,  stores  for  the  expedition,  marquees  and  tents,  specie  for 
purchase  money,  (which  was  obtained  with  much  trouble,)  those 
of  the  board  of  commissioners  and  their  associates,  who  resided  in 
New  York,  and  many  who  were  going  to  attend  the  treaty  from 
motives  of  curiosity  ;  among  whom  was  Count  Monsbiers,  the  then 
French  minister,  and  his  sister. 

The  board  of  commissioners  and  their  retinue,  started  from  Al 
bany  on  the  23d  of  August,  (the  goods  and  baggage  going  up  the 
Mohawk  in  batteaux  that  had  been  built  for  the  purpose,)  and  did 
not  arrive  at  Fort  Schuyler  until  the  28th. 

A  wild,  romantic  scene  was  soon  presented.  The  veteran  soldier, 
George  Clinton,  pitched  his  marquee,  and  was  as  much  the  General 
as  if  he  had  headed  a  military  instead  of  a  civil  expedition.  Among 
his  associates  in  the  commission,  and  his  companions,  \vere  many 
who  had  with  him  been  conspicuous  in  the  Revolution,  and  were 
the  leading  men  of  the  then  young  State.  They  were  surrounded 
by  the  camp  fires  of  the  numerous  representatives  of  the  Six  Na 
tions,  amounting  to  thousands,  who  had  been  attracted  to  the  spot, 
some  from  an  interest  hey  felt  in  the  negotiations,  but  far  the  lar 
gest  proportion  of  them  had  been  attracted  from  their  scattered 
wilderness  homes,  by  the  hopes  and  promises  of  feasts  and  carous 
als.  Indian  traders  from  all  their  localities  in  New  York  and 
Canada,  with  their  showy  goods  and  trinkets,  and  "  fire  water/'  were 
upon  the  ground  with  the  mixed  objects  of  a  sale  of  their  goods, 
when  money  was  paid  to  the  Indians,  and  the  espousal  either  of 
the  State  interests  or  that  of  the  Lessees.  Some  of  the  prominent 
Lessees  from  Albany,  Hudson  and  Canada  had  preceded  the  Gov 
ernor,  and  were  in  the  crowd,  secretly  and  insidiously  endeavoring 


112  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

to  thwart  the  objects  of  the  council.  Irritated  by  all  he  had  heard 
of  the  machinations  of  the  Lessees,  and  learning  that  one  of  their 
principals,  John  Livingston,  of  "  Livingston  Manor  "  was  present 
—  with  the  concurrence  of  his  associates,  Gov.  Clinton  "  took  the 
responsibility,"  as  did  Gen.  Jackson  at  New  Orleans,  and  ordered 
him  in  writing,  to  "  leave  in  three  hours,"  and  "  retire  to  the  dis 
tance  of  forty  miles  from  Fort  Schuyler. 

After  this,  Governor  Clinton  organized  a  species  of  court,  or 
inquest,  and  summoning  Indians,  Indian  traders,  runners  in  the 
interest  of  both  State  and  Lessees,  took  affidavits  of  all  that  had 
transpired  in  procuring  the  long  lease.  It  exposed  a  connected 
scheme  of  bribery,  threats,  intimidation  and  deception,  practiced 
upon  the  Indians.  Finding  that  the  Senecas  were  holding  back 
from  the  treaty,  and  that  many  of  the  head  men  of  the  Cayugas  and 
Onondagas  were  absent,  and  learning  that  there  was  a  counter 
gathering  at  Kanadesaga,  messengers  were  sent  there,  who  found 
Dr.  Benton  surrounded  by  Indians  and  his  agents,  dealing  out  liquor 
and  goods,  and  delivering  speeches,  in  which  he  assured  the  Indians 
that  if  they  we*nt  to  Fort  Schuyler  the  Governor  of  New  York 
would  either  cheat  them  out  of  their  lands,  or  failing  in  that,  would 
fall  upon  them  with  an  armed  force.  Many  of  the  Indians  were 
undeceived,  and  finally  induced  to  go  to  Fort  Schuyler,  when  they 
had  recovered  from  a  state  of  beastly  intoxication  they  had  been 
kept  in  by  Dr.  Benton  and  other  agents  of  the  Lessees.  Such  had 
been  the  excesses  into  which  they  were  betrayed,  to  keep  them 
away  from  the  treaty,  that  many  of  them,  when  becoming  sober 
were  sick  and  unable  to  reach  Fort  Schuyler ;  and  a  Cayuga  chief, 
Spruce  Carrier,  died  on  the  road.  When  they  were  encamped  at 
Scawyace,  twelve  miles  east  of  Seneca  Lake,  on  the  eastern  trail, 
Debartzch,  a  French  trader  at  Cashong,  in  the  interest  of  the  Lessees, 
went  there,  and  by  intimidations,  the  use  of  rum,  and  promises  of 
presents,  induced  them  to  turn  back. 

It  was  not  until  the  8th  of  September  that  the  different  Nations 
were  so  far  represented  as  to  warrant  the  proceeding  to  the  business 
of  the  council.  Governor  Clinton  addressed  the  Onondagas,  inform 
ing  tnem  minutely  of  the  positions  in  which  the  Six  Nations  stood 
in  reference  to  their  lands ;  that  they  were  theirs  to  dispose  of 
when  they  pleased,  but  that  to  protect  them  from  frauds,  the  State 
had  reserved  to  itself  the  right  to  purchase  whenever  they  were 


PHELP3  AND  GOKHAM's    PUECHASE.  113 

disposed  to  sell.  He  told  them  that  the  acts  of  the  Lessees,  were 
the  acts  of  "  disobedient  children  "  of  the  State,  and  that  they  were 
a  "  cheat/'  and  at  the  same  time  informing  them  that  as  commis 
sioners  of  the  State,  he  and  his  associates  were  there  prepared  to 
purchase.  He  cautioned  them  to  keep  sober,  as  there  were  stran 
gers  present,  "  who  will  laugh  at  us  if  while  this  business  is  in  agi 
tation,  any  of  us  should  be  found  disguised."  "  After  the  business 
is  completed,"  said  the  Governor,  "  we  can  indulge  ourselves  in 
innocent  mirth  and  friendship  together."  Black  Cap,  in  behalf  ot 
the  Onondagas,  replied,  assuring  the  Governor  that  the  Onondagas 
wholly  disapproved  of  the  proceedings  with  the  Lessees,  had  made 
up  their  minds  to  sell  to  the  State,  but  wanted  a  little  farther  time 
to  talk  among  themselves.  On  the  12th,  the  treaty  was  concluded, 
and  the  deed  of  cession  of  the  lands  of  the  Onondagas,  some  res 
ervations  excepted,  was  executed.  The  consideration  was  81000 
in  hand,  and  an  annuity  of  $500  forever.  After  the  treaty  was 
concluded,  additional  provisions  were  distributed,  presents  of  goods 
made,  and  congratulatory  speeches  interchanged.  "  As  the  business 
on  which  we  had  met,  said  the  Governor,  is  now  happily  accomplish 
ed,  we  shall  cover  up  the  council  fire  at  this  time  and  take  a  drink, 
and  smoke  our  pipes  together,  and  devote  the  remainder  of  the  day 
to  decent  mirth." 

It  should  be  observed,  that  this  council  was  called  for  the  double 
purpose  of  perpetuating  friendship  with  the  Six  Nations,  and  pur 
chasing  lands.  Though  New  York  had  ceded  the  pre-emption 
right  to  the  lands  of  the  Senecas,  to  Massachusetts,  still  it  was  de 
sirable  that  the  Senecas  should  be  present.  .  Most  of  their  chiefs 
and  head  men  were  kept  away,  but  about  eighty  young  Seneca 
warriors  and  women  were  on  the  ground,  occupying  the  ruins  of 
the  old  Fort.  The  governor  addressed  them,  distributed  among 
them  some  provisions  and  liquor,  and  desired  them  to  go  back  to 
their  nation  and  report  all  they  had  seen,  and  warn  their  people 
against  having  any  thing  to  do  with  the  Lessees.  A  young  Seneca 
warrior  in  his  reply  said  :  —  "  We  had  to  struggle  hard  to  break 
through  the  opposition  that  was  made  to  our  coming  down,  by  some 
of  your  disobedient  children.  We  will  now  tell  you  how  things 
really  are  among  us.  The  voice  of  the  birds,*  and  proud,  strong 

*  Vague  rumors,  and  falsehoods,  were  called  by  the  Senecas,  "  the  voice  of  birds." 


114  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

words  uttered  by  some  of  our  own  people  at  Kanadesaga,  overcome 
the  sachems  and  turned  them  back,  after  they  had  twice  promised 
to  come  down  with  us." 

Negotiations  with  the  Oneidas  followed  :  —  Gov.  Clinton  made  a 
speech  to  them  to  the  same  purport  of  the  one  he  had  delivered  to 
the  Onondagas.  This  was  replied  to  by  "  One-yan-ha,  alias  Beach 
Tree,  commonly  called  the  "  Quarter  Master,"  who  said  an  answer 
to  the  speech  should  be  made  after  his  people  had  counselled  to 
gether.  The  next  day,  just  as  the  council  had  assembled,  word 
carne  that  a  young  warrior  was  found  dead  in  Wood  Creek.  It 
was  concluded  after  some  investigation,  that  he  had  been  drowned  ac 
cidentally,  in  a  state  of  intoxication.  The  commissioners  insisted 
upon  going  on  with  the  treaty,  but  the  Indians  demanded  a  postpone 
ment  for  funeral  observances.  At  the  burial,  A-gwel-en-ton-gwas, 
alias,  Domine  Peter,  or  Good  Peter,  made  a  pathetic  harrangue, 
eloquent  in  some  of  its  passages.  It  was  a  temperance,  but  not 
a  total  abstinence  discourse. 

The  funeral  over,  the  business  of  the  council  was  resumed.  Good 
Peter  replied  to  the  speech  of  the  Governor  :  —  He  reminded  him 
of  a  remark  made  by  him  at  Fort  Herkimer  in  1785,  in  substance, 
that  he  should  not  ask  them  for  any  more  lands.  The  chief  recapitula 
ted  in  a  long  speech,  with  surprising  accuracy,  every  point  in  the 
Governor's  speech,  and  observed  that  if  any  thing  had  been  omitted, 
it  was  because  he  had  not  "  the  advantage  of  the  use  of  letters." 
He  then  made  an  apology,  that  he  was  fatigued,  and  wished  to  sit 
down  and  rest ;  and  that  in  the  meantime,  according  to  ancient 


. — The  backwoods  spiritual  and  temporal  adviser,  insisted  that  his  people 
must  abide  by  the  resolution  of  their  chief,  which  forbid  any  of  them  asking  the  Gov 
ernor  or  commissioners  for  mm,  but  only  to  take  it  when  it  was  offered  arid  measured 
out  to  them.  "  We  are  not  fit "  said  he,  "to  prescribe  as  to  this  article.  Some  who 
are  great  drinkers  have  often  given  in  both  women  and  children  in  their  list,  and 
drawn  for  the  whole  company  as  warriors,  and  thereby  increased  the  quantity  beyond 
all  reasonable  bounds.-  Let  the  Governor  therefore  determine,  if  he  sees  fit  to  give  a 
glass  in  the  morning,  and  at  noon,  and  then  at  night ;  and  if  any  remain  after  each 
one  is  served,  let  it  be  taken  off  the  ground.  This  was  the  ancient  custom  at  Albany 
in  the  days  of  our  forefathers,  when  a  great  number  of  Indians  were  assembled  on 
the  hill  above  the  city.  The  rum  was  brought  there  and  each  one  drank  a  glass  and 
was  satisfied.  No  true  Indian  who  had  the  spirit  of  a  man,  was  ever  known  at  that 
day  to  run  to  a  commissioner  and  demand  a  bottle  of  rum,  on  the  ground  that  he  was 
a  great  man,  and  another  too,  for  the  same  reason,  which  is  the  practice  now-a-days  ; 
no  such  great  men  were  known  in  ancient  happy  times." 

[Good  Peter's  temperance  exhortation,  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Scotch  divine  :  — 
"My  dear  hearers,"  said  he,  "it  is  a'  well  to  take  a  drap  on  getting  up  of  a  mornin. 
a  little  afore  dinner  and  supper,  arid  a  little  on  ganging  to  bed;  but  dinna  be  "drain, 
dram,  dramming."] 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  115 

custom,  another  speaker  would  arise  and  raise  the  spirit  of  their  de 
ceased  sachem,  the  Grasshopper.  But  before  he  sat  down,  he  in 
formed  the  Governor,  that  the  man  bearing  the  name  of  Oe-dat-segh- 
ta,  is  the  first  name  know  in  their  national  council,  and  had  long 
been  publised  throughout  the  confederacy ;  that  his  friend,  the  Grass 
hopper,  was  the  counsellor  for  the  tribe,  to  whom  that  name  be 
longed,  and  that  therefore,  they  replaced  the  Grasshopper  with  this 
lad,  whom  you  are  to  call  Kan-y-a-dal-i-go  ;  presenting  the  young 
lad  to  the  Governor  and  Commissioners ;  and  that  until  he  arrives 
at  an  age  to  qualify  him  to  transact  business  personally,  in  council, 
their  friend,  Hans  Jurio,  is  to  bear  the  name  of  O-jis-tal-a-be,  alias 
Grasshopper,  and  to  be  counsellor  for  this  young  man  and  his  clan, 
until  that  period. 

The  Governor  made  a  speech,  in  which  he  disclaimed  any  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  State  to  purchase  their  lands ;  but  strenuously 
urged  upon  them  that  the  State  would  not  tolerate  the  purchase  or 
leasing  by  individuals.  He  told  them  that  when  they  chose  to  sell 
the  State  would  buy  more  for  their  good  than  anything  else,  as  the 
State  then  had  more  land  than  it  could  occupy  with  people. 

Good  Peter  followed,  said  the  Governor's  speech  was  excellent, 
and  to  their  minds.  "  We  comprehend  every  word  of  your  speech, 
it  is  true  indeed  ;  for  we  see  you  possessed  of  an  extensive  territo 
ry,  and  but  here  and  there  a  smoke."  "  But,"  said  he,  "  we,  too, 
have  disorderly  people  in  our  nation  ;  you  have  a  keg  here,  and 
they  have  their  eyes  upon  it,  and  nothing  can  divert  them  from  the 
pursuit  of  it.  While  there  is  any  part  of  it  left,  they  will  have  their 
eyes  upon  it  and  seek  after  it,  till  they  die  by  it ;  and  if  one  dies, 
there  is  another  who  will  not  be  deterred  by  it,  will  still  continue  to 
seek  after  it.  It  is  just  so  with  your  people.  As  long  as  any  spot 
of  our  excellent  land  remains,  they  will  covet  it,  and  will  never 
rest  till  they  possess  it."  He  said  it  would  take  him  a  long  time  to 
tell  the  Governor  "  all  his  thoughts  and  contemplations  ;  they  were 
extensive  ;  my  mind  is  perplexed  and  pained,  it  labors  hard."  In  a 
short  digression,  he  spoke  of  the  Tree  of  Peace,  and  expressed  his 
fears  that,  "  by-and-by,  some  twig  of  this  beautiful  tree  will  be 
broken  off.  The  wind  seems  always  to  blow,  and  shake  this  belov 
ed  tree."  Before  sitting  down,  Good  Peter  observed  that  they  had 
all  agreed  to  place  the  business  of  the  council,  on  their  part,  in  the 
hands  of  two  of  their  people,  Col.  Louis  and  Peter  Ot-se-quette, 


116  PHELPS  A]SD  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

who  would  be  their  "  mouth  and  their  ears."  *     There  was,  also,  ap 
pointed,  as  their  advisers,  a  committee  of  principal  chiefs. 

The  negotiation  went  on  for  days ;  speeches  were  interchanged ; 
propositions  were  made  and  rejected,  until  finally  a  deed  of  cession 
was  agreed  upon  and  executed  by  the  chiefs.  It  conveyed  all  their 
lands,  making  reservations  for  their  own  residence  around  the  Onei- 
da  castle,  or  principal  village,  and  a  number  of  other  smaller  ones 
for  their  own  people,  and  such  whites  as  had  been  their  interpret 
ers,  favorite  traders,  or  belonged  to  them  by  adoption.  The  con 
sideration  was  $2,000  in  money,  $2,000  in  clothing  and  other 
goods,  81,000  in  provisions,  $500  in  money  for  the  erection  of  a 
saw-mill  and  grist-mill  on  their  reservation,  and  an  annuity  of  "  six 
hundred  dollars  in  silver,"  for  ever.  Congratulatory  addresses  fol 
lowed ;  the  Governor  making  to  the  Oneidas  a  parting  address,  re 
plete  with  good  instruction  and  fatherly  kindness ;  the  Oneidas  re 
plying,  assuring  him  of  the  satisfaction  of  their  people  with  all  that 
had  taken  place ;  and  thanking  the  Governor  and  his  associate 
commissioners  for  the  fairness  of  their  speeches  and  their  conduct. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  record  of  diplomacy  between  civilized 
nations  more  replete  throughout  with  dignity,  decorum  and  ability, 
than  is  that  of  this  protracted  treaty. 

After  dispatching  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland  (who  had  been  present 
throughout  the  treaty,  and  materially  aided  the  commissioners ; 
thus  making  full  amends  for  the  mischief  he  had  helped  to  produce 
in  connection  with  the  long  lease,)  to  the  Cayugas  and  Senecas, 
charged  with  the  mission  of  informing  them  of  all  that  had  trans 
pired,  the  Governor  and  his  retinue  set  out  on  their  return  to  Al 
bany.  The  council  had  continued  for  twenty-five  days. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  commissioners  was  convened  at  Albany, 
December  15,  1788.  Governor  Clinton  read  a  letter  from  Peter 
Ryckman  and  Seth  Reed,  who  were  then  residents  at  Kanadesaga  ; 
Reed  at  the  Old  Castle,  and  Ryckman  upon  the  Lake  shore.  The 

*  Col.  Louis  was  a  half  blood,  French  and  Oneida.  He  had  held  a  commission  un 
der  Gov.  Clinton,  in  the  Revolution.  Peter  Ot-se-quette,  in  a  speech  he  made  in  the 
council,  said  that  he  had  just  returned  from  France,  where  he  had  been  taken  and  edu 
cated  by  LaFayette.  He  said  that  when  he  arrived  in  France,  he  "was  naked,  and 
the  Marquis  clad  him,  receiving  and  treating  him  with  great  kindness  ;"  that  for  a 
year,  he  was  restless ;  and  "  when  the  light  of  knowledge  flowed  in  on  his  mind,  he 
felt  distressed  at  the  miserable  situation  of  his  countrymen ;"  that  after  four  years' 
absence,  he  had  returned  with  the  intention  of  enlightening  and  reforming  them. 
See  Appendix,  No.  4. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

letter  was  forwarded  by  "  Mr.  Lee  and  Mr.  Noble,"  who  had  been 
residing  for  the  summer  at  Kanadesaga.  The  writers  say  to  the 
Governor,  that  the  bearers  of  the  letter  will  detail  to  him  all  that 
has  transpired  in  their  locality  ;  and  add,  that  if  required,  they  can 
induce  the  Cayugas  and  Senecas  to  attend  a  council.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Kirkland  gave,  in  writing,  an  account  of  his  mission.  He 
stated  that  on  arriving  at  Kanadesaga,  he  ascertained  that  to  keep 
the  Cayugas  back  from  the  treaty  at  Fort  Schuyler,  two  of  the 
principal  lessees  and  their  agents,  had  "  kept  them  in  a  continued 
state  of  intoxication  for  three  weeks;"  that  "Dr.  B.  and  Col.  M. 
had  between  twenty  and  thirty  riflemen  in  arms  for  twenty-four 
hours ;  and  gave  out  severe  threats  against  P.  Ryckman  and  Col. 
Reed,  for  being  enemies  to  their  party,  and  friends  to  the  govern 
ment,  in  persuading  the  Indians  to  attend  the  treaty  at  Fort 
Schuyler."  Mr.  Kirkland  stated  that  he  had  been  as  far  as  Nia 
gara,  and  seen  Col.  Butler  ;  and  that  at  the  Seneca  village,  on  Buf 
falo  Creek,  he  had  seen  Shen-dy-ough-gwat-te,  the  "  second  man 
of  influence  among  the  Senecas ;"  and  Farmer's  Brother,  alias 
'•'  Ogh-ne-wi-ge-was ;"  and  that  they  had  become  disposed  to  treat 
with  the  State.  Before  the  Board  adjourned,  it  was  agreed  to  ad 
dress  a  letter  to  Reed  and  Ryckman,  asking  them  to  name  a  day  on 
which  they  could  procure  the  attendance  of  the  Cayugas  and 
Senecas,  at  Albany.  Reed  and  Ryckman,  on  the  reception  of  the 
letter,  despatched  James  Manning  Reed  with  an  answer,  saying 
that  they  would  be  at  Albany,  with  the  Indians,  on  the  23d  oi 
January ;  and  adding,  that  the  lessees  kept  the  Indians  "  so  continu 
ally  intoxicated  with  liquor,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  do  any 
thing  with  them." 

It  was  not  until  the  llth  of  Febuary  however,  that  Mr.  Ryck 
man  was  enabled  to  collect  a  sufficient  number  of  Indians,  and  reach 
Albany.  Several  days  were  spent  in  some  preliminary  proceedings, 
and  in  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  delegations  that  were  on  the  way. 
On  the  14th,  James  Bryan  and  Benjamin  Birdsall,  two  of  the 
Lessees  appeared  before  the  commissioners  and  delivered  up  the 
"long  leases"  that  had  occasioned  so  much  trouble.  On  the  19th 

NOTE. — Gov.  Clinton  and  many  of  the  commissioners  resided  in  New  York.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  then  slow  passage  down  the  Hudson,  they  resolved  at  Albany  to 
charter  a  sloop,  and  thus  be  enabled  to  settle  their  accounts  and  arrange  their  papers 
on  their  way  down  the  river. 


118  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  council  was  opened  with  the  Cayugas,  many  Senecas,  Onon- 
dagas  and  Oneidas,  being  present.  Good  Peter  in  behalf  of  the 
Cayugas,  made  a  speech.  He  said  his  brothers,  the  Cayugas  and 
Senecas  had  "  requested  him  to  be  their  mouth."  As  upon  another 
occasion  his  speech  abounded  in  some  of  the  finest  figures  of  speech 
to  be  found  in  any  preserved  specimens  of  Indian  eloquence.  In 
allusion  to  the  conduct  of  the  Lessees,  and  a  long  series  of  precedent 
difficulties  the  Indians  had  had  with  the  whites,  he  observed  :  — 
"  Let  us  notwithstanding,  possess  our  minds  in  peace  ;  we  can  see 
but  a  small  depth  into  the  heart  of  man ;  we  can  only  discover  what 
comes  from  his  tongue."  Speaking  of  the  relations  that  used  to 
exist  between  his  people  and  the  old  colony  of  New  York,  he  said, 
they  "used  to  kindle  a  council  fire,  the  smoke  of  \\hich  reached  the 
heavens,  and  around  which  they  sat  and  talked  of  peace."  He 
said  in  reference  to  the  blessings  of  peace,  and  the  settled  state  of 
things  that  was  promised  by  fixing  the  Indians  upon  their  Reserva 
tions,  under  the  protection  of  the  state  :  —  "  Our  little  ones  can  now 
go  with  leisure  to  look  for  fish  in  the  streams,  and  our  warriors  to 
hunt  for  wild  beasts  in  the  woods."  Present  at  the  council, 
was  a  considerable  number  of  their  women,  whom  Good  Peter 
called  "  Governesses,"  and  gave  the  reasons  why  they  were  there. — • 
"  The  Rights  of  women,"  found  in  him  an  able  advocate:  —  "Our 
ancestors  considered  it  a  great  transgression  to  reject  the  counsel 
of  the  women,  particularly  the  Governesses ;  they  considered  them 
the  mistresses  of  the  soil.  They  said,  who  brings  us  forth? 
Who  cultivates  our  lands  ?  Who  kindles  our  fires,  and  boils  our 
pots,  but  the  women  ?  Our  women  say  let  not  the  tradition  of  the 
fathers,  with  respect  to  women,  be  disiegarded  ;  let  them  not  be  des 
pised  ;  God  is  their  maker." 

Several  other  speeches  intervening,  the  Governor  answered  the 
speech  of  Good  Peter ;  —  He  reviewed  the  bargain  the  Indians  had 
made  with  the  Lessees,  and  told  them  that  if  carried  out  it  would 
be  to  their  ruin;  explained  the  laws  of  the  state,  and  their  tendency 
to  protect  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  sufficient  quantity  of  land  for 
their  use ;  and  to  guard  them  against  peculation  and  fraud.  In  re 
plying  to  that  part  of  Good  Peter's  speech  in  reference  to  the 
women  and  their  rights,  the  venerable  Governor  was  in  a  vein  of 
gallantry,  eloquently  conceding  the  immunities  that  belonged  to 
the  "  mothers  of  mankind."  He  told  them  they  should  have  re- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  119 

servations  "  large  enough  however  prolific  they  might  be ;  even  if 
they  should  increase  their  nation  to  its  ancient  state  and  num 
bers."  He  apologised  to  the  dusky  sisterhood  by  saying  that,  he 
"  was  advanced  in  years,  unaccustomed  to  address  their  sex  in  pub 
lic  ;"  and  therefore  they  "  must  excuse  the  imperfections  of  his 
speech." 

Other  speeches,  and  days  of  negotiation  followed.  On  the  25th 
of  February,  all  the  preliminaries  being  settled,  the  Cayugas  ceded 
to  the  state  all  of  their  lands,  excepting  a  large  reservation  of  100 
square  miles.  The  consideration  was  $500  in  hand,  $1,628  in  June 
following,  and  an  annuity  of  $500  for  ever. 

In  a  congratulatory  address,  after  the  treaty  was  concluded,  Gov. 
Clinton  recapitulated  all  of  its  terms,  and  observed :  —  "  Brothers 
and  sisters !  when  you  reflect  that  you  had  parted  with  the  whole  of 
your  country,  (in  allusion  to  the  long  lease,)  without  reserving  a 
spot  to  lay  down,  or  kindle  a  fire  on ;  and  that  you  had  disposed  of 
your  lands  to  people  whom  you  had  no  means  to  compel  to  pay 
what  they  had  promised,  you  will  be  persuaded  that  your  brothers 
and  sisters  whom  you  have  left  at  home,  and  your  and  their  children, 
will  have  reason  to  rejoice  at  the  covenant  you  have  now  made, 
which  not  only  saves  you  from  impending  ruin,  but  restores  you  to 
peace  and  security." 

The  three  treaties,  that  had  thus  been  concluded,  had  made  the 
state  the  owners  of  the  soil  of  the  Military  Tract,  or  the  principal 
amount  of  territory  now  included  in  the  counties  of  Cayuga,  Onon- 
daga,  Seneca,  Tompkins,  Cortland,  and  parts  of  Oswego  and  Wayne. 
Other  cessions  followed  until  the  large  reservations  were  either 
ceded  entirely  away,  or  reduced  to  their  present  narrow  limits. 

The  deed  of  cession  of  the  Cayugas  stipulated  that  the  state 
should  convey  to  their  "  adopted  child,"  Peter  Ryckman,  "  whom 
they  desire  shall  reside  near  them  and  assist  them,"  a  tract  on  the 


NOTE.  —  This  tract  was  bounded  on  the  Lake  and  extended  back  to  the  old  pre 
emption  line,  embracing  most  of  the  present  site  of  Geneva.  By  sale,  or  some  after 
arrangement,  the  patent  was  issued  to  "Reed  and  Ryckman."  It  would  seem  by  this 
cession  that  the  Cayugas  claimed  west  as  far  as  the  old  pre-emption  line,  but  their 
ownership,  as  it  was  afterwards  shewn,  did  not  extend  west  of  Seneca  Lake.  Their 
ancient  boundary  was  a  line  running  due  south  from  the  head  of  Great  Sodus  Bay. 
Good  Peter  as  the  "mouth"  of  the  Cayugas,  alluding  to  the  obligations  they  were 
under  to  Peter  Ryckman,  said  *hey  "  wanted  his  dish  made  large,"  for  they  expected 
"to  put  their  spoons  in  it  when  they  were  hungry."  This  probably  had  reference  to 
eome  promises  on  the  part  of  Ryckman. 


120       PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

west  side  of  Seneca  Lake,  which  should  contain  sixteen  thousand 
acres,  the  location  being  designated. 

Soon  after  the  treaty  of  Albany,  the  superintendency  of  Indian 
affairs  principally  devolved  upon  John  Taylor,  as  the  agent  of  the 
board  of  commissioners.  Although  the  treaty  had  seemed  amica 
ble  and  satisfactory,  a  pretty  strong  faction  of  all  three  of  the  na 
tions  treated  with,  had  kept  back,  and  became  instruments  for  the 
use  of  designing  whites.  Although  the  Lessees  had  surrendered 
their  leases,  they  did  not  cease,  through  their  agents  and  Indian 
traders  in  their  interest  to  make  trouble,  by  creating  dissatisfaction 
among  the  Indians ;  probably,  with  the  hopes  of  coercing  the  State 
to  grant  them  remuneration.  Neither  Brant,  Red  Jacket,  Farmer's 
Brother,  and  in  fact  but  few  of  the  influential  chiefs  had  attended 
the  treaties.  Harrassed  for  a  long  period,  a  bone  of  contention, 
first  between  the  French  and  the  English,  then  between  the  Eng 
lish  and  colonists  of  New  York  during  the  Revolution,  and  lastly, 
between  the  State  of  New  York  and  the  Lessees,  the  Six  Nations 
had  become  cut  up  into  contending  factions,  and  their  old  land 
marks  of  government  and  laws,  the  ancient  well  defined  immuni 
ties  of  their  chiefs,  obliterated.  Dissatisfaction,  following  the  trea 
ties,  found  ready  and  willing  promoters  in  the  persons  of  the  gov- 
ment  officers  of  Canada,  and  the  loyalists  who  had  sought  refuge 
there,  during  the  border  wars  of  the  Revolution.  When  the  first  at 
tempt  was  made  to  survey  the  lands,  a  message  was  received  by  Gov. 
Clinton,  from  some  of  the  malcontents,  threatening  resistance,  but 
an  answer  from  the  Governor,  stating  the  consequence  of  such  re 
sistance,  intimidated  them.  At  an  Indian  council  at  Niagara,  Col. 
Butler  said  the  Oneidas  were  "  a  poor  despicable  set  of  Indians, 
who  had  sold  all  their  country  to  the  Governor  of  New  York,  and 
had  dealt  treacherously  with  their  old  friends." 

When  the  period  approached  for  paying  the  first  annuity,  the 
Onondagas  through  an  agent,  represented  to  Gov.  Clinton,  that 
they  had  "  received  four  strings  of  wampum  from  the  Senecas,  for 
bidding  their  going  to  Fort  Stanwix  to  receive  the  money ;  and  in 
forming  them  that  the  Governor  of  Quebec,  wanted  their  lands  ; 
Sir  John,  (Johnson,  it  is  presumed,)  wanted,  it ;  Col.  Butler  wants 
the  Cayuga's  lands ;  and  the  commanding  officer  of  Fort  Niagara 
wants  the  Seneca's  lands."  The  agent  in  behalf  of  the  Governor, 
admonished  them  to  "  keep  their  minds  in  peace,"  assured  them  of 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  121 

the  Governor's  protection ;  and  told  them  the  Lessees  were  the 
cause  of  all  their  trouble. 

The  Cayugas  sent  a  message  to  the  Governor,  informing  him 
that  they  were  "  threatened  with  destruction,  even  with  total  exter 
mination.  The  voice  comes  from  the  west ;  its  sound  is  terrible  ; 
it  bespeaks  our  death.  Our  brothers  the  Cayugas,  and  Onondagas 
are  to  share  the  same  fate."  They  stated  that  the  cause  of  com 
plaint  was  that  they  had  "  sold  their  lands  without  consulting  the 
western  tribes.  This  has  awakened  up  their  resentment  to  such  a 
degree,  that  they  determined  in  full  council,  at  Buffalo  creek,  that 
we  shall  be  deprived  of  our  respective  reserves,  with  our  lives  in 
the  bargain.  This  determination  of  the  western  tribes,  our  Gov 
ernor  may  depend  upon.  It  has  been  communicated  to  the  super 
intendent  of  Indian  affairs  at  Quebec,  who  as  we  are  told,  makes  no 
objections  to  their  wicked  intentions,  but  rather  countenances  them.'3 
They  appealed  to  the  Governor  to  fulfill  his  promises  of  protection. 

Replies  were  made,  in  which  the  Indians  were  told  they  should 
be  protected.  As  one  source  of  complaint  was,  that  some  Cayugas 
who  resided  at  Buffalo  creek,  had  not  been  paid  their  share  of  the 
purchase  money.  The  Governor  advised  that  they  should  make  a 
fair  distribution ;  and  warned  them  against  the  Lessees,  and  all 
other  malign  influences. 

Among  the  mischief  makers,  was  a  Mr.  Peter  Penet,  a  shrewd, 
artful  Frenchman,  who  had  been  established  among  the  Oneidas 
as  a  trader ;  and  whom  Gov.  Clinton  had  at  first  favored  and  em 
ployed  in  Indian  negotiations.  But  ingratiating  himself  in  the  good 
will  of  the  natives,  he  became  ambitious,  represented  himself  as 
the  ambassador  of  France,  as  the  friend  of  La  Fayette,  charged  by 
him  with  looking  to  the  interest  of  the  Indians ;  and  finally,  got  the 


NOTE. — The  part  that  the  Senecas  were  persuaded  to  take  in  promoting  these  em 
barrassments,  was  glaringly  inconsistent.  They  had  sold  a  part  of  their  lands  to  Mr. 
Phelps  the  fall  before,  without  consulting  other  nations,  to  say  nothing  of  their  having 
consented  to  the  "lease"  which  was  afar  worse  bargain  than  those  made  by  the 
State.  But  the  main  promoters  of  the  troubles,  were  the  Lessees  and  the  British 
agents;  the  latter  of  whom,  were  soured  by  the  result  of  the  Revolution,  and  were  yet 
looking  forward  to  British  re-possession  of  all  Western,  and  a  part  of  Middle  New 
York.  In  all  this  matter  the  conduct  of  Brant,  did  not  correspond  with  his  general 
reputation  for  fairness  and  honesty.  He  helped  to  fan  the  flames  of  discontent,  while 
at  the  same  time  he  was  almost  upon  his  own  hooks,  trying  to  sell  to  the  State  the 
remnant  of  the  Mohawk's  lands.  Interfering  between  the  State  and  the  Indians, 
he  got  some  dissatisfied  chiefs  to  join  him  in  an  insolent  letter  to  the  Governor, 
which  was  replied  to  with  a  good  deal  of  severity  of  language. 
8 


122  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

promises  of  large  land  cessions.     Thwarted  mainly  in  his  designs, 
he  became  mischievous,  and  caused  much  trouble. 

A  mere  skeleton  has  thus  been  given  of  the  events  connected 
with  the  extinguishment  of  Indian  titles,  and  the  measures  prelimi 
nary  to  the  advancement  of  settlement  westward,  after  the  Revo 
lution.  It  was  only  after  a  hard  struggle,  much  of  perplexity  and 
embarrassment,  that  the  object  was  accomplished.  For  the  honor 
of  our  whole  country,  it  could  be  wished,  that  all  Indian  negotia 
tions  and  treaties,  had  been  attended  with  as  little  of  wrong,  had 
been  conducted  as  fairly  as  \vere  those  under  the  auspices  and 
general  direction  of  George  Clinton.  No  where  has  the  veteran 
warrior  and  statesman,  left  better  proof  of  his  sterling  integrity 
and  ability,  than  is  furnished  by  the  records  of  those  treaties.  In 
no  case  did  he  allow  the  Indians  to  be  deceived,  but  stated  to  them 
from  time  to  time,  with  unwearied  patience,  the  true  conditions  of 
the  bargains  they  wrere  consummating.  The  policy  he  aimed  at  was 
to  open  all  of  the  beautiful  domain  of  western  New  York,  for  sale 
and  settlement  —  to  prepare  the  way  for  inevitable  destiny  —  and 
at  the  same  time  secure  the  Indians  in  their  possessions ;  give  them 
liberal  reservations ;  and  extend  over  them  as  a  protection,  the 
strong  arms  of  the  State. 

The  treaties  for  lands,  found  the  Six  Nations  in  a  miserable  con 
dition.  They  had  warred  on  -the  side  of  a  losing  party,  for  long 
years,  the  field  and  the  chase  had  been  neglected ;  they  were  suffer 
ing  for  food  and  raiment.  Half  famished,  they  flocked  to  the 
treaties,  and  were  fed  and  clothed.  One  item  of  expense  charged 
in  the  accounts  of  the  treaty  at  Albany  in  1789,  was  for  horses  paid 
for,  that  the  Indians  had  killed  and  eaten,  on  their  way  down.  For 
several  years,  in  addition  to  the  amount  of  provisions  distributed  to 
them  at  the  treaties,  boat  loads  of  corn  were  distributed  among  them 
by  the  State.* 

In  tracing  the  progress  of  settlement  westward,  it  will  be  neces 
sary  to  give  a  brief  account  of 'the  disposition  the  State  made  of  lands 
acquired  of  the  Six  Nations,  bordering  upon  the  Genesee  Country. 
They  constituted  what  is  known  as  the  Military  Tract.  To  protect 


*  The  years  1789,  '90,  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  period  of  great  scarcity.  The 
record  of  legislation  shows  that  large  amounts  of  provisions  were  paid  for  by  the 
State,  aud  distributed,  not  only  among  the  Indians,  but  among  the  white  inhabitants 
of  several  counties. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  123 

the  frontiers  of  this  State  from  the  incursions  of  the  British  and  their 
Indian  allies,  the  State  of  New  York,  throwu  upon  its  own  resour 
ces,  in  1779  and  'bO,  enlisted  two  regiments  to  serve  three  years, 
unless  sooner  discharged.  They  were  to  be  paid  and  clothed  at 
the  expense  of  the  United  States  ;  but  the  State  pledged  to  them  a 
liberal  bounty  in  land.  To  redeem  this  pledge,  as  soon  as  Indian 
titles  were  extinguished,  the  surveyor  General  was  instructed  to 
survey  these  bounty  lands  and  prepare  them  tor  the  location  of 
warrants.  The  survey  was  completed  in  1790.  It  embraced  about 
two  million  eight  hundred  thousand  acres,  in  six  hundred  acre  lots. 
The  tract  comprised  all  the  territory  within  the  present  boundaries 
of  Ononda^a,  Cayuga,  Seneca  and  Cortland,  and  a  part  of  Oswego, 
Wayne  and  Tompkins.  A  large  district  of  country  adjoining  on 
the  east,  was  thus  put  in  the  way  of  being  settled,  about  the  same 
period  that  sales  and  settlement  commenced  west  of  the  pre-emp 
tion  line,  though  it  did  not  progress  as  rapidly.  Land  titles  were  in 
dispute,  and  emigrants  chose  to  push  on  farther,  where  titles  were 
indisputable.  Speculation  and  fraud  commenced  as  soon  as  the 
patents  were  issued,  a  majority  of  those  who  it  was  intended  the 
bounty  of  the  State  should  benefit,  sold  their  right  for  a  trifle,*  and 
some  were  defrauded  out  of  the  whole.  By  the  time  that  settle 
ment  commenced,  there  were  few  lots,  the  title  to  which,  was  not 
contested.  In  addition  to  other  questions  of  title,  the  officers'  and 
soldiers'  wives,  held  in  a  large  majority  of  cases,  the  right  of  dower. 
Land  titles  upon  the  whole  military  tract,  were  not  finally  settled 
until  about  1800,  when  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Legislature, 
one  of  whom  was  the  late  Gen.  Vincent  Matthews,  accomplished 
the  work. 

In  1784,  Hugh  White  and  his  family  progressed  beyond  the  set 
tlements  on  the  Mohawk,  and  located  at  what  is  now  Whitestown. 
In  the  same  year,  James  Dean  located  upon  a  tract  given  him  by 
the  Indians,  in  consequence  of  some  services  rendered  them  as  an 
interpreter,  near  the  present  village  of  Rome.  In  1787,  Joseph 

NOTE.— In  a  letter  from  Mr.  Moriss .  to  Mr,  Colquhoun,  dated  in  June  1791,  he  says 
that  notwithstanding  all  these  questions  of  title,  land  on  the  military  tract  had  risen 
to  I8d  per  acre ;  and  that  a  tract  of  50,000,  which  he  had  bought  of  the  State  of  New- 
York  in  1786,  in  Otsego  county,  which  by  a  fortunate  use  of  some  public  securities, 
cost  him  but  6d  per  acre,  had  risen  to  10s  per  acre,  New  York  currency.  i 

*  "  Many  patents  for  GOO  acres,  were  sold  at  prices  in  some  instances  as  low  as  eight 
dollars. — [Maude,  ail  English  Journalist.4 


124  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Blackmer,  who  was  afterwards  a  pioneer  in  Wheatland,  Monroe 
county,  advanced  and  settled  a  short  distance  west  of  Judge  Dean. 
In  May,  1788,  Asa  Danforth,  with  his  family,  accompanied  by 
Comfort  Tyler,  progressed  far  on  beyond  the  bounds  of  civilization, 
locating  at  Onondaga  Hollow.  There  being  then  no  road,  they 
came  by  water,  landing  at  the  mouth  of  Onondaga  Creek.  The 
very  earliest  pioneers  of  all  this  region,  speak  of  "  Major  Dan 
forth  "  and  the  comforts  of  his  log  tavern,  as  compared  with  their 
camps  in  the  wilderness.  Another  name  has  been  introduced,  that 
should  not  be  passed  over  by  the  mere  mention  of  it.  Comfort 
Tyler  was  conspicuously  identified  in  all  early  years  with  the  his 
tory  of  the  western  portion  of  this  State.  He  \vas  teaching  a 
school  upon  the  Mohawk  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  and  also 
engaged  in  the  business  of  a  surveyor.  He  was  with  Gen.  James 
Clinton,  in  the  establishment  of  the  boundary  line  between  this 
State  and  Pennsylvania.  He  felled  the  first  tree,  (with  reference  to 
improvement,)  assisted  in  the  manufacture  of  the  first  salt,  *  (other 
than  Indian  manufacture,)  and  built  the  first  turnpike  in  Onondaga 
county.  He  also  constructed  the  first  "  stump  mortar,"  or  hand- 
mill,  of  which  the  reader  will  be  told  more  in  the  course  of  our  nar 
rative.  He  filled  many  important  offices  in  Onondaga  county,  and 
was  one  of  the  original  projectors  of  the  Cayuga  bridge.  He  was 
the  friend  of  the  early  pioneers  ;  and  many  in  all  this  region,  will 
remember  his  good  offices.  The  Indians,  who  were  his  first  neigh 
bors,  respected  him,  and  his  memory  is  now  held  in  reverence  by 
their  descendents.  His  Indian  name  was  •'  To-whan-ta-gua "  — 
meaning  that  he  could  do  two  things  at  once ;  or  be,  at  the  same 
time,  a  gentleman  and  a  laboring  man.  While  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  in  1799,  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Aaron  Burr.  A 
charter  having  been  procured  for  building  the  bridge,  Col.  Burr  and 
Gen.  Swartout  subscribed  for  the  whole  of  the  stock  ;  and  at  that 
time,  Col.  Burr  had  other  business  connections  in  this  region. 


*  Tyler  and  Danforth,  both  engaged  in  making  a  little  salt  for  new  settlers  in 
early  years.  A  letter  published  in  a  Philadelphia  paper,  in  1792,  says,  that  "sixteen 
bushels  of  salt  are  manufactured  daily  at  Col.  Dariforth's  works."  It  is  mentioned  in 
the  history  of  Onondaga,  that  Col.  Danforth  commenced  the  business  of  salt  boiling 
by  carrying  a  five  pail  iron  kettle  from  Onondaga  Hollow  to  the  Salt  Springs  upon  his 
head.  Lest  this  should  be  looked  upon  as  incredible  by  the  younger  class  of  read 
ers,  the  fact  may  be  mentioned,  that  it  was  a  very  common  practice  of  the  pioneers  to 
carry  their  five  pail  kettles  into  the  woods  for  sugar-making  in  this  way. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  125 

41  Thus  commenced  the  intercourse  of  Aaron  Burr  with  the  people 
of  Western  New  York,  many  of  whom,"  with  Col.  Tyler,  "were 
drawn  into  the  great  south-west  expedition."  Col.  Tyler  and  Israel 
Smith  were  commissaries  of  the  expedition ;  went  upon  the  Ohio 
river,  purchased  provisions,  and  shipped  them  to  Natches.  Col. 
Tyler  was  arrested  and  indicted,  but  never  tried.  With  fortune 
impaired  by  all  this,  in  a  few  years  after,  Col.  Tyler  removed  to 
Montezuma,  and  became  identified  in  all  early  enterprises  and  im 
provement  at  that  point.  In  the  war  of  1812,  he  acted  as  Assistant 
Commissary  General  to  the  northern  army.  He  was  an  early 
promoter  of  the  canal  policy,  and  his  memory  should  be  closely 
associated  with  all  that  relates  to  the  early  history  of  the  Erie 
Canal.  He  died  at  Montezuma,  in  1827. 

There  followed  Danforth  and  Tyler,  in  the  progress  of  settle 
ment  westward,  John  L.  Hardenburgh,  whose  location  was  called, 
in  early  years,  "  Hardenburgh's  Corners,"  now  the  city  of  Auburn. 
In  1789,  James  Bennett  and  John  Harris,  settled  on  either  side  of 
Cayuga  Lake,  and  established  a  ferry.  This  was  about  the  extent 
of  settlement  west  of  the  lower  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  when  set 
tlements  in  the  Genesee  country  began  to  be  founded.  *  The  ven 
erable  Joshua  Fairbanks,  of  Lewiston,  who  with  his  then  young 
wife,  (who  is  also  living,)  came  through  from  Albany  to  Geneva  in 
the  winter  of  1789,  '90 ;  were  sheltered  the  first  night  in  the  "  un 
finished  log  house"  of  Joseph  Blackmer,  who  had  become  a 
neighbor  of  Judge  Dean ;  and  the  next  night  at  Col.  Danforth's  ; 

NOTE. — For  the  principal  facts  in  the  above  brief  notice  of  one  whose  history- 
would  make  an  interesting  volume,  the  author  is  indebted  to  the  "  History  of  Onon- 
daga."  The  connection,  in  all  this  region,  of  prominent  individuals  with  Col.  Burr, 
in  his  south-western  scheme,  was  far  more  extensive  than  has  generally  been  supposed. 
It  embraced  names  here,  the  mention  of  which  would  go  far  to  favor  the  conclusion 
which  time  and  its  developements  have  been  producing,  that  the  scheme,  as  imparted 
by  Col.  Burr  to  his  followers,  had  nothing  in  it  of  domestic  treason.  There  were  no 
better  friends  to  their  country,  or  more  ardent  devotees  to  its  interests,  than  were  many 
men  of  western  N  ew  York,  who  were  enlisted  in  this  scheme.  In  after  years,  when 
in  familiar  conversation  with  an  informant  of  the  author,  (a  resident  of  western 
New  York,)  Col.  Burr  spoke  even  with  enthusiasm  of  his  associates  here  —  naming 
them,  and  saying  that  among  them,  were  men  whom  he  would  choose  to  lead  armies, 
or  engage  in  any  high  achievement  that  required  talents  and  energy  of  character.  At 
the  risk  of  extending  this  note  to  an  unreasonable  length,  the  author  will  add  the 
somewhat  curious  historical  fact,  that  the  maps  and  charts,  by  which  the  British  fleet 
approached  New  Orleans  in  the  war  of  1812,  were  those  prepared  in  western  New 
York,  by  a  then  resident  here,  for  the  south-western  expedition  of  Col.  Burr.  The 
cucumstance  was  accidental ;  the  facts  in  no  way  implicating  the  author  or  maker  of 
the  maps. 

*  Other  than  the  settlement  of  Jerusalem. 


126  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

there  being  no  intermediate  settler.  They  camped  out  the  third 
night ;  and  the  fourth,  staid  with  John  Harris  on  the  Cayuga  Lake. 
The  parents  of  Gen.  Parkhurst  Whitney,  of  Niagara  Falls,  came 
through  to  Seneca  Lake,  in  February,  1790,  "  camping  out "  three 
nights  west  of  Rome.  It  is  mentioned,  in  connection  with  some 
account  of  the  early  advent  of  Major  Danforth,  in  May,  1788,  that 
his  wife  saw  no  white  woman  in  the  first  eight  months.  These  in 
cidents  are  cited,  to  remind  the  younger  class  of  readers  that  the 
pioneers  of  this  region  hot  only  came  to  a  wilderness,  but  had  a 
long  and  dreary  one  to  pass  through  before  arriving  at  their  desti 
nation. 

j  The  first  name  we  find  for  all  New  York  west  of  Albany,  was 
that  bestowed  by  the  Dutch  in  1638  :  —  "  Terra  Incognita,"  or  "  un 
known  land."  It  was  next  Albany  county  ;  in  1772  Tryon  county 
(named  from  the  then  English  Governor,)  was  set  off,  embracing  all 
of  the  territory  in  this  state  west  of  a  line  drawn  north  and  south 
that  would  pass  through  the  centre  of  Schoharie  county.  Imme 
diately  after  the  Revolution  the  name  was  changed  to  Montgomery. 
All  this  region  was  in  Montgomery  county  when  settlement  com 
menced.  In  1788,  all  the  region  west  of  Utica  was  the  town  of 
Whitestown.  The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  "  barn  of 
Captain  Daniel  White,  in  said  District,  in  April,  1789 ;  Jedediah  San- 
ger,  was  elected  Supervisor.  At  the  third  town  meeting,  in  1791, 
Trueworthy  Cook,  of  Pompey,  and  Jeremiah  Gould  of  Saiina, 
Onondaga  county,  and  James  Wadsworth  of  Geneseo,  were  chosen 
path  masters.  Accordingly,  it  may  be  noted  that  Mr.  Wadsworth 
was  the  first  path  master  west  of  Cayuga  Lake.  It  could  have  been 
little  more  than  the  supervision  of  Indian  trails  ;  but  the  "warning" 
must  have  been  an  -onerous  task.  Mr.  Wadsworth  had  the  year 
previous,  done  something  at  road  making,  which  probably  suggested 
the  idea  that  he  would  make  a  good  path  master.*  At  the  first 
general  election  for  Whitestown,  the  polls  were  opened  at  Cayuga 
Ferry,  adjourned  to  Onondaga,  and  closed  at  Whitestown.  Herki- 
mer  county  was  taken  from  Montgomery  in  1791,  and  included  all 
west  of  the  present  county  of  Montgomery. 

*  "  The  first  road  attempted  to  be  made  in  this  country,  was  in  1790,  under  the  di 
rection  of  the  Wadsworths,  from  the  settlement  at  Whitestown  to  Canandaigua 
through  a  country  then  very  little  explored,  and  then  quite  a  wilderness."  —  [History 
of  Onondaga. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  127 


CHAPTER  III 


THE     GENESEE     COUNTEY     AT    THE     PERIOD     WHEN     SETTLEMENT     COM 
MENCED  ITS  POSITION  IN  REFERENCE  TO  CONTIGUOUS  TERRITORY 

CONDITION  OF  THE  COUNTRY  GENERALLY  AFTER  THE    REVOLUTION. 


AT  Geneva,  (then  called  Kanadesaga)  there  was  a  cluster  of 
buildings,  occupied  by  Indian  traders,  and  a  few  settlers  who  had 
come  in  under  the  auspices  of  the  Lessee  Company.  Jemima 
Wilkinson,  with  her  small  colony,  was  upon  her  first  location  upon 
the  west  bank  of  Seneca  Lake,  upon  the  Indian  Trail  through  the 
valley  of  the  Susquehannah,  and  across  Western  New  York  to 
Upper  Canada ;  the  primitive  highway  of  all  this  region ;  one  or  two 
white  families  had  settled  at  Catherine's  Town,  at  the  head  of  Sen 
eca  Lake.  A  wide  region  of  wilderness,  separated  the  most  north 
ern  and  western  settlements  of  Pennsylvania  from  all  this  region. 
All  that  portion  of  Ohio  bordering  upon  the  Lake,  had,  of  our  race, 
but  the  small  trading  establishment  at  Sandusky,  and  the  military 
and  trading  posts  upon  the  Maumee.  Michigan  was  a  wilderness, 
save  the  French  village  and  the  British  garrison  at  Detroit,  and  a 
few  French  settlers  upon  the  Detroit  River  and  the  River  Raisin. 
In  fact,  all  that  is  now  included  in  the  geographical  designation  — 
the  Great  West  — was  Indian  territory,  and  had  but  Indian  occu 
pancy,  with  similar  exceptions,  to  those  made  in  reference  to  Mich 
igan.  In  what  is  now  known  as.  Canada  West,  there  had  been  the 
British  occupancy,  of  a  post  opposite  Buffalo,  early  known  as  Fort 
Erie,  and  a  trading  station  at  Niagara,  since  the  expulsion  of  the 
French,  in  1759.  Settlement,  in  its  proper  sense,  had  its  commence 
ment  in  Canada  West  during  the  Revolution  ;  was  the  offspring  of 
one  of  its  emergencies.  Those  in  the  then  colonies  who  adhered  to 
the  King,  fled  there  for  refuge :  for  the  protection  offered  by  British 
dominion  and  armed  occupancy.  The  termination  of  the  struggle* 


128  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

in  favor  of  the  colonies,  and  the  encouragement  afforded  by  the 
colonial  authorities,  gave  an  impetus  to  this  emigration  ;  yet  at  the 
period  of  the  first  commencement  of  settlement  in  Western  New 
York,  settlement  in  Canada  West  was  confined  to  Kingston  and  its 
neighborhood,  Niagara,  Queenston,  Chippewa,  along  the  banks  of  the 
Niagara  River,  with  a  few  small  settlements  in  the  immediate  inte 
rior.  Upon  Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  there  were  a  few  British 
armed  vessels,  and  three  or  four  schooners  were  employed  in  the 
commerce,  which  was  confined  wholly  to  the  fur  trade,  and  the 
supplying  of  British  garrisons. 

Within  the  Genesee  country,  other  than  the  small  settlement  at 
Geneva,  and  the  Friend's  settlement,  which  has  been  before  men 
tioned,  there  were  two  or  three  Indian  traders  upon  the  Genesee 
River,  a  few  white  families  who  were  squatters,  upon  the  flats ;  one 
or  two  white  families  at  Lewiston ;  one  at  Schlosser ;  a  negro,  with 
a  squaw  wife,  at  Tonawanda  ;  an  Indian  interpreter,  and  two  or 
three  traders  at  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek,  and  a  negro  Indian 
trader  at  the  mouth  of  Cattaragus  creek.  Fort  Niagara  was  a 
British  garrison.  All  else  was  Seneca  Indian  occupancy. 

In  all  that  relates  to  other  than  the  natural  productions  of  the 
soil,  there  was  but  the  cultivation,  in  a  rude  way,  of  a  few  acros  of 
flats,  and  intervals,  on  the  river  and  creeks,  wherever  the  Indians 
were  located ;  the  productions  principally  confined  to  corn,  beans 
and  squashes.  In  the  way  of  cultivated  fruit,  there  was  in  several 
localities,  a  few  apple  trees,  the  seeds  of  which  had  been  planted 
by  the  Jesuit  Missionaries ;  and  they  wrere  almost  the  only  relic 
left  of  their  early,  and  long  continued  occupancy.  At  Fort  Niag 
ara  and  Schlosser,  there  were  ordinary  English  gardens. 

The  streams  upon  an  average,  were  twice  as  large  as  now ;  the 
clearing  of  the  land,  and  consequent  absorption  of  the  water,  having 
diminished  one  half,  and  perhaps  more,  the  quantity  of  water  then 
carried  off  through  their  channels.  The .  primitive  forests  —  other 
than  those  that  were  deemed  of  second  growth  —  that  are  standing 
now,  have  undergone  but  little  change,  that  of  ordinary  decay, 
growth,  and  re-production,  but  there  are  large  groves  of  second 
growth,  now  consisting  of  good  sized  forest  trees,  that  were  sixty 
years  ago  but  small  saplings.  The  aged  Senecas  point  out  in  many 
instances,  swamps  that  are  now  thickly  wooded,  that  they  have 
known  as  open  marshes,  with  but  here  and  there  a  copse  of  under- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  129 

wood.  The  origin  of  many  marshes,  especially  upon  the  small 
streams,  may  be  distinctly  traced  to  the  beaver ;  the  erection  of 
their  dams,  and  the  consequent  flooding  of  the  lands,  having  des 
troyed  the  timber.  As  the  beaver  gradually  disappeared,  the  dams 
wore  away,  the  water  flowed  off,  and  forest  trees  began  to  grow. 

And  here  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  remark,  that  a  very  com 
mon  error  exists  in  reference  to  the  adaptedness  of  certain  kinds 
of  forest  trees  to  a  wet  soil.  We  find  the  soft  maple,  black  ash,  a 
species  of  elm,  the  fir,  the  spruce,  the  tamarack,  the  alder,  and 
several  other  varieties  of  trees  and  shrubs  growing  in  wet  soils, 
and  then  draw  the  inference  that  wet  soils  are  their  natural  local 
ities.  Should  we  not  rather  infer,  that  all  this  is  accidental,  or 
rather,  to  be  traced  to  other  causes,  than  that  of  peculiar  adaptation  ? 
Take  the  case  of  land  that  has  been  flooded  by  the  beaver :  —  the 
water  has  receded,  and  the  open  ground  is  prepared  for  the  recep 
tion  of  such  seeds  as  the  winds,  the  floods,  the  birds  and  fowls, 
bring  to  it.  It  will  be  found  that  the  seeds  of  those  trees  which 
predominate  in  the  swamps,  are  those  best  adapted  to  the  modes  of 
transmission.  The  practical  bearing  of  these  remarks,  has  refer 
ence  to  the  transplanting  of  trees  from  wet  grounds.  Wherever 
the  ash,  the  fir,  spruce,  tamarack,  high  bush  cranberry,  soft  maple, 
&c.  have  been  transplanted  upon  up  lands,  and  properly  cared  for, 
they  furnish  evidence  that  it  was  a  casualty,  not  a  peculiar  adapta 
tion,  that  placed  them  where  found,  generally  stinted  and  unhealthy. 

But  little  was  known  in  the  colonies  of  New  York,  and  New 
England  of  Western  New  York,  previous  to  the  Revolution.  During 
the  twenty-four  years  it  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  English, 
there  had  been  a  communication  kept  up  by  water,  via  Oswego 
and  Niagara,  to  the  western  posts  ;  and  a  few  traders  from  the  east 
visited  the  Senecas.  The  expeditions  of  Prideux  and  Bradstreet 
were  composed  partly  of  citizens  of  New  England  and  New  York, 
but  they  saw  nothing  of  the  interior  of  all  this  region.  A  few 
years  previous  to  the  Revolution,  in  1765,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Kirk- 
land,  whose  name  will  appear  in  connexion  with  Indian  treaties,  in 
subsequent  pages,  extended  his  missionary  labors  to  the  Indian 
village  of  Kanadesaga,  where  he  sojourned  for  several  months, 
making  excursions  to  the  Genesee  River,  Tonawanda  and  Buffalo 
Creeks.  He  was  the  first  protestant  missionary  among  the  Senecas, 
and  with  the  exception  of  Indian  traders,  probably  gave  the  people 


130  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

of  New  England,  the  first  account  of  the  Genesee  country.*  But 
the  campaign  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  in  1779,  more  than  all  else  perhaps, 
served  to  create  an  interest  in  this  region.  The  route  of  the  army, 
after  entering  the  Genesee  country,  was  one  to  give  them  a  favora 
ble  impression  of  it.  They  saw  the  fine  region  along  the  west  shore 
of  the  Seneca  Lake  ;  and  passing  through  what  are  now  the  towns 
of  Seneca,  Phelps,  Gorham,  Canandaigua,  Bristol,  Bloomfield,  Rich 
mond,  Livonia,  Conesus,  they  passed  up  and  down  the  flats  of  the 
Genesee  and  the  Canasoraga.  To  eyes  that  had  rested  only  upon 
the  rugged  scenery  of  New  England,  its  mountains  and  rocky  hill 
sides,  its  sterile  soil  and  stinted  herbage,  the  march  must  have  af 
forded  a  constant  succession  of  beautiful  landscapes  ;  and  what  was 
of  greater  interest  to  them,  practical  working  men  as  they  were, 
was  the  rich  easily  cultivated  soil,  that  at  every  step  caused  them 
to  look  forward  to  the  period  when  they  could  make  to  it  a  second 
advent  —  a  peaceful  one  —  with  the  implements  of  agriculture, 
rather  than  the  weapons  of  war.  Returning  to  the  firesides  of 
Eastern  New  York,  and  New  England,  they  relieved  the  dark  pic 
ture  of  retaliatory  warfare  —  the  route,  the  flight,  smouldering 
cabins,  pillage  and  spoliations  —  with  the  lighter  shades  —  descrip 
tions  of  the  Lakes  and  Rivers,  the  rolling  up-lands  and  rich  valleys 
—  the  Canaan  of  the  wilderness,  they  had  seen.  But  it  was  a  far 
off  land,  farther  off  than  would  seem  to  us  now,  our  remote  posses 
sions  upon  the  Pacific  ;  associated  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of 
New  England,  with  ail  the  horrors  of  a  warfare  they  had  known 
upon  their  own  extreme  borders  ;  the  Revolution  was  not  consum- 


*  The  young  missionary  had  first  seen  some  of  the  young  men  of  the  Six  Nations, 
at  the  mission" school  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wheelock  in  Lebanon,  Connecticut,  where  they 
were  his  fellow   students,  among  whom  was  Joseph  Brant.    Taking  a  deep  interest 
in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  their  people,  he  got  introduced  to  them  as  a  missionary  of 
Sir  William  Johnson.     With  Indian  guides,  carrying  a  pack  containing  his  provisions, 
travelling  upon  snow  shoes,  and  camping  at  night  upon  and  under  hemlock  boughs. 
he  reached  the  Indian  settlement  at  the  foot   of  Seneca  Lake,  or  rather  at  the  Seneca 
Castle.     He  was  well  received  by  the  chief  sachem  of  the  village,  and  invited  to  re 
main  ;    but  another   chief  of  the  Pagan  party  of  the  village,  soon  made  him  much 
trouble,  and  in  fact  endangered  his  life,  by  accusing  him  of  witchcraft  —  of  being  the 
cause  of  the  sudden  death  of  one  of  their  people.  He  was  tried  and  acquitted  through 
the  influence  of  his   friend  the  chief  sachem,   and  a  trader  from  the  Mohawk,  by  the 
name  of  Wemple,  the  father  of  Mrs".  Gilbert  Berry,  and  grandfather  of  Mrs.  George 
Hosmer.*     After  this  he  was  uninterrupted  in  his  missionary  labors.     Mr.  Kirkland's 
influence  with  the  Indians  enabled  him  to  do  essential  service  during  the  Revolution, 
in  diverting  them- from  Butler  and  Brant. 

*  See  Appendix,  No.  5. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PTJECHASE.  131 

mated ;  long  years  it  must  be,  as  they  thought,  if  ever,  before  the 
goodly  land,  of  which  they  had  thus  had  glimpses,  could  become 
the  abode  of  civilization.  The  consummation  was  not  speedy,  but  it 
come  far  sooner  than  in  that  dark  hour,  they  allowed  themselves  to 
anticipate.  In  less  than  four  years  after  Sullivan's  expedition,  the 
war  of  the  Revolution  was  ended  by  a  treaty  of  peace ;  but  almost 
ten  years  elapsed  before  the  conflicting  claims  of  Massachusetts 
and  New  York  were  settled,  and  Indian  titles  had  been  extinguish 
ed,  so  as  to  admit  of  the  commencement  of  settlement. 

The  tide  of  emigation  to  the  Genesee  county,  was  destined  to 
come  principally  from  New  England.  A  brief  space,  therefore; 
may  be  appropriately  occupied  in  a  sketch  of  the  condition  of  the 
citizens  of  that  region,  after  the  Revolution,  in  the  vortex  of  which 
they  had  been  placed ;  and  in  this,  the  author  has  been  assisted  by 
the  venerable  Gen.  Micah  Brooks,  whose  retentive  memory  goes 
back  to  the  period,  and  well  informs  us  in  reference  to  the  men 
who  were  the  foremost  Pioneers  of  the  Genesee  country.  The 
sketch  is  given  as  it  came  from  his  hands :  — 

"  It  was  my  lot  to  have  my  birth  under  the  Colonial  Government. 
In  childhood,  I  saw  our  fathers  go  to  the  field  of  battle,  and  our 
mothers  to  the  harvest  field  to  gather  the  scanty  crops.  Food  and 
clothing  for  the  army  was  but  in  part  provided ;  and  at  the  end  of 
the  war,  the  soldiers,  who  had  suffered  almost  beyond  endurance, 
were  discharged  without  pay ;  the  patriots,  who  had  supplied  food 
and  clothing  for  the  army,  had  been  paid  in  Government  paper, 
which  had  become  worthless ;  the  great  portion  of  laborers  drawn 
from  the  farms  and  the  workshops,  had  reduced  the  country  to 
poverty;  and  commerce  was  nearly  annihilated.  The  fisheries 
abandoned,  the  labor  and  capital  of  the  people  diverted  into  other 
channels,  and  the  acts  of  peace  had  not  returned  to  give  any  sur 
plus  for  exportation.  A  national  debt  justly  due,  of  $100,000,000, 
and  the  Continental  Congress  no  power  to  collect  duties  on  imports, 
or  to  compel  the  States  to  raise  their  quotas.  The  end  of  the  war 
brought  no  internal  peace.  In  1785,  Congress  attempted  to  make 
commercial  treaties  with  England,  France,  Spain  and  Portugal ; 
each  refused ;  assigning  as  a  reason,  that  under  the  Confederacy, 
Congress  had  no  power  to  bind  the  States.  Spain  closed  the  Mis 
sissippi  against  our  trade,  and  we  were  expelled  from  the  Mediter 
ranean  by  Barbary  pirates  ;  and  we  were  without  the  means  to 


132  PHELPS  AM)  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

fight  them,  or  money  to  buy  their  peace.  The  attempt  of  the 
States  to  extend  their  commerce  was  abortive  ;  salt  rose  to  $5  and 
$8  per  bushel ;  and  packing  meat  for  exportation  ceased.  Massa 
chusetts  prohibited  the  exportation  of  American  products  in  British 
bottoms ;  and  some  of  the  States  imposed  a  countervailing  duty 
on  foreign  tonnage.  Pennsylvania  imposed  a  duty  on  foreign  goods, 
while  New  Jersey  admitted  them  free  of  duty. 

"  During  the  war,  various  causes  had  operated  to  make  a  new  dis 
tribution  of  property  :  —  those  equally  friendly  to  the  British  had 
secretly  traded  with  the  enemy,  and  supplied  them  with  fresh  provi 
sions,  while  their  troops  were  quartered  in  various  parts  of  the 
country ;  thus  filling  their  pockets  with  British  gold.  At  the  close 
of  the  war,  a  large  amount  of  British  goods  were  sent  into  the 
country,  absorbing  much  of  its  precious  metals;  tending  to  render 
us  still  dependent  on  British  favor.  While  all  those  whose  time  and 
property  had  been  devoted  to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  independ 
ence,  were  scarcely  able  to  hold  their  lands,  taxation  brought  dis 
tress  and  ruin  on  a  great  portion  of  our  most  worlhy  citizens. 
Time  was  required  by  those  who  had  lost  their  time  and  property, 
to  re-establish  themselves  in  their  former  occupations ;  yet,  some 
of  the  States  resorted  to  vigorous  taxation,  which  created  discon 
tent  and  open  resistance.  The  great  and  general  pressure,  at  this 
time,  seemed  to  create  a  universal  attempt  of  all  creditors  to  en 
force  in  the  courts  of  law  all  their  demands  before  they  should 
be  put  at  hazard  by  the  sweeping  taxation,  which  was  evidently 
coming. 

"  It  may  be  well  to  call  to  mind  the  condition  of  the  country,  as  to 
law  and  government.  At  the  period  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  we  had  neither  constitutions  nor  government,  and  the 
people  took  the  power  into  their  hands  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the 
nation.  The  people,  in  their  primary  assemblies,  attempted  to  car 
ry  out  the  recommendations  of  the  American  Congress  ;  and  that 
in  many  instances,  by  town  committees ;  and  to  furnish  recruits  for 
the  army.  The  citizens  of  a  town  would  form  themselves  into 
classes ;  each  class  to  furnish  a  man,  equipped  for  service.  The  towns 
punished  treason,  arrested  and  expelled  tories,  levied  taxes,  and 
cordially  co-operated  in  all  the  leading  measures  of  that  day,  so  far 
as  related  to  our  National  Independence. 

"  In  1786,  '7,  a  boy,  I  saw  the  Revolutionary  fathers  in  their 


PIIELPS  AOT)  GOEHAM'S  PTJKCHASE.  133 

primary  assemblies.  The  scene  was  solemn  and  portentous !  They 
found  their  common  country  without  a  constitution  and  govern 
ment,  and  without  a  union.  The  supposed  oppressive  measures  of 
an  adjoining  State  had  so  alarmed  the  people  of  a  portion  of  it, 
that  open  resistance  was  made  for  self-protection,  and  the  protec 
tion  of  property.  An  army,  in  resistance  to  a  proceeding  of  the 
courts  of  law  in  Massachusetts,  had  been  raised,  and  had  taken  the 
field.  Col.  P.,  a  man  of  gigantic  stature,  and  a  soldier  of  the  Rev 
olution,  with  his  associates  in  arms,  entered  the  court-house  at 
Northampton,  silenced  the  court;  and  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  order 
ed  it  out,  closing  the  doors,  and  using  the  court-house  as  his  castle. 
In  the  county  of  Berkshire,  a  General,  with  three  hundred  volun 
teers,  had  taken  the  field,  in  open  resistance  to  State  authority  ;  and 
the  blood  of  the  citizens  had  been  shed,  and  the  execution  of 
State  laws  had  been  suspended.  Other  sections  of  our  country 
were  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  and  no  prospect  of  relief  from  any 
source  of  mediatorial  power  then  existing.  The  appalling  scenes 
that  followed,  filled  the  American  people  with  fear  and  dread.  The 
distress  that  existed,  might  be  an  apology  for  the  resistance  of  the 
laws,  which  was  afterwards  regretted  by  those  who  partook  in  it,  a 
number  of  whom  I  saw  who  had  left  their  homes  and  wandered  as 
fugitives  to  evade  the  punishment  that  the  law  would  inflict  on 
them. 

"  A  new  field  was  now  opened  to  exhibit  the  powers,  genius  and 
energies  of  the  American  people.  They  soon  discovered  what  was 
essential  to  their  security  and  prosperity ;  and  in  their  deliberations, 
moved  and  adopted  an  ordinance,  or  constitution,  which  they  de 
clared  to  be  '  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish  jus 
tice,  ensure  domestic  tranquility,  and  provide  for  the  general  de 
fence  ;  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of 
liberty  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity ;'  and,  although  defects  and 
doubts  of  its  renovating  power  existed,  yet,  in  a  spirit  of  concilia 
tion,  they  adopted  it. 

At  the  time  the  new  constitution  went  into  effect,  a  new  class 
of  laborers  appeared.  These  sturdy  boys,  who  were  taught  in 
business  habits  during  the  war,  had  grown  to  manhood,  and  with 
redoubled  energy,  repaired  the  depredations  which  contending 
armies  had  spread.  And  many  of  those  soldiers  who  composed 
Sullivan's  army,  and  who  had  penetrated  the  western  wilds  of  this 


134  PHELPS  AND    GOKHAM?S   PUKCIIASE. 

State,  to  chastise  the  savages  for  cruelties  inflicted  on  their  friends 
and  relations ;  those  who  had  viewed  the  beauties  of  the  Genesee, 
and  the  rich  table  lands  of  Western  New  York,  resolved  to  leave 
the  sterile  soil,  the  worn  and  exhausted  lands  of  New  England,  and 
with  their  families,  under  the  guidance  and  protection  of  a  kind 
Providence,  gathered  their  small  substance,  pioneered  the  way 
through  a  long  wilderness,  to  the  land  of  promise  —  the  Genesee 
country. 

In  179G,  in  common  with  the  sons  of  New  England,  I  had  a 
strong  disposition  to  explore  the  regions  of  the  west,  and  avail  my 
self  if  possible,  of  a  more  productive  soil,  where  a  more  bountiful 
reward  would  relieve  the  toil  of  labor.  I  traversed  the  Mohawk, 
the  Susquehannah,  the  Seneca  and  the  Genesee.  I  saw  the  scatter 
ed  Pioneers  of  the  wilderness  in  their  lonely  cabins,  cheered  by 
the  hope  and  promise  of  a  generous  reward,  for  all  the  temporary 
privations  they  then  suffered.  Their  hearts  were  cheered  with  the 
sight  of  a  stranger,  and  they  greeted  him  with  a  welcome.  I  found 
in  most  of  the  pioneer  localities,  that  three-fourths  of  the  heads  of 
families  had  been  soldiers  of  the  Revolution.  Schooled  in  the  prin 
ciples  that  had  achieved  that  glorious  work,  they  only  appreciated 
the  responsibilities  they  had  assumed,  in  becoming  founders  of  new 
settlements,  and  the  proprietors  of  local,  religious,  educational  and 
moral  institutions.  These  Pioneers  inherited  the  principles  and 
firmness  of  their  forefathers ;  and  whatever  in  reason  and  pro 
priety  they  desired  to  accomplish,  their  energy  and  perseverance 
carried  into  effect.  They  subdued  the  forest,  opened  avenues  of 
intercourse,  built  houses  and  temples  for  worship,  with  a  rapidity 
unknown  in  former  ages.  For  intelligence  and  useful  acquirements 
they  were  not  out  done  in  any  age ;  and  were  well  skilled  in  all  the 
practical  duties  of  life.  In  seven  or  eight  years  from  the  first  en 
trance  of  a  settler,  a  number  of  towns  in  Ontario  county,  were  fur 
nished  with  well  chosen  public  libraries." 


PHELPS  AND  GOUHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  135 


CHAPTER  IV. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM  S  PURCHASE  OF  MASSACHUSETTS  OLIVER  PHELPS, 

HIS  ADVENT  TO  THE  GE-NESEE  COUNTRY,  AND  HIS  TREATY 
WITH  THE  SENEGAS: — NATHANIEL  GORHAM. 


OLIVER  PHELPS  was  a  native  of  Windsor,  Connecticut.  Soon 
after  he  became  of  age,  the  resistance  to  British  oppression  com 
menced  in  the  colony  of  Massachusetts,  and  he  became  an  active 
partizan,  participating  in  the  revolutionary  spirit,  with  all  the  zeal 
of  youth  and  ardent  patriotism.  He  was  among  the  men  of  New 
England,  who  gathered  at  Lexington,  and  helped  to  make  that  early 
demonstration  of  intended  separation  and  independence.  Soon 
after,  without  the  influence  of  wealth  or  family  distinction  —  with 
nothing  to  recommend  him  but  uncommon  energy  of  character,  and  a 
reputation  he  had  won  for  himself —  though  but  a  youth,  he  was 
enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety. 
When  the  troops  of  Connecticut  were  first  organized,  and  had 
taken  the  field,  he  entered  the  service  of  a  contractor  oi  the  army, 
and  soon  after  had  an  appointment  in  the  commissary  department, 
the  duties  of  which  he  continued  to  discharge  until  the  close  of  the 
Revolution. 

On  the  return  of  peace,  he  settled  in  Suffield,  Massachusetts. 
He  held  in  succession,  the  offices  of  member  of  Assembly,  Sena 
tor,  and  a  member  of  the  Governor's  council.  Robert  Morris 
having  been  at  the  head  of  financial  affairs  during  the  Revolution, 
Mr.  Phelps  had  made  his  acquaintance,  and  for  a  few  years  after 
its  close,  business  relations  brought  them  frequently  together.  Maj. 
Adam  Hoops,  who  had  been  the  aid  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  in  his  expe 
dition  to  the  Genesee  country,  was  a  resident  of  Philadelphia,  and 
an  intimate  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Morris.  It  was  during  interviews 
with  them,  that  Mr.  Phelps  was  confirmed  in  a  favorable  opinion  of 


136  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

this  region,  and  the  inducements  it  held  out  to  enterprise,  which  had 
been  acquired  by  the  representations  of  his  New  England  neigh 
bors,  who  had  been  in  Sullivan's  expedition. 

Soon  after  Massachusetts  became  possessed  of  the  pre-emption 
right  by  deed  of  cession  from  New  York,  he  resolved  upon  being 
interested  in  the  purchase  of  one  million  of  acres ;  and  for  this 
purpose  associated  himself  with  Judge  Sullivan,  Messrs.  Skinner 
and  Chapin,  William  Walker,  and  several  of  his  friends  in  Berk 
shire.  Before  they  had  matured  their  plans  however,  Nathaniel 
Gorham  had  made  proposals  to  the  Legislature  for  the  purchase  of 
a  portion  of  the  Genesee  lands.  Mr.  Phelps  had  a  conference  with 
Mr.  Gorham,  and  to  prevent  coming  in  collision,  they  mutually 
agreed,  that  Mr.  Gorham  should  merge  himself  with  the  association, 
and  consider  his  proposition  as  made  for  their  common  benefit.  He 
had  proposed  the  purchase  of  one  million  of  acres,  at  one  and  six 
pence  currency  per  acre,  payable  in  the  "public  paper  of  the  com 
monwealth."  The  House  of  Representatives  acceded  to  the  propo 
sition,  but  the  Senate  non- concurred.  In  a  letter  to  one  of  the 
associates,  announcing  the  result,  Mr.  Phelps  observes:  —  "We 
found  such  opposition  in  the  Senate,  and  so  many  person's  ears  and 
eyes  wide  open,  propagating  great  stories  about  the  value  of  those 
lands,  that  we  thought  best  to  postpone  the  affair  until  the  next 
session."  This  was  at  the  session  of  1787. 

The  effect  of  Mr.  Gorham's  offer  was  to  bring  competitors  into 
the  field,  and  others  had  resolved  upon  making  proposals  before  the 
legislature  again  convened  in  April,  1788.  Another  compromise 
was  made  which  admitted  new  partners,  and  embraced  all  who 
had  any  intention  of  purchase,  in  one  association,  of  which  Messrs. 
Phelps  and  Gorham  were  constituted  the  representatives.  They 
made  proposals  for  all  the  lands  embraced  in  the  cession  of  Massa 
chusetts,  which  were  acceded  to ;  the  stipulated  consideration  being 
$100,000,  payable  in  the  public  paper  of  Massachusetts;  the  price 


-$ OTE. — In  addition  to  the  knowledge  Mr.  Phelps  had  acquired  of  the  country  as 
above  indicated,  some  early  explorer  had  given  him  a  written  account  of  it  from  which 
the  following  is  an  extract : —  "  The  country  is  so  favorable  to  fruit,  that  the  apple  trees 
destroyed  in  the  late  war,  have  sprung  up  and  already  bear  fruit  The  flats  and  in 
tervals  of  which  there  are  a  great  quantity,  are  superior  to  any  on  Connecticut  River, 
There  are  many  salt  springs ;  an  Indian  was  working  at  one  of  them  last  summer, 
when  I  was  in  the  country,  with  an  old  broken  pot-ash  kettle,  and  he  never  made  less 
than  a  bushel  a  day.' 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  137 

of  which  being  much  depressed,  it  was  selling  at  a  high  rate  of 
discount. 

So  much  accomplished,  the  share  holders  held  a  meeting,  appoint 
ed  Gen.  Israel  Chapin  to  go  out  and  explore  the  country;  Mr. 
Phelps  the  general  agent,  whose  first  duty  \vas  to  hold  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians,  and  purchase  the  fee  or  right  of  soil ;  Mr.  Gorham  as  an 
agent  to  confer  with  the  authorities  of  New  Yor.k,  in  reference  to 
running  the  boundary  or  pre-emption  line  ;  and  Mr.  William  Walk 
er,  as  the  local  agent  of  surveys  and  sales. 

The  Lessees  and  their  "  long  lease,"  was  an  obstacle  duly  con 
sidered  by  the  purchasers,  for  they  were  aware  of  the  exertions 
they  were  making  to  thwart  the  commissioners  of  New  York,  and 
had  no  reason  to  anticipate  any  thing  less  from  them,  in  their  own 
case.  Massachusetts  had  joined  New  York,  in  declaring  the  leases 
illegal  and  void,  but  the  association  were  well  advised  that  they 
could  not  succeed  in  a  treaty  with  the  Senecas,  against  the  powerful 
influences  the  Lessees  could  command,  through  their  connection 
with  Butler,  Brant,  Street,  and  their  associates  in  Canada,  and  the 
Indian  traders  and  interpreters  in  their  interest.  A  compromise 
was  resolved  upon  as  the  cheapest  and  surest  means  of  success. 
Proceeding  to  Hudson,  Mr.  Phelps  met  some  of  the  principal  Les 
sees,  and  compromised  with  them  upon  terms  of  which  there  are 
no  records,  but  there  is  evidence  which  leads  to  the  conclusion,  that 
they  were  to  become  shareholders  with  him  and  his  associates. 
The  Lessees  on  their  part,  contracted  to  hold  another  treaty  with 
the  Indians  at  Kanadesaga,  surrender  their  lease  of  all  the  lands 
west  of  the  Massachusetts  pre-emption  line,  and  procure  for  the 
same,  a  deed  of  cession,  Phelps  &  Gorham,  for  themselves  and 
associates,  to  be  the  grantees. 

Mr.  Phelps  returned  to  New  England  and  made  preparations  for 
attending  the  treaty  at  Kanadesaga,  which  was  to  be  convened  and 
carried  on  under  the  general  supervision  of  John  Livingston,  the 
principal  agent  of  the  Lessees.  In  all  confidence  that  the  arrange 
ment  would  be  consummated,  Mr.  Phelps  started  upon  his  advent  to 
the  Genesee  country  with  a  retinue  of  agents,  surveyors,  and  assis 
tants,  prepared  to  take  possession  of  the  country  and  commence 
operations.  Arriving  at  Schenectady  on  the  8th  of  May,  the  party 
put  their  baggage  on  board  of  batteaux  and  arranged  to  go  on  horse 
back  to  Fort  Stanwix,  as  far  as  there  was  any  road,  and  from  there 


138  PHELPS  AOT>  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

embark  in  their  batteaux.  Mr.  Phelps  wrote  from  Schenectady 
that  they  were  likely  to  be  delayed  there  by  the  non- arrival  of  Mr. 
Livingston  ;  that  he  had  met  many  unfavorable  rumors,  the  purport 
of  one  of  which  was  that  the  Indians  had  refused  to  treat  with 
Livingston,  and  that  they  had  "  taken  up  and  whipped  several 
persons"  in  his  interests  who  had  preceded  him  at  Kanadesaga. 
On  the  13th  he  wrote  to  Col.  Wadsworth,  of  Hartford,  that  Livings 
ton  had  arrived,  with  his  provisions  and  goods  for  the  treaty,  that 
all  was  on  board  of  batteaux,  and  the  expedition  was  about  to  move 
on ;  but  he  adds,  that  an  Oneida  Indian  had  just  arrived  from  the 
west  with  the  information  that  Brant  has  "  got  the  Indians  collected 
at  Buffalo  creek,  and  is  persuading  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet,  and  if 
possible  not  to  treat  with  us."  He  expresses  his  fears  that  the  treaty 
will  fail ;  and  adds  his  regrets,  as  he  thinks  it  will  "  keep  back  settle 
ment  a  whole  year." 

Mr.  Phelps  did  not  arrive  at  Kanadesaga,  (Geneva,)  until  the 
first  of  June.  On  the  4th  he  wrote  to  one  of  his  associates,  Samuel 
Fowler,  informing  him  that  the  Indians  had  not  collected,  that  But 
ler  and  Brant  had  collected  them  at  Buffalo  creek  and  persuaded 
them  not  to  treat  with  Livingston.  But  inasmuch  as  Livingston 
had  sent  out  runners  and  interpreters,  he  is  in  hopes  they  will  yet 
be  collected.  "  I  am  well  pleased,"  he  says,  "  with  what  I  have  seen 
of  the  country.  This  place  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  Seneca  Lake, 
on  a  beautiful  hill  which  over  looks  the  country  around  it,  and  gives 
a  fine  prospect  of  the  whole  lake,  which  is  about  forty  miles  in 
length.  Here  we  propose  building  the  city,  as  there  is  a  water 
carriage  from  this  to  Schenectady ;  with  only  two  carrying  places 
of 'one  mile  each.  I  design  to  set  out  to-morrow  to  view  the  Genesee 
Flats." 

After  waiting  at  Kanadesaga  until  the  17th  of  June,  Mr.  Phelps 
made  up  his  mind  that  the  Lessees  would  be  unable  to  fulfil  their 
contract,  and  informed  their  agent,  Mr.  Livingston,  that  he  should 
proceed  independent  of  them  or  their  lease,  to  treat  with  the  Indians. 

NOTE.  —  In  addition  to  other  letters  of  introduction  lie  had  provided  himself  with 
in  case  of  necessity,  he  procured  one  at  Kanadesaga  from  Dominique  Debartzch,  the 
French  Indian  trader  at  Cashong,  who  wielded  more  influence  then  among  the  Seuecas 
than  any  one  man  had,  since  the  days  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  and  Joncaire,  He  had 
essentially  aided  the  Lessees  as  the  reader  lias  observed,  and  now  as  zealously  es 
poused  the  interests  of  Mr.  Phelps.  Among  Indian  traders,  interpreters,  and  it  may 
almost  be  said,  missionaries,  at  that  period,  "  every  man  had  his  price/*  and  it  was 
generally  payable  in  land,  in  case  it  should  be  obtained. 


PHELP3  AND  GOBHAM's  PURCHASE.  139 

He  had  by  this  time  discovered  that  there  was  a  "  screw  loose" 
between  the  "  New  York  Genesee  Company"  and  the  "  Niagara 
Genesee  Company"  and  that  they  were  puliing  in  different  directions. 
Inferring  that  the  balance  of  power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Niag 
ara  Company,  Mr.  Phelps  taking  the  Indian  trail,  proceeded  to  Niag 
ara,  where  he  met  Butler,  Brant  and  Street.  He  secured  their 
co-operation,  and  they  agreed  to  procure  a  gathering  of  the  Indians 
at  Buffalo  creek  for  the  purpose  of  holding  a  treaty  with  him.  Mr. 
Phelps,  rejoined  his  friends  at  Kanadesaga  where  he  remained  until 
a  deputation  of  chiefs  waited  upon  him  to  conduct  him  to  the  coun 
cil  fire  they  had  lighted  at  Buffalo  creek,*"  where  he  and  his  party 
arrived  on  the  4th  of  July. 

Negotiations  were  commenced.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland  was 
present,  appointed  by  a  law  of  Massachusetts  to  superintend  the 
treaty  and  see  that  no  injustice  was  done  to  the  Indians,  and  his 
assistant,  superintendent,  Elisha  Lee,  Esq.  of  Boston.  The  inter 
preters  were  James  Deane  and  Joseph  Smith,  William  Johnstone, 
Mr.  Kirkland  and  several  others.  Besides  these,  there  were  also 
present,  John  Butler,  Joseph  Brant,  Samuel  Street,  the  officers  of 
Fort  Niagara.  The  Lessees,  following  up  Mr.  Phelps,  were  repre 
sented  by  John  Livingston,  Caleb  Benton  and  Ezekiel  Gilbert. 
Chiefs  of  the  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  the  Mohawks  were  also 
present. 

On  the  opening  of  the  council,  Mr.  Phelps  produced  the  commis 
sion  given  him  by  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts :  f  had  it  inter 
preted  ;  and  made  a  speech,  explaining  the  object  of  the  treaty ; 
the  right  he  had  purchased  of  Massachusetts,  &c.  Most  of  the 
Seneca  chiefs,  of  which  there  was  a  pretty  full  delegation  present, 
were  far  selling  a  portion  of  their  lands.  They,  however,  stood 
out  as  to  the  quantity.  They  had  come  to  the  treaty,  determined 
upon  making  the  Genesee  river  the  eastern  boundary  of  their  ces 
sion,  and  they  stoutly  resisted  innovation  west  of  it  for  several 
days :  but  finally  yielded,  and  fixed  the  western  boundary  as  it  was 

*  Red  Jacket  was  at  the  head  of  this  deputation.  Afterwards,  in  1790,  at  a  council 
at  Tioga,  when  complaining  to  Mr.  Pickering  of  some  wrong  in  reference  to  Mr.  Phelp's 
treaty,  he  said  : — "Then  I,  Billy,  and  The  Heap  of  Dogs,  went  to  Kanadesaga  and 
took  Mr.  Phelps  by  the  hand,  and  led  him  to  our  council  fire  at  Buffalo  creek." 

tSays  Red  Jacket,  in  his  complaints  to  Mr.  Pickering,  at  Tioga  : — "Then  all  know, 
and  Mr.  Street  knows,  that  Mr.  Phelps  held  up  a  paper,  with  a  seal  to  it,  as  big  as  my 
hand.  .  When  he  epened  his  mind  to  us,  we  took  it  hard." 


140  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

afterwards  established.  Mr.  Phelps,  in  a  statement  he  made  of  the 
transactions,  says,  "  the  council  was  conducted  in  a  friendly  and 
amicable  manner."  The  negotiation  then  turned  upon  the  price  to 
be  paid ;  and  Mr.  Phelps  and  the  Indians  failing  to  agree,  they  mu 
tually  appointed  John  Butler,  Joseph  Brant,  Elisha  Lee,  as  referees, 
who  agreed  that  Mr.  Phelps  should  pay  for  the  tract  purchased,  five 
thousand  dollars,  and  an  annuity  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  ever. 
The  Indians  had  consented  to  take  for  the  quantity  of  land  they 
were  conveying,  a  sum  which  would  amount  to  a  fair  proportion 
of  what  the  Lessees  had  agreed  to  pay  for  their  whole  country,  and 
this  was  the  basis  upon  which  the  price  was  fixed. 

The  lands  thus  ceded,  constituted  what  is  now  known  as  Phelp's 
and  Gorham's  Purchase  ;  its  eastern  boundary,  the  Massachusetts' 
pre-emption  line ;  and  its  western  boundary,  a  line  "  beginning  in 
the  northern  line  of  Pennsylvania,  due  south  of  the  corner  or  point 
of  land  made  by  the  confluence  of  the  Genesee  river  and  the  Can- 
ascraga  Creek ;  thence  north  on  said  meridian  line  to  the  corner, 
or  point,  at  the  confluence  aforesaid  ;  thence  northwardly  along  the 
waters  of  the  Genesee  river,  to  a  point  two  miles  north  of  Cana- 
wagus  village ;  thence  running  due  west  twelve  miles  ;  thence  run 
ning  northwardly,  so  as  to  be  twelve  miles  distant  from  the  western 
bounds  of  said  river  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario/'  Within 
these  boundaries,  were  contained,  by  estimation,  2,600,000  acres. 

Soon  after  arriving  at  Buffalo  Creek,  Mr.  Phelps  saw  that  the 
Lessee  agents  would  embarrass  his  negotiations  —  at  least,  cause 
delay  —  and  he,  therefore,  made  a  compromise,  stipulating  the  con 
veyance  to  them  of  the  four  townships  named  in  another  connec 
tion;  besides,  as  may  well  be  inferred,  paying  their  immediate 
agents  well  for  a  forbearance  in  the  work  of  mischief,  in  which 
they  were  so  persevering.  Their  release  of  so  much  as  was  in 
cluded  in  his  purchase,  was  interpreted  to  the  Indians. 

The  Niagara  Genesee  Company,  Butler  and  his  associates,  in  ad 
dition  to  their  interests  in  common  with  all  the  Lessees,  had  an  in 
dependent  claim  for  convening  the  Indians ;  and  by  their  influence, 

NOTE.— With  the  story  of  the  "Mill  Site,"  the  reader  will  be  familiar.  The  au 
thor  finds  110  record  of  it ;  but  it  may  well  be  presumed,  that  Mr.  Phelps,  in  urging 
the  extension  of  his  purchase  beyond  the  Genesee  river,  spoke  of  building  a  mill  at 
the  Falls ;  and  in  all  probability,  promised  to  do  so  for  the  mutual  benefit  of  the  In 
dians  and  the  white  settlers ;  for  immediately  after  the  treaty,  he  gave  the  100  acres  to 
Ebenezer  Allan,  upon  condition  that  he  would  erect  a  saw-mill  and  grist-mill 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  141 

in  fact,  enabling  Mr.  Phelps  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  This  was, 
probably,  arranged  by  a  promise  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Phelps,  to  give 
them  an  interest  in  common  with  himself  and  associates.  * 

Mr.  Phelps,  befor#  leaving  the  country,  set  surveyors  to  work, 
under  the  direction  of  Col.  Hugh  Maxwell,  to  divide  the  newly  ac 
quired  country  into  townships ;  and,  having  fixed  upon  Canandai- 
gua  as  the  primitive  locality,  the  focus  of  intended  enterprise,  re 
turned  to  Suffield.  All  retired  as  winter  approached,  and  left  the 
whole  region  in  possession  of  its  ancient  owners.f  Arrived  at  home, 
Mr.  Phelps  reported,  by  letter  to  his  principal  associates,  the  result 
of  his  embassy.  "  You  may  rely  upon  it,"  says  he  "  that  it  is  a  good 
country ;  I  have  purchased  all  that  the  Indians  will  sell  at  pre 
sent  ;  and,  perhaps,  as  much  as  it  would  be  profitable  for  us  to  buy 
at  this  time."  Mr.  Walker,  after  having  remained  in  the  country 
until  nearly  the  setting  in  of  winter,  returned  and  was  present  at  a 
meeting  of  the  associates  in  January.  He  reported  that  he  had 
sold  and  contracted  about  thirty  townships.  At  this  meeting,  a 
division  of  the  land  took  place ;  a  large  proportion  of  the  shares 
were  but  small  ones,  the  largest  portion  of  the  lands  falling  into  the 

*  Such  would  seem  to  have  been  the  arrangement,  though  a  misunderstanding  and 
litigation  ensued.  Soon  after  Mr.  Phelps'  large  sale  to  Robert  Morris,  "  Samuel  Street 
and  others,"  (the  Niagara  Lessee  Company,)  filed  a  bill  in  chancery,  setting  forth 
that  they  were  entitled  to  the  proceeds  of  sales  of  "  fifteen  one  hundred  and  twentieth 
parts"  of  all  of  Phelps'  and  Gorham's  Purchase,  by  virtue  of  an  agreement  made  by 
Mr.  Phelps  at  the  treaty  of  Buffalo  Creek.  Upon  the  bill  of  complaint,  an  injunction 
was  issued  against  Phelps  and  Gorham,  their  associates  in  interest,  and  their  grantees ; 
but  how  the  matter  was  arranged,  the  author  is  unable-  to  state.  An  interminable 
quarrel  arose  between  the  two  lessee  companies ;  and  the  Canada  company  had  but 
little,  if  any,  of  the  avails  of  the  four  townships.  Some  of  their  correspondence  re 
minds  one  of  the  anecdote  of  the  gambler,  who,  after  pocketing  cards,  and  practicing 
the  arts  of  his  profession  for  a  whole  evening,  very  gravely  complained  that  there 
"  was  cheating  about  the  board." 

t  Kanadesaga  (Geneva)  excepted.  Mr.  Phelps'  intentions  of  founding  a  settlement 
at  Geneva,  which  the  reader  will  have  noticed,  was  of  course  changed,  when  he  found 
that  according  to  the  original  survey  of  the  pre-emption  line,  the  locality  was  off  from 
his  purchase.  Canandaigua  was  his  next  choice. 

NOTE,  —  There  has  been  a  very  common  mistake  as  to  where  Mr.  Phelps  held  his 
Indian  treaty ;  and  this  work  will,  probably,  fall  into  the  hands  of  those  who  will  in 
sist  that  it  was  at  Canandaigua,  pointing  out  the  very  spot  upon  which  it  was  held. 
The  error  has  been  perpetutated  by  historians  and  essayists,  who  have  added  a  fancy 
sketch  of  a  scene  at  the  treaty  ground: — Red  Jacket  eloquently  invoking  the  war 
cry,  the  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  and  Farmer's  Brother  opposing  him.  The 
whole  story  is  spoiled  by  Red  Jacket's  own  assertion,  that  he  and  "Billy,  and  the 
Heap  of  Dogs,"  led  Mr.  Phelps  from  Kanadesaga  to  the  treaty  at  Buffalo  Creek.  There 
was  no  opposition  to  the  Phelps'  treaty  at  the  time ;  but  one  afterwards  appeared. 
The  idea  of  a  land  treaty  of  Mr.  Phelps  with  the  Indians,  at  Canandaigua,  must  have 
come  from  a  gathering  which  was  had  there  in  1789,  when  Mr.  Phelps'  payments  be 
came  due. 


142  PHELPS   AKD  GOKHAM'S   PURCHASE. 

hands  of  Phelps  and  Gorham  and  a  few  associates.     The  most  of 
the  early  sales  of  townships,  was  to  those  who  held  shares.  * 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1789,  under  the  general  auspicies  of  Mr. 
Phelps,  arrangements  were  made,  and  a  pretty  formidable  expedition 
started  out  to  the  new  Genesee  country  to  commence  a  settlement, 
the  general  details  of  which  will  be  found  in  another  connection. 
Mr.  Phelps  was  during  that  and  succeeding  years,  alternating  be 
tween  Canandaigua  and  his  home  in  New  England.  Before  the 
close  of  1789,  he  had  jointly,  with  John  Taylor,  an  agent  of  the 
State,  contracted  with  Ephraim  Blackmer,  who  has  before  been 
named,  for  the  cutting  out  of  a  road,  two  rods  wide  from  Fort  Stan- 
wix  to  Seneca  Lake.  While  in  the  Genesee  country  this  year,  in 
the  absence  of  any  local  laws,  he  entered  into  a  written  compact  with 
some  Seneca  chiefs,  of  a  reciprocal  character,  each  party  promising 
to  punish  offences  committed  by  their  own  people. 

After  all  this  had  transpired,  at  the  session  of  the  Massachusetts 
legislature  in  1789,  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Gorham,  and  their  associates, 
found  themselves  unable  to  fulfil  the  engagements  they  had  made 
for  the  payment  of  the  purchase  money.  They  had  predicated 
payment  upon  the  supposition,  that  they  could  purchase  the  public 
paper  of  Massachusetts,  at  its  then  market  value,  which  was  but 
about  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.  In  the  interval,  before  pay  day  ar 
rived,  the  prospect  of  success  in  the  formation  of  a  Federal  govern 
ment,  and  a  consequent  funding  of  the  debts  of  the  States,  the 
paper  they  had  stipulated  to  make  payment  in,  had  nearly  a  par  value 
in  market.  Thus  situated,  and  having  failed  to  extinguish  the 
native  right  to  the  whole,  they  memorialized  the  legislature  and 
got  released  from  their  obligations  in  reference  to  what  remained, 
paying  only  for  what  was  included  in  their  Indian  treaty.  The 
legislature,  the  more  readily  perhaps,  acceded  to  their  request,  inas 
much  as  they  were  pretty  sure  of  finding  a  purchaser  for  what  re 
mained,  in  the  person  of  Robert  Morris. 

New  difficulties  however,  soon  presented  themselves.  The  Indi 
ans  who  had  seemed  almost  universally  satisfied  with  the  sale  to 
Mr.  Phelps,  became  divided  upon  the  subject;  the  mischievous 

*  The  low  prices  named  in  connection  with  some  of  the  early  sales,  is  explained  by 
this.  The  purchasers  were  shareholders ;  the  price  paid,  about  what  it  had  cost  the 
association.  For  instance,  Robinson  and  Hathaway  were  original  shareholders ;  and 
the  price  they  paid  for  Jerusalem,  was  fixed  upon  the  basis  named. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.  143 

traders  and  some  interpreters  among  them,  promoted  the  trouble, 
and  in  that  then  retreat  of  disturbed  spirits,  and  haters  of  every 
thing  that  was  American  —  the  refugees  of  the  Revolution,  and 
British  officers  and  agents  —  Fort  Niagara  and  its  precincts  —  there 
were  disturbers  other  than  those  that  had  been  compromised  with. 
The  Indian  chief  Cornplanter,  was  the  principal  representative  of 
the  malcontents. 

In  August,  1790,  Mr.  Phelps  being  in  the  Genesee  country,  wrote 
to  the  elder  Mr.  Gorham  in  Boston,  and  after  giving  a  somewhat  dis 
couraging  account  of  the  almost  universal  prevalence  of  disease 
among  the  new  settlers,*  informs  him  that  the  Indians  had  been  at 
Canandaigua,  and  refused  to  receive  any  farther  payments,  alledg- 
ing  that  the  amount  of  purchase  money,  aside  from  the  annuity, 
was  to  have  been  ten,  instead  of  five  thousand  dollars.  He  adds, 
that  some  recent  murders  of  Indians  committed  at  Tioga,  by  whites, 
had  helped  to  exasperate  them ;  that  he  was  about  to  set  out  to  visit 
their  principal  villages  to  appease  them  ;  and  that  if  he  did  not  suc 
ceed,  he  feared  they  would  retaliate  by  a  general  attack  upon  the 
whites. 

At  an  Indian  council  by  Mr.  Pickering  at  Tioga,  in  November, 
Red  Jacket  and  Farmer's  Brother  made  speeches,  in  which  they 
both  claimed  that  the  sum  to  be  paid  by  Mr.  Phelps,  was  ten  instead 
of  five  thousand  dollars ;  alledged  that  they  had  been  cheated ; 
that  their  "  heads  had  been  confused  "  by  treaties  with  the  "thirteen 
Fires,"  with  "  Fires  kindled  by  the  Governor  of  New  York,"  and 
by  "  Livingston."  Speaking  of  the  payment  from  Mr.  Phelps,  Red 
Jacket  said :  —  "  When  we  went  to  Canandaigua  to  meet  Mr.  Phelps, 
expecting  to  receive  ten  thousand  dollars,  we  were  to  have  but  five 
thousand.  When  we  discovered  the  fraud,  we  had  a  mind  to  apply 
to  Congress,  to  see  if  the  matter  could  not  be  rectified.  For  when 
we  took  the  money  and  shared  it,  every  one  here  knows,  that  we 
had  but  about  one  dollar  a  piece.  All  our  lands  came  to,  was  but 
the  worth  of  a  few  hogsheads  of  tobacco.  Gentlemen  who  stand 
by,  do  not  think  hard  of  us  for  what  has  been  said.  At  the  time 
of  the  treaty,  twenty  broaches  would  not  buy  half  a  loaf  of  bread ; 

*He  says:  —  "We  have  suffered  much  for  the  want  of  a  physician  ;  Atwater  has 
not  yet  arrived ;  we  have  now  a  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  attending  on  the  sick, 
who  seems  to  understand  his  business.  The  two  Wadsworths,  who  came  from  Dur 
ham,  have  been  very  sick,  are  now  recovering,  but  are  low  spirited  ;  they  like  the 
country  but  their  sickness  has  discouraged  them." 


144  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

so  that  when  we  returned  home,  there  was  not  a  bright  spot  of 
silver  about  us." 

In  December,  Cornplanter,  attended  by  other  Seneca  chiefs,  met 
President  Washington  at  Philadelphia,  and  delivered  to  him  a  speech, 
in  which  he  represented  that  the  treaty  at  Buffalo  creek,  had  been 
fraudulently  conducted ;  that  Mr.  Phelps  represented  himself  as 
the  agent  of  the  "  thirteen  Fires,"  that  he  told  them  that  the  coun 
try  had  been  ceded  to  the  thirteen  Fires  by  the  British  King ;  that 
if  he  could  not  make  a  bargain  with  the  Indians,  he  could  take 
their  lands  by  force ;  and  that  generally,  it  was  by  threats  and  de 
ceptions  he  had  obtained  the  Indian  lands.  He  added  that  Mr. 
Street,  whom  they  supposed  their  friend,  "until  they  saw  him 
whispering  with  Phelps,"  had  been  bribed  by  the  promise  of  a 
large  tract  of  land.  The  President  heard  the  complaints,  promised 
an  investigation  of  the  matter,  and  to  see  the  Indians  redressed  if 
they  had  suffered  wrong. 

Soon  after  all  this,  Mr.  Phelps  addressed  the  President,  giving  a 
detailed  history  of  the  treaty,  denying  the  allegations  of  Cornplan 
ter,  and  asserting  that  he  caused  the  Indians  at  the  treaty,  to  be 
well  informed  of  his  errand,  their  rights  to  their  lands ;  that  he  used 
no  threats,  or  coercion  to  accomplish  his  object,  and  that  the  sum 
he  was  to  advance  to  the  Indians,  was  but  five  thousand  dollars. 
He  accompanied  his  statement,  by  depositions  from  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Kirkland,  James  Dean,  Judge  Hollenbeck,  and  others,  who  were 
present  at  the  treaty,  in  substance,  to  the  effect  that  the  treaty  was 
conducted  honorably,  and  fairly,  and  that  Cornplanter  was  mista 
ken  as  to  the  amount  of  the  purchase  money. 

In  February,  '91,  Joseph  Brant  addressed  a  long  letter  to  the  su 
perintendent  of  Indian  affairs  for  the  northern  district  of  the  United 

NOTE. —  It  is  to  be  inferred  from  what  followed,  that  Cornplanter  was  more  eloquent 
than  honest  in  his  speech  to  the  President.  Speaking  of  the  consequences  of  the 
President  turning  a  deaf  ear  to  the  complaints  of  the  Senecas,  he  said  :  —  "You  have 
said  that  we  were  in  your  hand,  and  that  by  closing  it  you  could  crush  us  to  nothing1. 
Are  you  determined  to  crush  us  ?  If  you  are,  tell  us  so,  that  those  of  our  nation  who 
have^become  your  children,  and  have  determined  to  die  so,  may  know  what  to  do.  In 
this  case  one  chief  has  said  he  would  ask  you  to  put  him  out  of  pain.  Another,  who 
will  not  think  of  dying  by  the  hand  of  his  father,  has  said  he  will  retire  to  Chautau- 
que,  eat  of  the  fatal  root,  and  sleep  with  his  fathers  in  peace."  This  was  an  allusion 
to  the  beautiful  Seneca  tradition,  that  a  young  squaw  once  eat  of  a  root  she  dug  on 
the  banks  of  the  Chautauque  Lake,  which  created  thirst ;  to  slake  it,  she  stooped  down 
to  drink  of  the  waters  of  the  Lake,  and  disappeared  forever.  Thence  the  name  of 
the  Lake  ;  —  "  Ja-da-qua,"  or  the  place  of  easy  death, —  where  one  disappears,  and  is 
Been  no  more. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  145 

States,  in  which  he  attacks  Cornplanter  with  severity ;  alleging 
that  "  influenced  by  bribes  and  other  selfish  views,  he  prevailed  on 
the  chiefs  who  were  sent  to  cover  up  the  council  fire  at  Kanadesaga, 
kindled  by  John  Livingston,  to  lease  the  whole  of  the  Five  Nation's 
country,  for  a  consideration  of  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  an  an 
nual  rent  of  two  thousand ;  and  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty, 
that  the  Five  Nations  were  able  to  move  that  lease,  from  off  a  por 
tion  of  the  country."  He  recapitulates  the  bargain  made  by  Mr. 
Phelps,  agreeing  with  other  witnesses.  He  says  that  the  Lessees 
were  only  released  from  the  payment  of  five  thousand  of  the  twenty 
thousand  they  had  agreed  to  pay  for  the  whole  country,  and  a  pro 
rata  amount  of  their  stipulated  annual  rent.*  This  was  to  show, 
that  the  bargain  with  Mr.  Phelps,  was  a  better  one  even  than  Corn- 
planter  had  promoted  with  the  Lessees. 

When  Mr.  Pickering  held  his  council  at  Newtown,  in  July,  '91,  he 
examined  several  Cayuga  and  Onondaga  chiefs,  who  stated  that 
Cornplanter's  allegations  were  untrue ;  and  some  of  the  principal 
Seneca  chiefs,  stated  to  him  that  all  was  fair  on  Mr.  Phelps'  part, 
in  'reference  to  the  treaty. 

But  all  this  did  not  entirely  quell  the  dissatisfaction,  and  the  al- 
ledged  wrong  was  mixed  up  with  other  elements,  to  render  the 
earliest  relations  of  Pioneers  of  the  Genesee  country  and  the  Indi 
ans,  equivocal ;  in  a  condition  to  keep  up  alarm  and  apprehensions 
of  evil.  If  the  Senecas  themselves  were  mainly  disposed  to  be 
friendly,  their  jealousies  and  resentments  were  kept  alive,  by  the 
western  Indians,  and  their  British  prompters,  and  British  agents  at 
Niagara.  DCP  See  Mr.  Phelps'  speech  to  the  Indians.  Appendix, 
No.  6. 

The  whole  history  of  the  early  Indian  treaties  in  this  State,  is  a 
complex  one ;  there  was  a  disjointed  state  of  things  existing  among 
our  own  people  ;  the  treaties  began  without  any  clear  and  definite 
understanding,  of  what  were  the  respective  rights  of  the  State  and 
the  general  government.  The  Indians,  after  they  had  heard  of 
"  one  big  fire  being  lighted  for  all  the  thirteen  States,"  could  not  un 
derstand  why  they  should  be  invited  to  attend  "  so  many  little  fires," 


*  The  reader  need  hardly  be  told,  that  the  poor  Indians  never  realized  the  sum 
promised  by  the  Lessees,  except  in  the  form  of  bribes  to  some  of  their  chiefs ;  and  in 
that  form  but  a  small  portion  of  it.  And  yet  the  Lessees  ia  one  form  and  another, 
realized  a  large  amount  for  their  illegal  "long  lease." 


146  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

or  councils.  The  almost  interminable  mischief,  the  Lessee  move 
ment,  was  thrust  in  to  add  to  embarrassment.  The  close  of  the 
Revolution  had  left  them  with  distracted  councils,  cut  up  into  fac 
tions  themselves.  No  wonder  that  when  they  were  pulled  and 
hauled  about  from  one  treaty  to  another,  beset  by  State  commis 
sioners,  Lessee  companies,  speculators  and  "  their  old  friends  at 
Niagara,"  they  should  on  several  occasions  have  complained  that 
their  "  heads  were  confused." 

But  the  crowning  curse,  the  source  of  nearly  all  other  evils  that 
beset  them,  and  nearly  all  that  embarrassed  our  early  relations  and 
intercourse  with  their  race,  was  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors.  In 
the  absence  of  them,  the  advent  of  our  race  to  this  continent,  would 
have  been  a  blessing  to  theirs,  instead  of  what  it  has  proved  to  be, 
the  cause  of  their  ruin,  and  gradual  extermination.  Nowhere  in  a 
long  career  of  discover}1-,  of  enterprize  and  extension  of  empire, 
have  Europeans  found  natives  of  the  soil,  with  as  many  of  the 
noblest  attributes  of  humanity ;  moral  and  physical  elements,  which, 
if  they  could  not  have  been  blended  with  ours,  could  have  main 
tained  a  separate  existence,  and  been  fostered  by  the  proximity  of 
civilization  and  the  arts.  Every  where,  when  first  approached  by 
our  race,  they  welcomed  it,  and  made  demonstrations  of  friendship 
and  peace.  Savage,  as  they  were  called,  savage  as  they  may  have 
been  in  their  assaults  and  wars  upon  each  other,  there  is  no  act  of 
theirs  recorded  in  our  histories,  of  early  colonization,  of  wrong  or 
outrage,  that  was  not  provoked  by  assaults,  treachery  or  deception  — 
breaches  of  the  hospitalities  they  had  extended  to  the  strangers, 
Whatever  of  savage  character  they  may  have  possessed,  so  far  as 
our  race  was  concerned,  it  was  dormant  until  aroused  to  action 
by  assaults  or  treachery  of  intruders  upon  their  soil,  whom  they  had 
met  and  treated  as  friends. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  trouble ;  the  cupidity  of  our  race 
perpetuated  it  by  the  introduction  of  "fire  water,"  which,  vitiating 
their  appetites,  cost  them  their  native  independence  of  character, 
made  them  dependents  upon  the  trader  and  the  agents  of  rival 
governments;  mixed  them  up  with  factious  and  contending  aspir 
ants  to  dominion ;  and  from  time  to  time,  impelled  them  to  the 
fields  of  blood  and  slaughter,  or  to  the  stealthy  assault  with  the  tom 
ahawk  and  scalping  knife.  For  the  ruin  of  his  race,  the  red  man 
has  a  fearful  account  against  us,  since  we  assumed  the  responsibility 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

of  intercourse  with  it,  as  a  separate  and  independent  people ;  but 
as  in  another  instance,  where  another  race  is  concerned,  we  may 
plead  with  truth  and  justice,  that  we  were  inheritors  of  the  curse  ; 
and  that  our  predecessors  are  chargeable  with  having  fixed  the  plague 
spot  and  stain  upon  us,  indelibly,  long  before  the  responsibility  de 
volved  upon  us. 

From  the  hour  that  Henry  Hudson  toled  the  Indians  on  board  of 
his  vessel,  on  the  river  that  bears  his  name,  and  gave  them  the  first 
taste  of  spirituous  liquors,  the  whole  history  of  British  intercourse 
with  them  is  marked  by  the  use  of  this  accursed  agent  as  a  princi 
pal  means  of  success.  The  example  of  Hudson  was  followed  up 
by  all  the  Dutch  and  English  traders  upon  the  Mohawk,  and  when 
Sir  William  Johnson  had  settled  as  a  British  agent  in  the  Mohawk 
valley,  he  had  unfortunately  learned  the  potent  influence  of  spirit 
uous  liquors  in  Indian  traffic  and  negotiation.  He  is  probably  the 
first  that  made  use  of  them  at  Indian  councils  ;  thus  setting  a  vicious 
example  that  has  been  perpetuated.  The  early  French  traders  upon 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  in  all  this  region,  commenced  the  traffic  not 
until  after  they  had  ascertained  that  they  could  in  no  way  compete 
with  the  English  traders  than  by  using  the  same  means.  The  early 
Jesuit  Missionaries  checked  them  in  their  work  of  evil,  but  the 
English  trader  was  left  unrestrained,  even  encouraged  by  English 
colonial  authority.  The  Senecas,  especially,  naturally  inclined  to 
the  French.  There  was  something  in  the  French  character  that  was 
congenial  to  their  natural  preferences ;  the  two  races  met  and 
flowed  into  each  other,  (if  the  expression  is  admissable,)  like  kindred, 
or  easily  assimilating  elements  ;  with  the  English  it  was  different ; 
there  was  a  natural  repugnance,  it  may  almost  be  said  ;  the  blowze, 
turgid  Englishman,  and  the  Seneca  who  possessed  generous  and  even 
romantic  and  poetic  elements,  were  in  caste  and  inclination,  anti 
podes.  It  was  with  his  keg  of  rum,  that  the  Englishman  could  alone 
succeed ;  and  with  a  morbid,  sordid  perseverance,  he  plied  it  in  trade 
as  well  as  diplomacy.  It  was  rum  that  first  enabled  the  Englishman 


NOTE.  —  From  the  first  advent  of  the  French  Franciscan  and  Jesuit  Missionaries  in 
this  region,  they  were  the  determined  opposers  of  the  introduction  of  spirituous 
liquors  among  the  Indians.  They  would  suppress  it  in  the  trading  houses  of  their 
own  countrymen,  and  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  knock  out  the  heads  of  English  rum 
casks.  They  became,  in  some  instances,  martyrs  in  endeavoing  to  suppress  the  traffic. 
The  first  temperance  essay  the  world  ever  saw  other  than  the  precepts  of  the  Bible, 
was  written  in  this  region  by  a  Jesuit  Missionary,  and  published  in  Paris. 


148  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

to  get  a  foothold  upon  the  Hudson,  upon  the  Mohawk,  along  the 
shores  of  Lake  Ontario ;  in  the  absence  of  its  use,  bold  as  the  asser 
tion  may  appear,  he  would  not  have  succeeeded  in  putting  an  end  to 
French  dominion  in  America. 

At  a  later  period,  when  the  storm  of  the  Revolution  was  gather 
ing,  the  English  resorted  to  the  old  weapon  they  had  used  against 
the  French,  to  use  against  the  colonies.  The  Indians  had  undoubt 
edly  resolved  upon  neutrality  ;  unsophisticated,  unlearned  in  all  the 
grievances  of  oppressed  colonies,  in  the  intricacies  of  taxation, 
representation,  and  the  immunities  under  other  structures  of  gov 
ernment  than  their  own,  they  could  not  understand  why  the  bonds 
of  kindred  should  be  sundered ;  why  those  they  had  just  seen  fight 
ing  side  by  side  against  the  French  should  be  arrayed  against  each 
other  so  suddenly.  The  aspect  of  the  quarrel  was  not  suited  to 
their  tastes  or  inclinations,  and  they  resolved  upon  standing  aloof; 
the  Senecas  at  least.  Invited  to  Oswego,  by  the  English  refugees 
from  the  Mohawk,  kept  intoxicated  for  days  and  weeks,  promised 
there  that  the  accursed  "fire  water"  of  England's  King,  should  be 
as  free  to  them  "as  the  waters  of  Lake  Ontario,"  their  good  inten 
tions  were  changed,  and  their  tomahawks  and  scalping  knives  were 
turned  against  the  border  settlers ;  a  series  of  events  ensued,  the 
review  of  which  creates  a  shudder,  and  a  wonder  that  the  offences 
were  so  easily  forgiven ;  that  we  had  not  taken  their  country  after 
subduing  it  with  our  arms,  instead  of  treating  for  it.  But  well  and 
humanely  did  the  Father  of  his  Country  consider  how  they  had  been 
wiled  to  the  unfortunate  choice  of  friends  which  they  made.  Eng 
lish  rum  was  not  only  freely  dealt  out  at  Oswego,  during  the  Revo 
lution,  but  at  Fort  Niagara,  where  it  paid  for  the  reeking  scalp,  and 
helped  to  arouse  the  fiercest  passions  of  Indian  allies,  and  send 
them  back  upon  their  bloody  track. 

When  peace  came,  and  our  State  authorities  began  to  cultivate 
an  acquaintance  with  the  Indians,  they  found  them  deserted  by 
their  late  British  employers,  with  nothing  to  show  for  the  sanguine 
aid  they  had  given  them,  but  appetites  vitiated  by  the  English  rum 
cask,  and  a  moral  and  physical  degeneracy,  the  progress  of  which 
could  not  have  been  arrested ;  and  lingering  yet  among  them,  in  all 
their  principal  localities,  was  the  English  or  tory  trader,  prolonging 
his  destructive  traffic.  It  was  American,  New  York  legislation, 
that  made  the  first  statutes  against  the  traffic  of  spirituous  liquors 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  149 

among  the  Indians.  It  was  American  legislation,  after  the  incubus 
of  British  dominion  was  shaken  off,  that  first  checked  the  slave 
trade.  Two  enormous  offences  have  been  committed  against  two 
races,  both  of  which  had  been  alike  perpetuated  under  English  do 
minion. 


Mr.  Phelps,  although  his  residence  in  all  the  earliest  years  of  set 
tlement,  was  still  in  Massachusetts,  spent  most  of  his  time  in  Can- 
andaigua,  and  was  the  active  and  liberal  patron  and  helper  in  all 
the  public  enterprises  of  the  region  where  he  had  been  the  pioneer. 
Of  ardent  temperament,  ambitious  in  all  that  related  to  the  pros 
perity  of  the  new  country,  the  Pioneer  settlers  found  in  him  a  friend ; 
and  when  disease,  privation,  Indian  alarms,  created  despondency, 
he  had  for  them  words  of  encouragement,  and  prophecies  of  a  "  bet 
ter  time."  He  was  useful  to  a  degree  that  no  one  can  realize  who 
has  not  seen  how  much  one  man  can  do  in  helping  to  smooth  the 
always  rugged  paths  of  backwoods  life. 

A  considerable  shareholder  in  the  original  purchase  of  Massa 
chusetts  and  the  Indians,  he  eventually  became  a  principal  owner, 
by  purchase  of  shares,  reversions  and  other  means.  In  a  few  years 
after  the  settlement  of  the  Genesee  country  was  fairly  under  way, 
he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  successful  and  wealthy  of  all 
the  many  founders  of  new  settlements  of  that  period.  In  1795,  he 
regarded  himself  as  worth  a  million  of  dollars.  There  are  no  busi 
ness  enterprises  which,  if  successful,  are  better  calculated  to  lead  to 
excess  and  rash  venture,  than  that  of  speculation  in  lands.  A 
mania  of  land  speculation,  as  will  be  seen  in  another  connection, 
commenced  along  in  '95  and  '6,  and  extended  through  all  the  then 
settled  parts  of  the  Union.  Philadelphia  was  the  principal  focus, 
its  leading  capitalists,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Morris,  were  the  prin 
cipal  operators.  Among  the  devices  of  the  times,  was  a  gigantic 
"  American  Land  Company."  Elected  to  Congress,  Mr.  Phelps, 
elated  with  his  success  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  thrown  into 
the  vortex  of  rash  adventure,  and  became  deeply  involved,  as  all 
were  who  made  any  considerable  ventures  at  that  unfortunate 
period.  One  of  his  ventures  was  in  connection  with  the  "  Georgia 
Land  Company  ;"  with  the  fate  of  which,  most  readers  will  be 
familiar.  Liabilities  abroad  made  him  a  large  borrower,  and  obliged 


150  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

him  to  execute  mortgages  upon  his  Genesee  lands.  In  all  this,  the 
titles  of  purchasers  under  him  became  involved,  which  created  dis 
trust  and  excitement  among  a  portion  of  the  settlers,  and  brought 
upon  him  a  good  deal  of  censure.  His  reverses,  and  the  appre 
hensions,  perhaps,  that  others  were  to  be  involved  in  them,  preying 
upon  a  sensitive  mind,  his  health  gradually  declined,  and  he  died  in 
1809,  aged  60  years.  In  1802,  he  had  removed  to  Canandaigua  ; 
and  from  the  commencement  of  his  reverses  up  to  the  period  of  his 
death,  had  been  struggling  to  extricate  himself,  and  others  involved 
with  him,  from  embarrassment.  In  allusion  to  all  this,  an  inscrip 
tion  upon  his  tomb-stone  contains  the  following  sentence  :  — 

"  Enterprise,  Industry  and   Temperance,  can  not  always  secure   success ;  but  the 
fruits  of  those  virtues,  will  be  felt  by  society." 

The  State  of  Connecticut  having  been  a  principal  creditor  of 
Mr.  Phelps,  and  holding  a  large  mortgage  upon  his  lands,  the  Hon. 
Gideon  Granger  became  its  agent,  and  ultimately  the  settlement  of 
the  estate  devolved  upon  him.  When  he  entered  upon  the  task,  he 
was  assisted  in  some  of  its  preliminary  investigations  by  the  late 
Jessee  Hawley,  Esq.,  who,  in  a  memorandum  which  the  author  has 
in  his  possession,  remarks  that  the  estate  was  involved  in  "  com 
plexity,  perplexity  and  confusion."  The  superior  business  facul 
ties  of  Mr.  Granger,  however,  made  "  crooked  things  straight ;" 
debts  were  cancelled,  land  titles  cleared  from  incumbrances ;  no 
purchasers  under  Mr.  Phelps,  it  is  believed,  ultimately  suffered  loss  ; 
and  a  considerable  estate  was  saved  to  his  heirs.  Among  the  sur 
viving  early  Pioneers,  it  is  common  now  to  hear  expressions  of  re 
spect  for  the  memory  of  Oliver  Phelps,  and  regrets,  that  the  last 
years  of  his  active  and  enterprising  life  was  so  clouded  by  misfor- 
fortune.  Jesse  Hawley  wrote  that  he  was  "  the  Cecrops  of  the 
Genesee  country.  Its  inhabitants  owe  a  mausoleum  to  his  memo 
ry,  in  gratitude  for  his  having  pioneered  for  them  the  wilderness  of 
this  Canaan  of  the  west." 

Mr.  Phelps  was  first  judge  of  Ontario,  on  the  primitive  organiza 
tion  of  its  courts ;  and  was  an  early  Representative  in  Congress, 
from  the  then  western  district  of  this  State. 

He  left  a  son  and  daughter.  His  son,  Oliver  Leicester  Phelps, 
was  educated  at  Yale  College,  married  a  grand-daughter  of  Roger 
Sherman,  and  became  a  resident  of  Paris,  France.  Returning  to 
this  country,  after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  became  the  occupant 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  151 

of  the  old  Phelps'  mansion  at  Canandaigua ;  was  at  one  period  Maj. 
General  of  the  22d  Division  of  New  York  Infantry.  He  died  in 
1813.  His  surviving  sons  are:  —  Judge  Oliver  Phelps,  of  Canan 
daigua,  who  resides  at  the  old  homestead,  a  worthy  representative 
of  his  honored  ancestor ;  William  H.  Phelps,  of  Canandaigua  ;  and 
Francis  Phelps,  an  inmate  of  the  Infirmary  at  Brattleborough, 
Vermont.  The  daughter  of  Oliver  Phelps  became  the  wife  ot 
A.masa  Jackson,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  is  now  a  resi 
dent  of  Canandaigua.  A  daughter  of  hers,  is-  the  wife  of  Gen. 
John  A.  Granger ;  and  another,  is  the  wife  of  Alexander  H.  Howell, 
a  son  of  the  Hon.  N.  W.  Howell.  The  wife  of  Oliver  Phelps,  who 
was  the  daughter  of  Zachariah  Seymour,  died  in  1826,  aged  74 
years. 


Nathaniel  Gorham,  the  elder,  who  was  the  associate  of  Mr, 
Phelps,  was  never  a  resident  upon  the  Purchase.  He  resided  in 
Charlestown,  Mass.  His  son,  Nathaniel  Gorham,  jr.,  his  local  repre 
sentative,  came  to  Canandaigua  in  1789,  and  was  of  course  one  of 
the  earliest  pioneers.  He  was  an  early  Supervisor  of  Canandaigua, 
a  Judge  of  the  county  courts,  and  the  President  of  the  Ontario 
Bank,  from  its  first  organization,  until  his  death.  He  died  in  1826, 
aged  62  years.  His  surviving  sons  are  :  —  Nathaniel  Gorham,  mer 
chant,  of  Canandaigua ;  William  Gorham,  of  Canandaigua ;  and 
David  Gorham,  of  Exeter,  New  Hampshire.  Mrs.  Dr.  A.  G.  Bris 
tol,  of  Rochester,  is  a  daughter ;  and  an  unmarried  daughter  resides 
at  the  old  homestead  at  Canandaigua.  The  mother  died  in  1848, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  83  years. 

And  in  this  connection,  lest  he  should  be  omitted  in  a  work  like 
this  —  as  he  should  not  be  —  some  mention  should  be  made  of  the 
venerable  William  Wood,  who,  if  not  a  pioneer  himself,  is  especial 
ly  the  friend  of  the  pioneers ;  and  among  his  other  good  works, 
takes  a  lively  interest  in  perpetuating  their  memories.  Mr.  Wood 
is  a  veteran  bachelor,  the  brother  of  the  late  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Gor 
ham.  His  native  place  is  Charlestown,  Massachusetts.  At  one 
period  of  his  life,  he  was  an  importing  merchant  in  the  city  of  Bos 
ton  ;  after  that,  a  cotton  dealer  in  New  Orleans,  where  he  was 
known  for  his  deeds  of  philanthropy  and  benevolence.  Becoming 
a  resident  of  Canandaigua,  by  quiet  unostentatious  charities,  by 


152  PHELPS  AKD  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

being  "  present  in  every  good  work,  "  he  has  well  entitled  himself  to 
be  called  the  Howard  of  his  local  region.  The  public  edifices  of 
Canandaigua,  the  rural  church-yard,  the  streets  and  side-walks,  the 
public  libraries,  bear  testimonials  of  his  public  spirit.  If  no  other 
good  work  is  in  hand,  he  will  carry  apples,  books,  and  other  accept 
able  presents,  to  the  inmates  of  the  jail,  and  cheer  them  by  kind 
words.  Jn  cities  and  villages  of  this  country  and  in  England,  he 
has  established  libraries  and  literary  institutions,  principally  for  the 
benefit  of  mechanics,  apprentices  and  clerks.  Well  may  it  be  said, 
that  the  world  would  be  better,  the  picture  of  humanity  would  have 
in  it  more  of  lighter  coloring,  if  there  were  more  like  William 
Wood.  But,  principally,  it  has  been  intended  to  notice  him  in  con 
nection  with  a  Gallery  of  Portraits  —  mostly  of  Pioneers  of  the 
Genesee  country  —  that  he  is  collecting  and  suspending  in  their 
well-chosen  and  appropriate  place,  the  court-house  at  Canandaigua. 
It  contains  already  the  portraits  of  — 

OLIVER  PHELPS,  AUGUSTUS  PORTER, 

PETER  B.  PORTER.  JOHN  GREIG, 

PHILIP  CHURCH,  JAMES  WADS  WORTH, 

WM.  WADSWORTH,  RED  JACKET, 

MICAH  BROOKS,  NATHANIEL  ROCHESTER, 

VINCENT  MATHEWS.  JASPER  PARRISH, 

ABNER  BARLOW,  JUDGE  FITZHUGH, 

WALTER  HUBBELL,  AMBROSE  SPENCER, 

JOHN  C.  SPENCER,  WILLIAM  WILLIAMS, 

MOSES  ATWATEB,  N.  W.  HOWELL. 

And  a  correspondent  adds  ;  —  "  WILLIAM  WOOD,  the  noblest  Ro 
man  of  them  all." 


PHELPS  AKD  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.  153 


CHAPTER  V 


JEMIMA    WILKINSON, 


THIS  eccentric  founder  of  a  religious  sect,  and  her  followers, 
having  been  the  Pioneers  of  the  entire  Genesee  country,  preceding 
even  the  Indian  treaties  for  acquiring  land  titles ;  and  having  con 
stituted  in  early  days  a  prominent  feature  in  all  this  region ;  some 
account  of  them,  it  may  well  be  supposed,  will  be  looked  for  in  a 
work  of  this  character. 

Jemima  Wilkinson,  or,  as  she  was  called  by  her  followers,  "  The 
Friend,"  or  "  The  Universal  Friend,"  was  a  daughter  of  Jeremiah 
Wilkinson  of  Cumberland,  Rhode  Island.  She  was  one  of  a  family 
of  twelve  children.  The  father  was  a  respectable  ordinary  New 
England  farmer.  When  Jemima  was  in  her  20th  year,,  the  entire 
family,  except  her,  had  a  severe  attack  of  fever ;  and  after  their 
recovery,  she  was  attacked,  and  her  sickness  was  severe  and  pro 
tracted,  at  times  her  life  being  despaired  of.  In  the  extremity  of  her 
illness,  her  friends  had  assembled  around  her  bed  side  to  witness 
her  death,  when,  as  she  affirmed,  it  was  suddenly  revealed  to  her 
that  she  must  "raise  her  dead  body."  She  arose  from  her  bed,  and- 
kneeling  by  its  side,  made  a  fervent  prayer,  called  for  her  clothing, 
and  announced -that  her  carnal  existence  had  ended;  henceforward 
she  was  but  divine  and  spiritual ;  invested  with  the  gift  of  prophe 
cy.*  She  soon  commenced  travelling  and  exhorting,  and  with  a 
considerable  degree  of  success ;  followers  multiplied,  some  of  them 
good  New  England  farmers.  They  soon  furnished  all  her  wants, 
and  would  accompany  her  sometimes  to  the  number  of  twenty,  on 
her  missions.  She  travelled  through  New  England,  Eastern  New 
York,  and  spent  several  years  in  the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia 


*  This  is  briefly,  her  own  account  of  her  sudden  transformation,  as  related  to  an  in 
formant  of  the  author,  who  knew  her  well,  before  and  after  her  advent  to  this  region. 
10 


154  PHELPS  AND    GOKHAM?S   PUKCIIASE. 

and  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  accompanied  by  most  of  her  follow 
ers  ;  and  she  had  proselytes  wherever  she  went.  Her  authority 
over  them  was  absolute.  Upon  one  occasion,  at  New  Milford.  in 
Connecticut,  she  proclaimed  a  fast  for  thirty  days  on  bread  and 
water.  Most  of  them  strictly  obeyed ;  some  of  them  becoming 
almost  what  Calvin  Edson  was  in  later  years.  After  remaining  in 
New  England  and  Pennsylvania  about  twenty  years,  she  came  to 
Western  New  York ;  she  was  then  near  forty  years  of  age.  The 
author  has  a  copy  of  the  "  New  Haven  Gazette  and  Connecticut 
Magazine,"  of  date,  March  1787,  that  has  a  letter  in  it  from  a 
Philadelphia  correspondent,  written  at  the  time  "  The  Friend,"  and 
her  followers  were  in  Philadelphia,  on  their  way  to  this  region. 
Her  personal  appearance  is  thus  described :  — "  She  is  about  the 
middle  size  of  woman,  not  genteel  in  her  person,  rather  awkward  in 
her  carnage ;  her  complexion  good,  her  eyes  remarkably  black  and 
brilliant,  her  hair  black  and  waving  with  beautiful  ringlets  upon  her 
neck  and  shoulders ;  her  features  are  regular,  and  the  whole  of  her 
face  thought  by  many  to  be  perfectly  beautiful.  As  she  is  not  to  be 
supposed  of  either  sex,  so  this  neutrality  is  manifest  in  her  personal 
appearance:  —  She  wears  no  cap,  letting  her  hair  hang  down  as 
has  been  described.  She  wears  her  neckcloth  like  a  man ;  her  chemise 
is  buttoned  around  the  neck  and  wrists.  Her  outside  garment  is  a 
robe,  under  which  it  is  said  she  wears  an  expensive  dress,  the  fash 
ion  of  which  is  made  to  correspond  neither  with  that  of  a  man  nor 
woman.  Her  understanding  is  not  deficient,  except  touching  her 
religious  fanatacism.  She  is  very  illiterate,  yet  her  memory  is  very 
great ;  artful  in  discovering  many  circumstances  which  fall  out 
among  her  disciples.  On  all  occasions  she  requires  the  most  extra 
ordinary  attentions  that  can  be  bestowed  upon  her;  one  or  more 
of  her  disciples  usually  attend  upon  her,  and  perform  the  most 
menial  service.  Her  pronunciation  is  after  the  peculiar  dialect  of 
the  most  illiterate  of  the  country  people  of  New  England.  Her 
preaching  has  very  little  connexion,  and  is  very  lengthy ;  at  times 
cold  and  languid,  but  occasionally  lively,  zealous  and  animated." 

Enlarging  upon  the  account  she  first  gave  of  her  rising  from  a 
bed  of  sickness  —  dead  in  the  flesh  —  she  assumed  that  there  was 
once  such  a  person  as  Jemima  Wilkinson,  but  that  "  she  died  and 
went  to  heaven ;  after  which  the  Divine  Spirit  re-animated  that 
same  body,  and  it  arose  from  the  dead  ;  now  this  divine  inhabitant 


PHELPS    AM)    GORHAM'S   PTJECHASE. 

is  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  the  friend  to  all  mankind,  and  gives  his 
name  to  the  body  to  which  he  is  united,  and  therefore,  body  and 
spirit  conjointly,  is  the  "Universal  Friend."  She  assumed  to  have 
two  "witnesses,"  corresponding  in  all  respects  to  those  prophecied 
in  Rev.  Chap,  xi,  from  3d  to  13th  verse.  These  were  James  Par 
ker  and  Sarah  Richards. 

But  the  reader  will  be  principally  interested  in  the  advent  of  this 
singular  personage  and  her  followers  to  the  Genesee  country :  — 
Previous  to  1786,  they  were  living  in  detached  localities.  In  that 
year,  they  met  in  Connecticut,  and  resolved  upon  finding  some  "fer 
tile  unsettled  region,  far  from  towns  and  cities,  where  the  '  Univer 
sal  Friend  "  and  her  followers,  might  live  undisturbed  in  peace  and 
plenty,  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  peculiar  religion.'  They  delega-  ^ 
ted  three  of  their  number,  Abraham  Dayton,  Richard  Smith  and 
Thomas  Hathaway  to  look  for  such  a  location.  They  went  to  * 
Philadelphia  and  traversed  on  horseback  the  interior  of  Pennsylva 
nia.  Passing  through  the  valley  of  Wyoming,  they  came  across  a  ^ 
backwoodsman  by  the  name  of  Spalding,  who  furnished  them  with 
a  glimpse  of  the  region  around  Seneca  Lake,  and  gave  them  direc 
tions  how  to  find  it.  Following  his  directions,  they  went  up  the 
river,  and  falling  upon  the  track  of  Sullivan's  army,  reached  the 
foot  of  Seneca  Lake,  and  from  thence  proceeded  to  Cashong  creek, 
where  they  found  two  French  traders,  (De  Bartzch  and  Poudry.) 
who  told  them  that  they  had  travelled  through  Canada,  and  through 
the  Western  territory,  and  had  seen  no  where  so  fine  a  country  as  the 
one  they  were  in.  A  few  days  exploration,  satisfied  the  land  look 
ers,  and  they  returned  by  the  route  they  came,  to  inform  the  Friend 
of  the  result  of  their  travels. 

In   June  1787,  twenty  five  of  the   Friends,  among  whom  were 


NOTE. —  At  a  time  when  the  Friend  and  her  followers,  were  likely  to  loose  their  first 
location  upon  the  banks  of  the  Seneca  Lake,  .and  were  having  some  difficulty  with 
their  neighbors,  Abraham  Dayton  was  deputied  to  go  to  Canada,  and  negotiate  with 
GOT.  Simcoe,  for  a  grant  of  land  for  a  new  location.  Gov.  Simcoe  acceded,  and  made 
a  grant  in  the  present  township  of  Burford,  C.  W.  Preparations  were  made  to  emi 
grate,  when  the  Governor  annulled  his  grant.  He  gave  as  an  excuse  that  he  had  sup 
posed  them  to  be  Quakers,  of  whom  he  had  acquired  a  good  opinion  in  England  ; 
but.  learning  that  they  were  a  new  sect,  he  did  not  wish  to  encourage  their  emigration. 
He  however  made  the  grant  to  Col.  Dayton  individually,  upon  such  terms, —  settle 
ment  duties  &c. —  as  he  was  then  in  the  habit  of  making  land  grants.  Col.  Dayton 
settled  upon  the  land,  died  in  early  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son-in-law,  Ben- 
ajah  Mallory.  The  aged  widow  of  Col.  Dayton,  who  became  the  wife  of  Col.  Joel 
Stone,  the  founder  of  the  village  of  Gananoque,  below  Kingston,  died  but  a  few  years 


156  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Abel  Botsford,  Peleg  and  John  Briggs,  and  Isaac  Nichols,  with  their 
families,  met  at  Schenectady,  and  embarked  on  board  of  batteaux 
for  the  promised  land.  At  Geneva  they  found  but  a  solitary  log 
house,  and  that  not  finished,  "  inhabited  by  one  Jennings."  They 
went  up  the  east  side  of  the  Lake  to  "  Apple  Town,"  where  they 
remained  several  days  searching  for  a  mill  site.  The  noise  of  the 
falling  water,  of  the  outlet  of  Crooked  Lake,  attracted  them  to  the 
west  shore  of  Seneca  Lake.  Passing  up  the  outlet  they  came  to 
the  Falls,  and  exploring  the  neighborhood,  fixed  upon  it  as  their 
location.  They  began  their  settlement  in  Yates  County,  about  one 
mile  south  of  the  present  village  of  Dresden.  It  was  August  when 
they  arrived.  They  prepared  ground  and  sowed  a  field  of  wheat 
in  common,  and  the  next  season,  1789,  several  small  fields  of  wheat 
were  sown.* 

The  first  land  purchase  was  made  of  the  State,  upon  the  "  Gore." 
previous  to  the  running  of  the  new  pre-emption  line.  It  was  a 
tract  of  14,000  acres,  situated  in  the  east  part  of  the  present  town 
of  Milo,  and  south  east  part  of  Starkey.  William  Potter  and 
Thomas  Hathaway  were  delegated  to  make  the  purchase.  They 
applied  to  Governor  George  Clinton  for  a  grant  of  land,  which  was 
refused  of  course,  but  he  assured  them  that  if  they  would  attend 
the  public  sale  in  Albany,  they  would  be  able  to  obtain  land  at  a 
satisfactory  price.  They  attended  the  sale  and  bought  the  tract 
above  named  for  a  little  less  then  2s  per  acre.  Benedict  Robinson 
and  Thomas  Hathaway,  soon  after  bought  of  Phelps  and  Gorham 
the  town  of  Jerusalem  for  Is  3d  per  acre.f 

The  first  grist  mill  in  Western  New  York,  was  built  by  three  of 
the  society ;  —  Richard  Smith,  James  Parker  and  Abraham  Dayton. 
The  site  was  the  one  now  occupied  by  the  "  Empire  Mills,"  two 
and  a  half  miles  from  Penn  Yan.  It  was  built  in  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1789  and  flour  was  made  in  it  in  that  year.  Here  also  was 


*  This  corrects  the  very  common  impression,  that  the  first  wheat  was  harvested  at 
Canandaigua,  and  Victor,  in  the  fall  of  1790.  The  wheat  sown  bj  the  Friends  must 
have  been  harvested  in  1789. 

t  It  was  a  rule  at  that  early  period,  with  Messrs.  Phelps  &  Gorham,  in  selling  a 
picked  township,  to  require  the  purchaser  to  draw  for  another  township  at  the  same 
price.  Robinson  and  Hathaway  after  purchasing  Jerusalem,  drew  what  is  now  the 
town  of  Geneseo.  The  Friend  objected  to  her  people  "trading  and  buying  property 
at  a  distance,"  and  fearing  her  displeasure,  they  prevailed  upon  Mr.  Phelps  to  release 
them  from  the  bargain,  which  he  was  quite  willing  to  do,  as  he  had  ascertained  the 
Value  of  the  township. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

opened  the  first  public  house  by  David  Waggener.  A  son  of  his, 
Abraham  Waggener  of  Penn  Yan,  now  76  years  of  age,  well  re 
members  seeing  the  French  Duke,  Liancourt,  at  his  father's  inn.* 
The  first  framed  house  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  built  by  Enoch 
and  Elijah  Malin,  as  a  residence  for  "  The  Friend."  The  house  is 
still  standing,  and  is  occupied  by  Charles  J.  Townsend.  -It  is  a  mile 
north  of  Dresden,  and  a  half  a  mile  east  of  S.  B.  Buckleys.  The 
first  school  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  opened  by  Rachel  Malin  in 
a  log  room  attached  to  this  house.  In  1789,  a  log  meeting  house 
was  built  in  which  "  The  Friend"  preached,  and  met  with  her  fol 
lowers.  This  house  stood  a  few  rods  south  of  the  residence  of  S, 
B.  Buckley.  But  this  is  anticipating  pioneer  events  that  belong  in 
another  connexion. 

Major  Benajah  Mallory,  well  known  in  all  this  region  during  the 
war  of  1812,  is  yet  living,  in  Lockport,  Niagara  County.  He  is 
spoken  of  in  a  preceding  note  as  having  married  the  daughter  of 
Abraham  Dayton.  This  family  connexion,  (or  then  anticipated  one,) 
brought  him  to  the  Friend's  settlement  at  an  early  period  after  it  was 
founded.  He  was  the  first  merchant  there  ;  and  in  tact,  opened  the 
first  store  in  the  Genesee  Country,  other  than  those  connected  with 
the  Indian  trade.  From  him  the  author  has  obtained  many  remin 
iscences,  some  of  which  are  applicable  to  the  subject  in  hand.  He 
gives  the  names  of  principal  heads  of  families  who  were  followers 
of  "  The  Friend,"  and  located  in  the  settlement  during  the  earliest 
years  :  —  Abraham  Dayton,  William  Potter,  (father  of  Arnold  Pot 
ter)  Asahel  Stone,  John  Supplee,  Richard  Smith,  David  Waggener, 
James  Parker,  Samuel  Lawrence,  Benj.  Brown,  Elnathan  and  Jon 
athan  Botsford,  Jessee  Brown,  Jessee  Holmes,  Joshua  Brown,  Barn- 
abus  Brown,  Nathaniel  Ingraham,  Eleazor  Ingraharn,  David  Culver, 
David  Fish,  Beloved  Luther,  John  Gibbs,  Jacob  Waggener,  Wm. 
Sanford,  John  Barnes,  Elijah  Brown,  Silas  Hunt,  Castle  Dean,  Jon 
athan  Dean,  Benedict  Robinson,  Thomas  Hathaway.  Besides  these 
there  were  unmarried  men,  and  men  and  women  who  had  been 
separated  in  adhering  to  the  Friend.  The  followers  were  mostly 

*  "  The  inn"  says  the  Duke  in  his  Travels  which  contained  but  two  rooms,  we  found 
already  full;  same  person  who  intended  to  buy  land  near  the  Great  Sodus,  and  Capt 
Williamson's  agent  who  was  to  sell  it  to  them,  had  taken  possession  before  our  arrival. 
After  an  American  supper  consisting  of  coffee  and  boiled  ham,  we  all  lay  down  to 
rest  in  the  same  room.  There  was  only  two  beds  for  ten  persons ;  in  consequence,  these 
two  beds  were  occupied  by  four  of  TIS,  and  the  others  lay  down  in  their  clothes  upon 
the  straw." 


158  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

respectable  men  of  small  property  ;  some  of  them  had  enough  to  be 
called  rich  in  those  days.  Those  who  had  considerable  property 
gave  her  a  part,  or  were  at  least  liberal  in  supplying  her  wants. 
Man  and  wife  were  not  separated ;  but  they  were  forbidden  to 
multiply.  A  few  transgressed,  but  obtained  absolution  by  confes 
sing  and  promising  not  to  disobey  again.  It  was  generally  a  well 
regulated  community,  its  members  mostly  lived  in  harmony,  were 
temperate  and  industrious.  They  had  two  days  of  rest  in  the  week, 
Saturday  and  Sunday.  At  their  meetings  the  Friend  would  gener 
ally  speak,  take  a  text  preach  and  exhort  and  give  liberty  to  others 
to  speak.  The  Friend  appeared  much  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
her  followers,  and  especially  attentive  to  them  in  sickness.  Major 
Mallory  insists  that  the  old  story  of  her  promising  to  "  walk  on  the 
water"  is  wholly  false.  When  Col.  Pickering  held  his  treaty  with  the 
Indians  at  Newtown  Point,  nearly  five  hundred  Senecas  encamped 
at  Friends'  Landing  on  Seneca  Lake.  They  were  accompanied  by 
Red  Jacket,  Cornplanter,  and  Good  Peter,  (the  Indian  preacher,) 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland,  Horatio  Jones  and  Jasper  Parrish.  Good 
Peter  wanted  an  interview  with  the  "  Universal  Friend."  She  ap 
pointed  a  meeting-with  the  Indians  and  preached  to  them,  Good 
Peter  followed  her,  and  the  Friend  wanted  his  discourse  interpre 
ted.  Good  Peter  objected,  saying :  —  "if  she  is  Christ,  she  knows 
what  I  said."  This  was  the  meeting  upon  the  bank  of  Seneca  Lake, 
that  gave  rise  to  the  report  alluded  to. 

The  Friend  did  not  join  her  colony  until  the  spring  of  1789.  She 
then  came  with  a  reinforcement,  a  somewhat  formidable  retinue.* 
Benedict  Robinson,  the  most  considerable  property  holder  among 
her  followers,  gave  her  1000  acres  of  land,  upon  which  she  resided. f 

*  William  Hencher,  the  Pioneer  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River,  then  lived  at 
Newtown  Point,  and  helped  her  on  with  his  teams  through  the  woods,  to  Catherines- 
town.  His  surviving  son  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  well  remembers  "The 
Friend,"  her  singular  dress,  and  singularity  as  it  seemed  to  him,  of  a  woman  controlling 
and  directing  men  in  all  things  appertaining  to  the  journey.  It  seemed  to  him  a  "one 
woman  power,"  if  the  form  of  expression  may  be  changed  with  the  sex ;  yet  he 
gratefully  remembers  her  kindness  and  hospitality,  when  his  father's  family  came 
through  the  wilderness,  and  stopped  at  her  residence,  on  their  way  to  the  Genesee 
Biver. 

t  The  author  has  several  letters  of  Mr.  Robinson,  written  to  Messrs.  Wadsworth, 
Williamson,  and  others,  and  he  is  often  alluded  to  in  early  reminiscences.  The  Duke, 
Liancourt  visited  him  in  1795,  and  says  of  him;  —  "  This  Benedict  Robinson  is  a  mild, 
sensible  and  well  behaved  man,  resides  on  an  estate  of  500  acres,  150  of  which  are  im 
proved."  "  Last  year  he  sold  a  thousand  pounds  of  cheese  at  a  shilling  a  pound." 
"  He  does  not  plough  his  land,  but  contents  himself  with  breaking  it  up  with  a  har 
row.  Although  he  says  that  Mr.  Robinson  had  been  a  "  zealous  disciple  of  the  "All 
Friend,"  he  inferred  from  his  conversation  that  his  confidence  in  her  divine  mission 


PHELPS  AOT)  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.  159 

Her  business  would  seem  to  have  been  conducted  by  her  female 
witmess,  Sarah  Richards,  who  did  not  arrive  at  the  settlement  until 
June,  1789.  Some  correspondence  of  hers,  and  memorandums, 
have  been  preserved  :  — 

"JERUSALEM,  1st  of  6th  mo.,  1791. 

"I  arrived  with  Rachel  Malin,  Elijah  Malin,  E.Mehitable  Smith,  Maria,  and 'most  of 
the  Friend's  family,  and  the  goods  which  the  Friend  sent  Elijah  to  assist  in  bringing 
on.  "We  all  arrived  on  the  west  side  of  Seneca  Lake,  and  reached  the  Friend's  house. 
which  The  Universal  Friend  had  got  built  for  our  reception ;  and  with  great  joy,  met 
The  Friend  once  more  in  time,  and  all  in  walking  health,  and  as  well  as  usual. 

"SARAH  RICHARDS." 

"In  the  year  '91,  settled  with  Elijah  Malin,  being  in  trust  for  The  Universal  Friend. 
At  this  time,  reckoned  and  settled  with  him  for  building  The  Friend's  house,  and  pass 
ed  receipts  the  24th  of  the  sixth  month,  1791.  SARAH  RICHARDS." 

"  Reckoned  and  settled^with  Richard  Hathaway  for  goods  which  the  carpenters  took 
up  at  his  store  for  building  The  Friend's  piouse  in  Jerusalem.  Settled,  I  say,  this  3d 
of  the  7th  month,  1791.  SARAH  RICHARDS." 

"About  the  26th  of  the  7th  month,  1791,1  and  Rachel  Malin  were  taken  sick  about 
the  time  of  wheat  harvest,  and  remained  sick,  and  were  not  able  to  go  out  of  the  house 
until  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow ;  but  entirely  confined  to  our  chamber,  wnich 
finished  up  the  year  1791.  SARAH  RICHARDS." 

Sarah  Richards  died  in  '94  or  '5,  and  was  succeeded  in  all  her 
relations .  to  The  Friend,  by  Rachel  Malin.  The  father  of  The 
Friend  never  became  her  convert,  but  her  brother,  Stephen,  and 
sisters,  Mercy,  Betsey  and  Deborah,  followed  her  in  her  advent  to 
this  region. 

O 

The  meetings  of  this  singular  sect,  were  conducted  very  much 

was  somewhat  weakened.  The  Duke  might  have  added  a  circumstance  that  had 
somewhat  interfered  with  the  relations  of  the  Friend  and  one  of  her  most  prominent 
disciples.  He  had  infracted  one  of  her  rules,  by  marrying.  He  was  in  this  way,  the 
first  transgressor  among  the  followers.  Susannah  Brown  had  been  his  houskeeper. 
Tlios.  Hathaway  having  business  with  Benedict  early  one  morning,  went  to  his  house 
where  he  found  Mr.  Williamson,  who  told  him  that  Benedict  being  unwell  was  yet 
in  bed.  Mr.  "Williamson  leading  the  way,  they  both  went  up  stairs  and  found  Bene 
dict  in  bed  with  his  housekeeper,  Susannah ;  "  Good  .Lord!  Benedict,  what  does  this 
mean  ?"  was  the  ejaculation  and  interrogation  of  Thomas,  accompanied  by  an  uplifting 
of  his  hands,  in  token  of  astonishment  and  horror,  at  what  he  called  "shameful,  sin 
ful,  and  disgraceful."  Mr.  Williamson  replied  :  —  "Why,  Benedict  got  tired  of  sleeping 
alone,  and  crept  in  bed  with  Susannah."  Thomas  hastened  to  inform  The  Friend', 
who  was  displeased,  but  avoided  an  open  rapture,  with  one  whose  position  and  influence 
made  him  too  valuable  to  admit  of  excommunication.  The  harsh  features  of  the  affair 
were  soon  softened,  by  Mr.  Williamson,  who  announced  that  he  was  then  on  his  way 
from  Canandaigua,  where  he  had  taken  out  his  commission  as  a  Judge  of  Ontario  county, 
and  had  legally  married  Benedict  and  Susannah  before  they  had  ventured  to  place 
themselves  in  the  position  in  which  Thomas  had  found  them.  The  eccentric  marriage 
proved  a  happy  one  to  the  parties,  whatever  it  may  have  been  with  the  offended  Jemi 
ma.  The  living  descendants  in  the  first  degree,  of  the  offending  Benedict  and  Susan 
nah,  are  :  —  Dr.  Daniel  Robinson  of  Farmington,  Out.  county  ;  Mrs.  Dr.  Hatmaker  of 
Milo,  Yates  county  ;  James  C.  Robinson,  P.  M.,  Penn  Yan  ;  and  Phoebe,  a  maiden 
daughter,  who  resides  at  the  old  homestead. 


160  PHELPS  AJ>TC>  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

after  the  manner  of  the  legitimate  Society  of  Friends.  The  con 
gregation  would  sit  in  silence  until  some  one  would  rise  and  speak. 
While  The  Friend  lived,  she  would  generally  lead  in  the  public 
speaking,  and  after  her,  Rachel  Malm.  In  addition  to  this,  and  the 
usual  observance  of  a  period  of  silence,  with  each  family,  upon  sit 
ting  down  to  their  meals,  "  sittings  "  in  each  family,  upon  Sunday 
evenings,  was  common.  The  family  would  observe  perfect  silence 
for  an  hour  or  more,  and  then  rise  and  shake  hands.  "  I  remem 
ber,"  says  Mr.  Buckley,  "  when  I  was  a  boy,  many  such  '  sittings  ' 
at  my  grand-father's,  and  I  always  rejoiced  when  they  commenced 
shaking  hands  to  end  the  tiresome  stillness." 

It  has  already  been  observed,  that  the  French  Duke,  Liancourt, 
visited  The  Friend's  settlement  in  1795.  He  became  much  inter 
ested  in  the  new  sect,  made  the  acquaintance  of  The  Friend,  was 
a  guest,  with  his  travelling  companions,  at  her  house,  and  attended 
her  meetings.  For  one  so  generally  liberal  and  candid,  he  writes 
of  all  he  saw  there  in  a  vein  of  censure,  in  some  respects,  unde 
served.  She  and  her  followers,  were  then  at  variance  with  their 
neighbors,  and  the  Duke  too  readily  listened  to  gossip  that  implica 
ted  the  private  character  of  this  founder  of  a  sect,  and  added  them 
to  his  (justifiable,  perhaps,)  denunciations  of  religious  imposture. 
Her  real  character  was  a  mixed  one  :  —  Her  first  incentives  were 
the  imaginings  of  a  mind  highly  susceptible  of  religious  enthusiasm, 
and  strongly  tinctured  with  the  supernatural  and  spiritual,  which, 
in  our  own  day,  has  found  advocates,  and  has  been  systematized  in 
to  a  creed.  The  physical  energies  prostrated  by  disease,  the 
dreamy  mind  went  out,  and,  following  its  inclinations,  wandered 
in  celestial  spheres,  and  in  a  "  rapt  vision,"  created  an  image,  some 
thing  to  be  or  to  personate.  Disease  abating,  consciousness  return 
ing,  this  image  had  made  an  impress  upon  the  mind  not  to  be  readily 
effaced.  She  became  an  enthusiast ;  after  events,  made  her  an  im 
postor.  All  founders  of  sects,  upon  new  revelations,  have  not  had 
even  so  much  in  the  way  of  induction  to  mitigate  their  frauds.  A 
sect  that  has  arisen  in  our  own  day,  now  counting  its  tens  of  thou 
sands,  the  founders  of  a  State,  have  nothing  to  show  as  their  basis, 
but  a  bald  and  clumsy  cheat ;  a  designed  and  pre-meditated  fraud. 
It  had  no  even  distempered  religious  enthusiasm ;  no  sick  man  or 
sick  woman's  fancy  to  create  a  primitive  semblance  of  sincerity  or 
integrity  of  purpose.  The  trance  or  dream  of  Jemima  Wilkinson, 


PIIELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUE  CHASE.  161 

honestly  enough  promulgated  at  first,  while  the  image  of  its  creation 
absorbed  all  her  thoughts  and  threw  around  her  a  spell  that  reason 
could  not  dissipate,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  superstitious  and 
credulous,  and,  perhaps,  the  designing.  The  motives  of  worldly 
ambition,  power,  distinction;  the  desire  to  rule,  came  upon  her 
when  the  paroxism  of  disease  in  body  and  rnind  had  subsided,  and 
made  her  what  history  must  say  she  was,  an  impostor  and  false 
pretender. 

And  yet  there  were  many  evidences  that  motives  of  benevolence, 
a  kindly  spirit,  a  wish  to  promote  the  temporal  wellfare  of  her  fol 
lowers,  was  mixed  up  with  her  impositions.  Her  character  was  a 
compound.  If  she  was  conscious  herself  of  imposition,  as  we  must 
suppose  she  was,  her  perseverence  was  most  extraordinary.  Never 
through  her  long  career  did  she  for  one  moment  yield  the  preten 
sions  she  made  upon  rising  from  her  sick  bed  and  going  out  upon 
her  mission.  With  gravity  and  dignity  of  demeanor,  she  Avould 
confront  cavillers  and  disbelievers,  and  parry  their  assaults  upon 
her  motives  and  pretensions;  almost  awing  them  to  a  surren 
der  of  their  doubts  and  disbelief.  Always  self-possessed,  no  evidence 
could  ever  be  obtained  of  any  misgivings  with  her,  touching  her 
spiritual  claims.  Upon  one  occasion  James  Wadsworth  called  to 
see  her.  At  the  close  of  the  interview,  she  said  : — ''  Thou  art  a 
lawyer ;  thou  hast  plead  for  others  ;  hast  thou  ever  plead  for  thyself 
to  the  Lord  ?"  Mr.  Wadsworth  made  a  courteous  reply,  when  re 
questing  all  present  to  kneel  with  her,  she  prayed  fervently,  after 
which  she  rose,  shook  hands  with  Mr.  Wadsworth,  and  retired  to 
her  apartment. 

The  reader  must  make  some  allowances  for  the  strong  prejudices 
of  the  French  Duke,  who  upon  the  whole,  made  but  poor  returns 
for  the  hospitalities  he  acknowledges.  He  says  :  —  "  She  is  con 
stantly  engaged  in  personating  the  part  she  has  assumed  ;  she  des 
canted  in  a  sanctimonious,  mystic  tone,  on  death,  and  on  the  happi 
ness  of  having  been  an  instrument  to  others,  in  the  way  of  their 
salvation.  She  gave  us  a  rhapsody  of  prophecies  to  read,  ascribed 
to  Dr.  Love,  who  was  beheaded  in  Cromwell's  time.  Her  hypoc 
risy  may  be  traced  in  all  her  discourses,  actions  and  conduct,  and 
even  in  the  very  manner  in  which  she  manages  her  countenance .." 

The  Friend's  community,  at  first  flourishing  and  successful,  began 
to  decline  in  early  years.  The  seclusion  and  separation  from  the 


162  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

world,  contemplated  by  its  founders  was  not  realized.     They  had 
selected  too  fine  a  region  to  make  a  monopoly  of  it.     The  tide  of 
emigration  reached  them,  and  before  they  had  got  fairly  under  way, 
they  were  surrounded  with  neighbors  who  had  little  faith  in  The 
Friend,  or  sympathy  with  her  followers.     The  relations  of  neigh 
borhood,  town  and  county  soon  clashed,  militia  musters  came,  and 
the  followers  refused  the  service ;  fines  were  imposed  and  their 
property  sold.     The  Friend  was  a  long  time  harrassed  with  indict 
ments  for  blasphemy,  but  never  convicted.     While  she  could  keep 
most  of  her  older  followers  in  the  harness,  the  younger  ones  remind 
ed  of  the  restraints  imposed  upon  them,  by  contrasting  their  privi 
leges  with  their  disbelieving  neighbors,  would  unharness  themselves ; 
one  after  another  following  the  early  example  of  Benedict  Robinson. 
Two  of  that  early  class  of  methodist  circuit  preachers,*  that  were 
so  indefatiguable  in  threading  the  wood's  roads  of  this  western 
forest,  as  were  their  Jesuit  predecessors  a  century  before  them, 
found  the  retreat,  and  getting  a  foothold,  in  a  log  school  house, 
gradually  drew  many  of  the  young  people  to  their  meetings.     Many 
of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  the  followers  abjured  the  faith. 

Jemima  Wilkinson  died  in  1819,  or  departed,  went  away,  as  the 
implicit  believers  in  her  divine  character  would  have  it.  Rachel 
Malin,  her  successor  in  spiritual  as  well  as  worldly  affairs,  died 
about  three  years  since.  She  kept  up  the  meetings  until  a  few 
years  previous  to  her  death.  James  Brown,  and  George  Clark,  who 
married  heirs  of  Rachel  Malin,  own  the  property  that  she  inherited 
from  The  Friend.  The  peculiar  sect  may  be  said  to  be  extinct ; 
not  more  than  three  or  four  are  living  who  even  hold  lightly  to  the 
original  faith.  Even  the  immediate  successors  of  Jemima  and 
Rachel,  the  inheritors  of  the  property,  and  those  who  should  be 
conservators  of  their  memories,  if  not  of  their  faith,  are  forgetful 
of  their  teachings.  The  old  homestead,  the  very  sanctuary  of  the 
Universal  Friend,  once  with  all  things  appertaining  to  it,  so  chast 
ened  by  her  rigid  discipline ;  is  even  desecrated.  During  this  present 
winter  the  sounds  of  music  and  dancing  have  come  from  within  its 
once  consecrated  and  venerated  walls.  CCpFor  an  interesting 
sketch  of  Jemima  Wilkinson  and  her  followers,  copied  from  the 
manuscripts  of  Thomas  Morris,  see  Appendix,  No.  7. 

*  Revs.  James  Smith  and  John  Broadliead. 


PART  THIRD- 


CHAPTER  I. 


COMMENCEMENT     OP     SURVEYS,     AND    SETTLEMENT    OF    THE    GENESEE 

COUNTRY. 


[Pioneer  settlements  will  be  taken  up  in  this  connection,  by  counties,  as  they  now 
exist.  The  arrangement  will  not  allow  of  strict  reference  to  the  order  of  time  in 
which  events  occurred ;  but  it  will  be  found  more  convenient  for  the  reader  than  any 
other  that  could  be  adopted. 

After  Mr.  Phelps  had  concluded  the  treaty, —  before  leaving  the 
country  he  made  arrangements  for  its  survey  into  Ranges  and  Town 
ships.  This  was  done  under  contract,  by  Col.'Hugh  Maxwell,  who 
completed  most  of  the  northern  portion  of  it  previous  to  the  close 
of  the  year  1788 ;  and  in  the  year  1789,  with  the  assistance  of 
Judge  Porter,  he  completed  the  whole.  The  survey  of  townships 
into  farm  lots,  in  cases  where  whole  townships  were  sold,  was  done 
at  the  expense  of  the  purchasers.  Judge  Porter,  Frederick  Saxton, 
Jenkins,  were  among  the  earliest  surveyors  of  the  subdivis 
ions. 

Mr.  Phelps  having  selected  the  foot  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  as  a 
central  locality  in  the  purchase,  and  as  combining  all  the  advanta 
ges  which  has  since  made  it  pre-eminent,  even  among  the  beautiful 
villages  of  western  New  York,  erected  a  building  for  a  store  house 
on  the  bank  of  the  Lake.  The  next  movement  was  to  make  some 
primitive  roads,  to  get  to  and  from  the  site  that  had  been  selected. 
Men  were  employed  at  Geneva,  who  underbrushed  and  continued 
a  sleigh  road,  from  where  it  had  been  previously  made  on  Flint  creek, 
to  the  foot  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  following  pretty  much  the  old 


164  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAJtt's   PURCHASE. 

Indian  trail.  When  this  was  done,  a  wagon  road  was  made  near 
where  Manchester  now  is,  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Canandai- 
gua  outlet.  No  one  wintered  at  Canandaigua  in  1788,  '9.  Early 
in  the  spring  of  1789,  before  the  snow  was  off  the  ground,  Joseph 
Smith  moved  his  family  from  Geneva,  and  occupied  the  log  store 
house  ;  thus  making  himself  the  first  settler  west  of  Seneca  Lake. 
Soon  after  his  arrival  he  built  a  block  house  upon  Main  street,  upon 
the  rise  of  ground  from  the  Lake,  where  he  opened  a  tavern.  His 
first  stock  of  liquors  was  obtained  from  Niagara,  U.  C.  He  went 
after  them  from  the  mouth  of  Genesee  river,  in  a  canoe  ;  on  his 
return,  his  frail  craft  was  foundered  in  a  gale,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Oak  Orchard  creek ;  but  he  saved  most  of  his  stock,  and  carried  it 
to  Canandaigua  on  pack  horses.  This  primitive  tavern,  and  the 
rude  store  house  on  the  Lake,  furnished  a  temporary  stopping  place 
for  those  who  arrived  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1789. 

Early  in  May  1789,  Gen.  Israel  Chapin  arrived  at  Canandaigua, 
and  selected  it  as  his  residence,  erecting  a  log  house  near  the  outlet ; 
—  connected  with  him,  and  with  surveys  and  land  sales  that  were 
contemplated,  were  some  eight  or  ten  others,  who  came  at  the  same 
time.  They  came  by  water,  even  into  the  lake,  though  this  was 
about  the  only  instance  that  batteaux  went  higher  up  the  out-let 
than  Manchester.  There  were,  of  these  early  adventurers,  besides 
Gen.  Chapin:  —Nathaniel  Gorham jr.,  Frederick Saxton,  Benjamin 
Gardner,  and  Daniel  Gates.  Soon  after  Mr.  Walker,  an  agent  of 
Phelps  and  Gorham  arrived  with  a  party,  built  and  opened  a  log 
land  office  on  the  site  which  Mr.  Phelps  afterwards  selected  for  his 
residence.  Others  came  during  the  summer,  who  will  be  named  in 
another  connection,  and  before  the  sitting  in  of  winter  there  was  a 
pretty  good  beginning  of  a  new  settlement.  Judge  John  H.  Jones, 
a  brother  of  Capt.  Horatio  Jones,  —  who  still  survives  to  remember 


NOTE. —  Joseph  Smith  was  captured  by  the  Indians  at  Cherry  Valley,  during  the 
Border  Wars.  Like  others  he  had  chosen  to  remain  arsong  them.  His  stay  at 
Canandaigua  was  but  a  brief  one,  as  he  was  soon  employed  as  an  Indian  interpreter. 
At  the  Moms  treaty  at  Geneseo,  the  Indians  gave  to  him  and  Horatio  Jones  six  square 
miles  of  land  on  the  Genesee  river.  They  sold  one  half  of  the  tract  to  Oliver  Phelps 
and  Daniel  Penfield,  and  Smith  soon  after  parted  with  his  remaining  quarter.  He  was 
an  open  hearted  generous  man,  possessed  in  fact  of  many  good  qualities  ;  endorsed  for 
his  friends,  was  somewhat  improvident,  and  soon  lost  most  of  the  rich  gift  of  the  Indi 
ans.  He  was  well  known  upon  the  river  in  some  of  the  earliest  years  of  settlement, 
He  died  in  early  years ;  his  death  was  occasioned  by  an  accident  at  a  ball  play,  in 
Leicester.  A  daughter  of  his  — a  Mrs.  Button,  resides  at  Utica  with  her  son-iu-law, 
Dr.  Bissell,  late  Canal  Commissioner. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  .  165 

with  great  distinctness,  early  events,  was  one  of  the  party  who 
opened  the  road  from  Geneva  to  Canandaigua,  and  from  Canandai- 
gua  to  the  landing  place  on  the  outlet,  in  1788,  revisited  the  locality 
again  in  August,  in  1709.  He  says  :  —  "  There  was  a  great  change. 
When  we  left  in  the  fall  of  '88  there  was  not  a  solitary  person 
there  ;  when  I  returned  fourteen  months  afterwards  the  place  was 
full  of  people : —  residents,  surveyors,  explorers,  adventurers ;  houses 
were  going  up ;  it  wras  a  busy,  thriving  place." 

Mrs.  Hannah  Sanborn,  is  now  the  oldest  surviving  resident  of 
the  village ;  and  with  few  exceptions,  the  oldest  upon  Phelps  and 
Gorham's  purchase.  She  is  now  in  her  88th  year,  exhibiting  but 
little  of  the  usual  infirmities  of  that  advanced  age,  with  faculties, 
especially  that  of  memory  of  early  events,  "but  slightly  impaired. 
The  author  found  her  in  high  spirits,  even  gay  and  humorous,  en 
joying  the  hearty  laugh  of  middle  age,  when  her  memory  called  up 
some  mirthful  reminiscence.  Upon  her  table  were  some  of  the 
latest  publications,  and  she  alluded  in  conversation  to  Headly's  fine 
descriptions  in  his  "  Sacred  Mountains,"  as  if  she  had  enjoyed  them 
with  all  the  zest  of  her  younger  days.  She  had  just  finished  a  letter 
in  a  fair  hand,  shewing  but  little  of  the  tremor  of  age,  which  was  to 
be  addressed  to  a  great  grand  daughter.  To  her,  is  the  author 
largely  indebted  for  reminiscences  of  early  Pioneer  events  at  Can 
andaigua. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1790,  Mr.  Sanborn  came  with  his  wife  and 
two  young  children  to  Schenectady,  where  he  joined  Judah  Colt, 
and  the  two  chartered  a  boat,  with  which  they  came  to  the  head 
of  navigation  on  the  Canandaigua  outlet.*  Mr.  Sanborn  moved 


NOTE.— Nathaniel  Sanborn,  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Sanborn,  died  in  1814.  There  is 
scarcely  a  pioneer  settler  in  the  Genesee  country,  that  did  not  know  the  early  landlord 
and  landlady.  Mrs.  S.  was  the  daughter  of  James  Gould,  of  Lyme  Conn.,  is  the  aunt 
of  James  Gould  of  Albany.  Her  son  John  and  William  reside  in  Illinois.  Her  eldest 
daughter  — the  first  born  in  Canandaigua,  —  now  over  60  years  of  age,  is  the  wife  of 
Dr.  Jacobs  of  Canandaigua;  another  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Henry  Fellows  Esq.  of 
Penfield ;  another,  is  Mrs.  Erastus  Granger  of  Buffalo ;  and  a  fourth  is  a  maiden 
daughter,  residing  with  her  mother. 

*Mrs.  S.  gives  a  graphic  account  of  this  journey.  The  last  house  the  party  slept 
in  after  leaving  pchenectady  until  they  arrived  at  the  cabin  on  the  Canandaigua  out 
let,  was  the  then  one  log  house  in  Utica.  It  was  crowded  with  boatmen  from  Niag 
ara.  Mrs.  S.  spread  her  bed  upon  the  floor  for  herself,  husband  and  children,  and  the 
wearied  boatmen  begged  the  privilege  of  laying  their  heads  upon  its  borders,  The 
floor  was  covered.  After  that  they  camped  wherever  night  overtook  them.  On  the 
Oswego  River  they  took  possession  of  a  deserted  camp,  and  just  as  they  had  got  their 
supper  prepared  two  stout  Indians  came  who  claimed  the  camp  and  threatened  a  sum- 


166  PHELPS  AOT)  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 


into  the  log  hut  that  he  had  built  in  the  Robinson  neighborhood,  where 
they  staid  but  a  short  time,  the  place  looking  "  forbidding  and  lone 
some."  Mrs.  S.  chose  to  go  where  she  could  have  more  than  one 
neighbor  within  eight  miles.  They  removed  to  Canandaigua' 
Mrs.  S.  says  she  found  there  in  May,  1790,  Joseph  Smith,  living 
on  bank  of  Lake,  Daniel  Brainard  in  a  little  log  house  near  the  pres 
ent  cemetry,  Capt.  Martin  Dudley,  in  the  house  built  by  Mr.  Walk 
er,  James  D.  Fish  in  a  log  house  down  near  the  Lake  ;  Gen.  Chapin 
who  had  been  on  the  fall  before  had  built  a  small  framed  house  for 
his  family,  a  few  rods  below  Bemis'  Bookstore.  Mr.  Sanborn 
moved  into  it  until  a  small  framed  house  was  erected  on  the  Atwater 
corner,  of  which  he  became  the  occupant,  opening  a  tavern,  which 
with  the  exception  of  what  Joseph  Smith  had  done  in  the  way  of 
entertainment,  was  the  first  tavern  wrest  of  Seneca  Lake,  and 
was  the  only  one  for  four  years.  It  was  the  home  of  the  young 
men  who  came  to  Canandaigua  for  settlement  ;  of  adventurers, 
emigrants,  who  would  stop  at.  Canandaigua  with  their  families  a  few 
days  to  prepare  for  pushing  here  and  there  into  the  wilderness  ; 
land  surveyors  and  explorers  ;  Judges  of  the  early  courts,  and  law 
yers  ;  the  Indian]chiefs  Red  Jacket,  Brant,  Farmer's  Brother.  Corn- 
planter,  who  were  called  to  Canandaigua  often  in  early  years  to 
transact  business  with  Gen.  Chapin,  the  Superintendent  ;  in  short 
the  primitive  tavern  that  now  would  be  deemed  of  inadequate 
dimensions  for  an  inn  at  some  four  corners  in  the  country,  had  for 
guests  all  the  prominent  men  of  that  early  period  ;  and  of  many 
eminent  in  their  day,  and  even  now  blended  with  all  the  early  his 
tory  of  the  Genesee  Country.  Mrs.  Sanborn  enumerates  among 
her  early  guests,  many  of  them  as  boarders:  —  Oliver  Phelps, 
Charles  Williamson,  Aaron  Burr,  Thomas  Morris,  Rev.  Mr.  Kirk- 
land,  Augustus  and  Peter  B.  Porter,  James  and  William  Wads  worth, 
the  early  Judges  of  the  Supreme  court  of  this  State,  Bishop  Chase, 
Joseph  and  Benj.  Ellicott,  Philip  Church,  Louis  Le  Couteleux, 
Charles  and  Dugald  Cameron,  Vincent  Matthews,  Nathaniel  W. 
Howell,  John  Greig,  Horatio  and  John  H.  Jones,  Robert  Troup, 
Jeremiah  Mason,  Philetus  and  John  Swift,  Wm  Howe  Cuyler, 
Elias  Cost,  Herman  Bogert,  Samuel  Haight,  Timothy  Hosmer, 

mary  ejectment.  The  conflicting  claim  was  amicably  adjdusted,  but  Mrs,  S.  says  it 
was  the  first  of  the  race  she  had  ever  seen,  and  they  cost  her  a  little  fright.  The  party 
saw  none  but  Indians  and  boatmen  in  all  of  the  long  journey  west  of  Utica. 


PHELPS  A]ST>  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  167 

Arnold  Potter,  Benedict  Robinson,  Jemima  Wilkinson,  Samuel  B, 
Ogden,  John  Butler,  Samuel  Street,  and  Timothy  Pickering.  Few 
of  all  of  them  are  now  living,  and  yet  the  busy  stirring  landlady,  of 
whom  they  were  guests,  most  of  them  in  their  early  years,  lives  to 
remember  them  and  speak  familiarly  of  their  advents  to  this 
region. 

Mrs.  Sanborn  well  remembers  the  Pickering  treaty  of  '94.  As 
it  was  known  that  Col.  Pickering,  the  agent,  would  come  prepared 
to  give  them  a  grand  feast,  and  distribute  among  them  a  large 
amount  of  money  and  clothing,  the  attendance  was  very  general. 
For  weeks  before  the  treaty,  they  were  arriving  in  squads  from  all 
of  their  villages  and  constructing  their  camps  in  the  woods,  upon 
the  Lake  shore,  and  around  the  court  house  square.  The  little 
village  of  whites,  was  invested,  over  run  with  the  wild  natives. 
It  seemed  as  if  they  had  deserted  all  their  villages  and  transferred 
even  their  old  men,  women,  and  children,  to  the  feast,  the  carousal, 
and  the  place  of  gifts.  The  night  scenes  were  wild  and  picturesque  ; 
their  camp  fires  lighting  up  the  forest,  and  their  whoops  and  yells 
creating  a  sensation  of  novelty,  not  unmingled  with  fear,  with  the 
far  inferior  in  numbers  who  composed  the  citizens  of  the  pioneer 
village,  and  the  sojourners  of  their  own  race.  At  first,  all  was  peace 
and  quiet,  and  the  treaty  was  in  progress,  beeves  had  been  slaughter 
ed  sufficient  to  supply  them  all  with  meat,  and  liquor  had  been  care- 
full  v  excluded  ;  but  an  avaricious  liquor  dealer,  secretly  dealt  out 
to  them  the  means  of  intoxication,  and  the  council  was  interrupted, 
and.  many  of  the  Indians  became  troublesome  and  riotous.  Gen. 
Chapin  however  suppressed  the  liquor  shop,  harmony  was  restored, 
and  the  treaty  concluded  and  the  gifts  dispensed.  A  general  ca 
rousal  followed,  but  no  outrages  were  committed.  They  lingered 
for  weeks  after  the  council,  displaying  their  new  broadcloths  and 
blankets,  silver  bands  and  broaches.*" 

Samuel  Gardner  was  the  first  merchant  in  Canandaigua ;  he 
married  a  sister  of  •  Wm  Antis;  his  store  was  in  a  log  building. 
Thaddeus  Chapin  was  the  next. 


*  Judge  Porter  was  then  in  Canaiidaigua  acting  as  the  agent  of  Phelps  and  Gorhain, 
iritlie  name  of  his  principals,  he  had  to  make  them  presents  of  provisions  and  whiskey 
when  they  came  to  Canandaigua,  and  that  was  pretty  often.  On  the  occasion  alluded 
to  he  denied  an  Indian  whiskey,  telling  him  it  was  all  gone.  "No,  no,"  replied  the 
Indian,  "  Genesee  Falls  never  dry."  This  was  a  shrewd  allusion  to  the  gift  to  Phelps 
and  Gorham  of  the  enormous  "Mill  Lot,"  which  embraced  the  Geuesee  Falls. 


168  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECIIASE. 

During  the  summer  of  1790,  Caleb  Walker,  the  brother  of  the 
agent,  who  had  been  down  and  made  a  beginning  in  Perintoii,  died. 
It  was  the  first  death  and  funeral  in  Canandaigua.  The  nearest 
physician  was  a  Dr.  Adams  of  Geneva,  who  came  but  was  destitute 
of  medicine  ;  some  was  obtained  by  breaking  open  a  chest  that  had 
been  left  fyy  a  traveller.  At  the  funeral,  the  physician  being  an 
Episcopalian,  the  church  service  was  read,  which  was  the  first  relig 
ious  exercises  after  settlement  han  commenced,  in  the  Genesee  Coun 
try.  In  the  same  year  religious  meetings  were  organized,  using  Judge 
Phelp's  barn  for  the  meetings.  Sermons  were  read  by  John  Call ; 
Mr.  Sanborn  led  the  singing ;  —  prayers  were  omitted,  there  being 
no  one  to  make  them.  After  the  sermon  of  Rev.  Mr.  Smith,*  who 
is  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Pitts  family,  the  next  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Guernsey. 

-  In  all  early  years  at  Canandaigua,  the  forest  afforded  a  plenty  of 
vension,  and  the  Lake  and  small  streams  a  plenty  of  fish.  The 
hills  on  either  side  of  the  Lake,  abounded  in  deer,  which  were  easi 
ly  driven  into  the  Lake  and  caught.  Some  hunters  would  kill 
from  eighty  to  an  hundred  in  a  season  ;  and  the  Indians,  when  they 
visited  the  place,  would  generally  have  vension  to  barter  for  flour 
or  bread.  Wild  fruits  —  whortleberries,  blackberries,  wild  plums, 
crab-appies,  cranberries,  strawberries,  raspberries  —  were  plenty  in 
their  seasons,  and  furnished  a  pretty  good  substitute  for  cultivated 
fruits.  The  Indian  orchard  on  Canandaigua  Lake,  at  the  Old  Cas 
tle  near  Geneva,  at  Honeoye  and  Conesus,  afforded  a  stinted  supply 
of  poor  apples.  Apples  and  peaches  in  small  quantities,  began  to 
be  produced  from  the  young  orchards,  in  '95  and  ?6.  The  first  dish 
of  currants  produced  in  the  Genesee  country,  were  served  in  a  tea- 
saucer,  by  Mrs.  Sanborn,  in  1794,  at  a  tea-party,  and  was  a  thing 
much  talked  of;  it  marked  an  era. 

Ebenezer  Allan  is  well  remembered  at  Canandaigua,  as  he  is  in 
all  the  Pioneer  settlements.  Mrs.  -Sanborn  speaks  of  his  being  her 
guest  on  his  way  to  Philadelphia,  after  the  Morris  treaty,  to  place 
his  two  half-blood  daughters  in  school.  He  had  his  waiter  along, 
and  was  at  that  period  what  the  Senecas  would  have  called  a 

*  On  the  second  visit  to  the  country,  in  1701,  Mr.  Smith  called  together  such  as 
were  members  of  churches  in  all  the  Genesee  Country  organized  a  church  and  admin 
istered  the  sacrament.  The  first  church  organization  and  the  first  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  supper,  in  the  Genesee  Country.  The  church  organization  was  however,  not 
a  permanent  one. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  TUECHASE.  169 

"  Shin-ne-wa-na,"  ( a  gentleman  ; )  but  stories  of  his  barbarity  in 
the  Border  Wars,  were  then  so  rife,  that  he  was  treated  with 
but  little  respect.  Sally,  the  Seneca  mother,  with  all  a  mother's 
fondness,  came  as  far  as  Canandaigua  to  bid  her  daughters  good 
bye. 

In  July,  1790,  the  heads  of  families  in  T.  10,  R.  3,  (Canandai- 
gua )  were  as  follows :  —  Nathaniel  Gorham,  jr.,  Nathaniel  Sanborn; 
John  Fellows,  James  D.  Fish,  Joseph .  Smith,  Israel  Chapin,  John 
Clark,  Martin  Dudley,  Phineas*  Bates,  Caleb  Walker,  Judah  Colt, 
Abner  Barlow,  Daniel  Brainard,  Seth  Holcomb,  James  Brockle- 
bank,  Lemuel  Castle,  Benjamin  Wells,  John  Freeman.  Before  the 
close  of  1790,  there  was  a  considerable  accession  to  the  popula 
tion. 

The  first  town  meeting  of  the  town  of  Canandaigua,  was  held  in 
April,  1791.  It  was  "opened  and  superintended  by  Israel  Chapin," 
who  was  chosen  Supervisor;  and  James  D.  Fish  \vas  chosen  Town 
Clerk.  The  other  town  officers  were  as  follows  :  —  John  Call,  Enos 
Boughton,  Seth  Reed,  Nathan  Comstock,  James  Austin,  Arnold  Pot 
ter,  Nathaniel  Potter,  Israel  Chapin,  John  Codding,  James  Latta, 
Joshua  Whitney,  John  Swift,  Daniel  Gates,  Gamaliel  Wilder,  Isaac 
Hathaway,  Phineas  Bates,  John  Codding,  Nathaniel  Sanborn,  Jared 
Boughton,  Phineas  Bates,  Othniel  Taylor,  Joseph  Smith,  Benjamin 
Wells,  Hezekiah  Boughton,  Eber  Norton,  William  Gooding,  John 
D.  Robinson,  Jabez  French,  Abner  Barlow. 

"Voted,  That  swine,  two  months  old  and  upwards,  going  at  large, 
shall  have  good  and  sufficient  yokes." 

"  Voted,  That  for  every  full-grown  wolf  killed  in  the  town,  a 
bounty  of  thirty  shillings  shall  be  paid." 

The  reader,  with  names  and  locations  that  have  occurred  and 
will  occur,  will  observe  that  these  primitive  town  officers  were 
spread  over  most  of  all  the  eastern  portion  of  Phelps  and  Gorham's 
Purchase.  It  was  the  first  occasion  to  bring  the  Pioneers  together. 
Mutual  acquaintances  were  made ;  friendship,  good  feeling,  hiliari- 
ty,  athletic  games,  (says  Mrs.  Sanborn,)  were  the  order  of  the  day. 


NOTE.  —  When  the  Senecas,  at  the  Morris  treaty,  deeded  four  square  miles  at  Mount 
Morris,  to  Allan,  in  trust  for  Chloe  and  Sally  Allan,  one  condition  of  the  trust  was,  that 
he  should  have  them  taught  "  reading  and  writing,  sewing,  and  other  useful  arts,  ac 
cording  to  the  custom  of  white  people." 
11 


1TO  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

In  April,  1792,  the  town  meeting  was  "opened  and  inspected  by 
Israel  Chapin  and  Moses  Atwater,  Esqs."  Most  of  the  officers 
were  re-elected.  Eighty  pounds  were  raised  to  defray  the  expen 
ses  of  the  town.  In  this  year,  the  record  of  a  road  was  made, 
which  ran  from  "  Joseph  Kilbourn's  house  to  the  shore  of  the  Lake ;" 
and  another,  from  "  Swift's  ashery  to  west  line  of  No.  12,  R.  2, 
near  Webb  Harwood's ;"  another,  *'  from  Swift's  to  Canandaigua  ;" 
and  others,  leading  "  from  the  square  in  Canandaigua,"  in  different 
directions. 

Town  meeting,  1793,  it  was  voted  that  fence  viewers  "examine 
the  size  and  dimensions  of  hog  yokes ;"  the  wolf  bounty  was  raised 
to  85.  Tn  this  year,  twelve  scalps  were  produced;  among  the 
names  of  those  who  claimed  bounty,  were :  —  Thaddeus  Chapin, 
William  Markham,  Benjamin  Keys,  Gamaliel  Wilder,  Daniel  Cha 
pin,  Israel  Reed.  Roads  from  "  Canandaigua  to  John  Coddings ;" 
"  from  Nathan  Comstock's  to  Webb  Harwood's ;"  "  from  old  pre 
emption  line  to  Canandaigua  Mills;"  "from  Mud  Creek  Hollow  to 
Capt.  Peter  Pitts';"  and  many  others,  were  surveyed  this  year. 
The  early  road  surveyors  were  :  —  Gideon  Pitts,  Jairus  Rose, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  Jabez  French. 

By  the  town  records  of  1794,  it  would  seem  that  Annanias  M. 
Miller  had  a  mill  in  operation  on  Mud  Creek.  Roads  were  recorded 
this  year,  "  from  Canandaigua  to  Jerusalem  ;;'  •'  from  Jerusalem  to 
Gerundegut."  This  year,  Othniel  Taylor  presented  six  wolf  scalps. 

Gen.  Israel  Chapin  was  Supervisor  till  1795,  when  he  was  suc 
ceeded  by  Abner  Barlow.  There  is  recorded  this  year,  the  sale  of 
several  slaves,  the  property  of  the  citizens  of  Canandaigua. 

Although  the  county  of  Ontario,  embracing  all  of  the  Genesee 
country,  was  set  off  from  Montgomery,  during  the  session  of  the 
legislature  in  1789,  '90,  no  organization  of  the  courts  was  had  until 
1793.  In  June  of  that  year,  a  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  was 
held  at  "  Patterson's  Tavern  in  Geneva."  The  presiding  judge 
was  John  Stop  Hobart,  one  of  the  three  Supreme  Court  judges  ap 
pointed  after  the  organization  of  the  Judiciary  in  1777.  A  grand 
jury  was  called  and  charged,  but  no  indictments  preferred.  The 
first  court  of  Common  Pleas  and  General  Sessions,  was  held  at  the 
house  of  Nathaniel  Sanborn  in  Canandaigua,  in  November,  1794, 
The  presiding  judges  were,  Timothy  Hosmer  and  Charles  William 
son,  associated  with  whom,  as  assistant  justice;  was  Enos  Bough- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  171 

ton.  Attornies,  Thomas  Morris,  John  Wickham,  James  Wads- 
worth,  Vincent  Matthews.  There  was  a  number  of  suits  upon  the 
calendar,  but  no  jury  trial.  The  organization  of  the  court  would 
seem  have  been  the  principal  business.  There  was,  however,  a  grand 
jury,  and  one  indictment  was  found. 

The  next  session  of  the  court  was  in  June,  1795.  James  Parker 
was  an  associate  justice.  Peter  B.  Porter  and  Nathaniel  W.  Ho  well, 
being  attornies  of  the  Supreme  Court,  were  admitted  to  practice  in 
the  courts  of  Ontario  county.  Stephen  Ross  and  Thomas  Mum- 
ford  were  also  admitted.  At  this  court,  the  first  jury  trial  was  had 
west  of  the  county  of  Herkimer.  It  was  the  trial  of  the  indict 
ment  that  had  been  preferred  at  the  previous  session,  for  stealing  a 
cow  bell.  John  Wickham,  as  County  Clerk,  was  ex-officio  District 
Attorney,  but  the  management  of  the  prosecution  devolved  upon 
Nathaniel  W.  Howell.  Peter  B.  Porter  and  Vincent  Matthews 
managed  the  defence. 

In  November,  1795,  Moses  Atwater  was  added  to  the  bench.  It 
was  ordered  that  "  Nathan  Whitney  be  appointed  the  guardian  of 
Parkhurst  Whitney,  an  infant  at  the  age  of  eleven  years."  David 
Saltonstall,  Herman  Bogert,  David  Jones,  Ambrose  Hall,  Peter 
Masterton,  John  Nelson,  Major  Bostwick,  George  D.  Cooper,  H. 
K.  Van  Rensselaer,  were  admitted  as  attornies,  [most  of  them  non 
residents.] 

From  Book  of  "Miscellaneous  Records,"  1797  :  — Peter  B.  Por 
ter  as  county  clerk,  records  the  medical  diplomas  of  Daniel  Good 
win,  Ralph  Wilcox,  Jeremiah  Atwater,  Moses  Atwater,  Augustus 
Williams  and  Joel  Prescott.  1799 — Chiefs  of  Seneca  Nation  ac 
knowledged  the  receipt  of  88,000  from  Gen.  Chapin,  as  a  dividend 
upon  the  sum  of  8100,000,  which  the  United  States  government  had 
received  of  Robert  Morris,  as  purchase  money  for  the  Holland  Pur 
chase  and  Morris  Reserve,  and  invested  in  the  stock  of  the  United 
States  Bank.  The  medical  diplomas  of  Drs.  John  Ray,  Samuel 
Dungan,  David  Fairchild,  Arnold  Willis,  are  recorded.  Peter  B. 
Porter  appoints  Thomas  Cloudesly,  deputy  clerk.  Theophilus  Caze- 
nove  and  Paul  Busti  appoint  Joseph  Ellicott  and  James  Wadsworth, 
their  lawful  attornies.  1800 — Robert  Troup  as  general  agent  for 
Sir  William  Pultney,  appoints  Robert  Scott  local  agent.  De  Witt 
Clinton  executes  a  mortgage  to  Oliver  Phelps,  on  an  "  undivided 
fourth  part  of  100,000  acres  lying  west  of  the  Genesee  River."  1801, 


172  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Peter  B.  Porter  as  clerk,  makes  Augustus  Porter  his  deputy.  1803— 
Benj.  Barton  and  Polydore  B.  Wisner  are  made  appraisers  of  dam 
ages  incurred  by  the  construction  of  the  Seneca  Turnpike.  1804 — 
Sylvester  Tiffany  as  county  clerk  appoints  Dudley  Saltonstall  his 
deputy.  Thomas  Morris  appoints  John  Greig  his  lawful  attorney. 
Harry  Hickox  files  certificate  of  license  to  practice  medicine.  1806 — • 
John  Hornby  of  the  county  of  Middlesex,  Kingdom  of  G.  B.  ap 
points  John  Greig  his  lawful  attorney.  T.  Spencer  Colman  is  ap 
pointed  deputy  clerk.  Phineas  P.  Bates  is  succeeded  as  Sheriff 
by  James  K.  Guernsey.  1807 — Oliver  Phelps  appoints  Virtue 
Bronson  his  lawful  attorney.  1808 — Stephen  Bates  as  Sheriff  ap 
points  Nathaniel  Allen  deputy.  James  B.  Mower  succeeded  .Syl 
vester  Tiffany  as  clerk.  1810 — Myron  Holley  is  county  clerk. 
Canandaigua  Library  organized.  1811 — James  B.  Mower  as  clerk 
appoints  Daniel  D.  Barnard  his  deputy. 

In  all  the  earliest  years,  the  Cayuga,  Oneida,  Ononclaga  and. 
Seneca  Indians  received  their  annuities  at  Canandaigua,  which 
made  it  the  place  of  annual  gatherings  of  those  nations,  and  the 
centre  of  the  Indian  trade. 

Although  not  entitled  to  it  from  population,  in  1791,  by  a  special 
act,  Ontario  was  entitled  to  be  represented  in  the  Assembly.  This 
was  not  known  in  the  new  settlements  of  Canandaigua,  Geneva, 
and  their  neighborhoods,  but  in  a  small  settlement  that  had  com 
menced  on  the  Canisteoin  what  is  now  Steuben  Co.,  they  were  in 
possession  of  the  secret.  Col.  Eleazor  Lindley,  under  whose  auspi- 
cies  the  settlement  was  made,  collected  together  a  few  back  woods 
men,  held  an  election,  got  a  few  votes  for  himself,  carried  them  to 
New  York  and  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Legislature.  The 
whole  proceeding  was  irregular,  but  there  was  no  one  to  contest 
the  seat,  and  the  Legislature  did  not  wish  to  deprive  the  backwoods 
of  a  representative.  General  Israel  Chapin  was  its  representative 
in  1792. 

In  a  letter  to  Sir  Wm.  Pultney,  in  1791,  Robert  Morris  had  de 
clared  his  intention  of  settling  his  son  Thomas  in  the  Genesee  coun 
try,  as  an  evidence  of  his  faith  in  its  value  and  prospects.  He 
states  that  Thomas  was  then  reading  law  with  Richard  Harrison 

o 

Esq.  by  whom  he  was  deemed  a  "  worthy  young  man,"  In  August 
1791,  Thomas  Morris  with  some  companions,  passed  through  the 
country,  visited  Niagara  Falls,  and  on  his  return,  made  a  considera- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

ble  stay  at  Canandaigua.*  He  returned  and  became  a  resident  of 
Canandaigua,  marrying  a  daughter  of  Elias  Kane,  of  Albany.  His 
father  having  become  the  purchaser  of  the  pre-emption  right  of 
what  was  afterwards  the  Holland  Purchase  and  Morris'  Reserve, 
it  was  probably  intended  that  he  should  be  the  local  agent.  That 
interest  however  being  parted  with,  he  had  much  to  do  with  closing 
up  his  father's  affairs  in  this  region,  and  in  all  the  preliminary  meas 
ures  adopted  by  the  Holland  Company,  in  reference  to  their  pur 
chase.  His  father  having  in  his  sale  to  the  Holland  Company, 
guarantied  the  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  title,  he  acted  in  all 
that  affair  as  his  agent.  He  was  the  first  representative  in  Congress 
from  all  the  region  west  of  Seneca  Lake ;  and  as  a  lawyer,  land 
proprietor,  and  agent,  was  intimately  blended  with  all  the  local 
history  of  this  region.  Becoming  through  his  father,  an  early  pro 
prietor  of  the  Allan  tract  at  Mount  Morris,  that  locality  derives  its 
name  from  him.  He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Williamson; 
and  in  fact,  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  all  the  early 
Pioneers.  Like  others  of  that  early  period,  he  over-traded  in  lands, 
shared  in  his  father's  reverses,  and  as  early  as  1803  or  '4,  retired  to 
the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  practiced  law,  until  his  death,  in 
1848.  The  author  knows  nothing  of  his  family,  save  the  fact,  that  Mr. 
Morris  an  Engineer  upon  the  southern  rail  road,  and  Lieut.  Morris 
of  the  Navy  are  his  sons. 


*  Major  Hoops,  who  was  then  surveying  for  the  father,  Robert  Morris,  in  Steuben, 
writes  to  him,  Sept.  1791 :  —  "Your  son  Thomas  is  an  excellent  woodsman.  He  got 
lost  about  a  mile  from  Canandaigua,  night  came  on  ;  he  made  his  way  through  swamps 
and  over  hills,  and  at  length  espied  a  solitary  light  at  a  distance.  Entering  the  hut 
from  whence  it  proceeded,  he  asked  for  lodging,  but  he  appeared  in  such  a  question 
able  shape  that  it  was  denied.  Upon  being  told  who  he  was,  the  occupant  made 
amends  for  his  incivility  by  turning  half  a  dozen  boys  and  girls  out  of  their  bed  into 
his  own.  Tom  turned  in,  slept  till  morning  among  flees  and  bed  bugs,  &c.,  (fee. ;  then 
rose  and  trudged  on  six  miles,  to  Canandaigua,  arriving  before  sun  rise." 

And  another  case  of  a  benighted  traveller,  of  greater  note  perhaps,  but  of  far  less 
real  merit,  had  happened  years  before  settlement  commenced:  —  John  Jacob  Astor, 
with  a  pack  of  Indian  goods  upon  his  back,  wandered  from  the  Indian  trail,  got  lost 
in  the  low  grounds  at  the  foot  of  Seneca  Lake,  in  an  inclement  night,  wandered  amid 
the  howl  and  the  rustling  of  wild  beasts,  until  almost  morning,  when  he  was  attracted 
by  the  light  of  an  Indian  cabin,  near  the  old  castle,  and  following  it,  obtained  shelter 
and  warmth. 

NOTE. —  Mr.  Moms,  in  his  manuscripts  which  were  prepared  in  1844,  says  :  — "  The 
excursion  that  has  been  spoken  of  was  undertaken  by  me,  partly  from  a  desire  to 
witness  an  Indian  treaty,  and  see  the  Falls  of  Niagara;  and  partly  with  a  desire  to 
see  a  country  in  which  my  father,  at  that  time  had  so  extensive  an  interest ;  and  with 
the  determination  to  settle  in  it  if  I  liked  it.  I  was  pleased  with  it,  and  made  up  my 
mind  to  settle  at  Canandaigua,  as  soon  as  I  should  have  attained  the  age  of  21,  and 
nay  admission  to  the  bar.  Accordingly,  in  the  early  part  of  March,  1792,  I  left  New 


PHELPS  AND    GOEHAM'S   PUECHASE. 

John  Fellows,  who  is  named  among  the  residents  in  Canandai- 
gua  in  1790,  was  in  the  Massachusetts  line  during  the  Revolution, 
with  the  rank  of  Brig.  General.  He  was  a  resident  of  Sheffield, 
Mass.,  was  sheriff  of  Berkshire  county,  and  its  representative  in 
the  State  legislature.  He  was  one  of  the  associates  of  Bacon  and 
Adams,  in  the  purchase  of  East  Bloomfield ;  drawing  his  share  — 
3,000  acres,  —  on  Mud  creek,  he  erected  a  saw  mill  there  in  1790, 
in  company  with  the  late  Augustus  Porter.  Besides  this  tract,  he 
had  lands  in  Canandaigua  and  Honeoye.  He  never  became  a  per 
manent  resident  of  the  country — 'got  discouraged,  or  rather  looked 
upon  the  dark  side  of  things ;  said  there  was  no  use  of  having 
good  wheat  lands,  if  they  never  were  to  have  any  market.  He  re 
sold  the  3,000  acres  on  Mud  creed  for  18d.  per  acre.  He  died  in  his 
native  town,  Sheffield,  in  1808.  He  was  the  father  of  Henry  Fel 
lows,  Esq.  of  Penfield,  and  of  Mrs.  Daniel  Penfield. 

James  D.  Fish,  was  first  town  clerk ;  his  wife's  death  was  the 
second  one  in  Canandaigua ;  and  he  died  in  early  years. 

John  Clark  came  with  Mr.  Phelps  to  the  treaty.  His  trade  be 
ing  that  of  a  tanner  and  currier,  he  manufactured  the  first  leather 
in  the  Genesee  country.  This  was  from  the  hides  of  the  cattle 
driven  on  to  furnish  beef  for  the  Indians  at  the  treaty.  His  vats 
were  made  by  sawing  off  sections  of  hollow  trees.  From  this 
small  beginning,  his  business  was  extended,  and  in  early  years  his 
shoe  and  leather  establishment  was  well  known  throughout  a  wide 
region.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  the  early  pioneer,  Lemuel 
Castle.  Mr.  Clarke  died  in  1813,  and  Mrs.  Clark  in  1842.  They 
were  the  parents  of  Mrs.  Mark  H.  Sibley  of  Canandaigua,  and 
Mrs.  W.  H.  Adams  of  Lyons. 

Luther  Cole  came  into  the  country  with  Gen.  Israel  Chapin. 
He  was  the  first  to  carry  the  mail  from  Whitesboro  to  Canandaigua ; 
on  horseback  when  the  roads  would  allow  of  it,  and  often  on  foot.* 
In  winters  he  would  travel  with  a  sleigh,  buy  goods  in  Whitesboro 

York  for  Canandaigua.  I  was  induced  to  fix  on  that  place  for  my  residence,  from  the 
character  and  respectability  of  the  families  already  established  there.  In  the  course 
of  that  year  I  commenced  building  a  framed  house,  filled  in  with  brick,  and  which 
was  finished  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1793.  That  house  still  subsists,  and  even  in 
that  handsome  town,  where  there  are  so  many  beautiful  buildings,  is  not  considered  as 
an  eye  sore.  When  it  was  completed,  that  and  the  house  built  by  Oliver  Phelps  were 
the  only  framed  houses  west  of  Whitesboro."  The  house  is  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Judge  Wells. 

*  See  Post  Office  Canandaigua,  Appendix,  No.  8. 


PIIELPS  AOT)  GOEEIAM'S  PUECHASE.  175 


and  sell  them  in  Canandaigua.  From  this  small  beginning  he  be 
came  an  early  and  prominent  merchant.  His  wife  was  a  niece  of 
Mrs.  Phineas  Bates.  He  died  many  years  since.  His  sons,  Henry 
and  James,  emigrated  to  Detroit  ;  James  will  be  remembered  as 
an  early  and  highly  gifted  poet. 

Dr.  Hart  was  another  early  physician,  and  died  in  early  years. 
He  married  the  widow  of  Hezekiah  Boughton,  a  brother  of  Jared 
and  Enos  Boughton,  and  father  of  Claudius  V.  and  George  H. 
Boughton. 

William  Antiss  emigrated  from  Pennsylvania,  and  established 
himself  in  Canandaigua  as  a  gun  smith,  at  an  early  period.  He 
was  employed  by  Gen.  Chapin  to  make  and  repair  rifles  for  the  In 
dians,  and  the  white  hunters  and  sportsmen,  over  a  wide  region, 
were  for  a  long  period,  the  customers  of  his  establishment.  He 
died  in  early  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son  William  Antiss 
2d,  who  continued  in  the  business  until  his  death  in  1843.  The 
sons  of  Wm.  Antiss  2d,  are  William  Antiss  of  Canandaigua,  Robert 
Antiss,  who  is  the  successor  of  his  father  and  grand-father  in  busi 
ness.  Mrs.  Byron  Hays  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Reed  of  Canandaigua,  are 
daughters  of  Wm.  Antiss  2d. 

In  his  rambles  in  June,  1795,  the  Duke,  Liancourt,  went  from 
Bath  to  Canandaigua.  He  staid  all  night  at  "Capt.  Metcalf  's,"  and 
mentions  the  fact  that  a  few  years  before  the  Capt.  had  bought  his 
land  for  Is.  per  acre,  and  sold  a  part  of  it  for  $3  per  acre.  He 
says  the  settlement  was  "  called  Watkinstown,  from  several  families 
of  that  name  who  possess  the  greatest  property  here."*  "Capt. 
Metcalf  besides  his  lands  and  Inn,  possesses  a  saw  mill,  where  4500 
feet  of  boards  are  cut  daily.  These  boards  he  sends  on  the  lake  to 
Canandaigua,  where  they  are  sold  for  10s.  per  100  feet."  "  There 
is  a  school  master  at  Watkinstown,  with  a  salary  of  twelve  dollars 
per  month."  Speaking  of  Canandaigua  he  says  :  —  "  The  houses, 
although  built  of  wood,  are  much  better  than  any  of  that  descrip 
tion  I  have  hitherto  seen.  They  consist  mostly  of  joiner's  work, 
and  are  prettily  painted.  In  front  of  some  of  them  are  small  courts, 
surrounded  with  neat  railings.  There  are  two  Inns  in  the  town, 
and  several  shops,  where  commodities  are  sold,  and  shoes  and  other 


*  The  Duke  was  in  Naples.     Plielps  and  Gorham  sold  the  township  to  "  Watkins. 
Harriss  &  Co." 


176       PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

articles  made.  The  price  of  land  here  is  three  dollars  per  acre 
without  the  town,  and  fifteen  dollars  within.  Speaking  of  a  visit  to 
"  Mr.  Chipping,"  *  (Chapin)  he  says  he  found  him  surrounded  by  a 
dozen  Seneca  Indians,  (among  whom  was  Red  Jacket,)  who  had 
come  to  partake  of  his  whiskey  and  meat."  The  Duke  was  evi 
dently  in  bad  humor  at  Canandaigua.  His  friend  Blacons  had 
selected  the  "  second  Inn,  which  was  far  inferior  to  the  first,"  and 
he  says  their  dissatisfaction  was  greatly  increased,  when  they  were 
"  shewn  into  a  corn  loft  to  sleep,  being  four  of  us,  in  company  with 
ten  or  twelve  other  men,"  and  after  he  had  got  to  sleep,  he  says  he 
was  disturbed  by  a  recruit  of  lodgers,  an  old  man  and  a  handsome 
young  woman,  who  I  believe  was  his  daughter."  At  the  idea  of  a 
young  woman  occupying  the  same  room,  with  twelve  or  fifteen  of 
the  other  sex,  he  thinks  his  European  readers  "  will  scoff,  or  laugh," 
but  he  thinks  it  showed  in  "  an  advantageous  light, .  the  laudable 
simplicity  and  innocence  of  American  manners." 

Phineas  Bates  was  a  native  of  Durham,  Conn.  He  came  to  the 
Genesee  country  in  early  summer  in  1789,  with  the  early  Pioneer, 
Gamaliel  Wilder,  and  remained  with  him  until  the  fall  of  the  year, 
making  the  commencement  at  Wilder's  Point,  in  Bristol.  He  re 
turned  to  Connecticut  in  the  fall,  making  the  journey  on  foot. 
Early  in  the  spring  of  1790,  accompanied  by  his  eldest  son, 
Stephen,  his  son-in-law,  Orange  Brace,  and  several  others,  he  return 
ed,  starting  with  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  sled,  the  party  bringing  with 
them  a  year's  provision,  and  some  household  goods.  Arriving  at 
Schenectady,  they  put  every  thing  they  could  not  conveniently 
carry  in  their  knapsacks,  on  board  of  a  batteaux,  left  their  sled,  un 
yoked  their  oxen,  travelled  up  the  Mohawk,  and  struck  off  into 
the  wilderness,  preceding  the  Wads  worths  a  few  weeks.  At  Onon- 
daga,  Mr.  Bates  bought  half  a  bushel  of  potatoes,  slung  them  across 
the  neck  of  one  of  his  oxen,  brought  them  to  Canandaigua,  and 
planted  them  upon  some  village  lots  he  purchased.  During  the 
summer,  he  cleared  ten  acres,  and  sowed  it  to  wheat. 

Returning  to  Connecticut  late  in  the  fall,  in  company  with  Amos 

Hall, Sweet,  Samuel  Knapp ;  soon  after  the  party  left,  they 

encountered  a  severe  snow  storm,  the  snow  falling  to  such  a  depth 


*  The  translator  of  the  Duke's  "Travels,"  made  bad  work  with  names.    William 
Wadsworth  for  instance,  is  called  Capt.  Watworth." 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

as  to  render  their  progress  extremely  slow.  Walking  in  single  file, 
one  would  go  forward  to  break  the  path,  until  he  wearied  out,  when 
another  would  take  his  place.  Anticipating  no  such  delay,  they 
had  provided  themselves  with  an  inadequate  stock  of  provisions, 
and  long  before  they  reached  Whitestown,  the  suffering  of  hunger 
was  added  to  that  of  cold  and  fatigue.  The  carcass  of  an  otter, 
their  dog  killed  in  the  Nine  Mile  Creek,  was  a  substitute  for  more 
palatable  food. 

Undismayed  by  the  scene  of  suffering  and  privation  he  had  passed 
through,  Mr.  Bates  on  reaching  home,  made  preparations  for  the 
removal  of  his  family,  and  in  February,  1791,  brought  them  by 
sleighing  to  Canandaigua,  making  the  seventh  in  the  new  settle 
ment. 

He  opened  a  public  house  at  an  early  day,  near  the  upper  end  of 
Main-street,  which  was  continued  by  him  and  his  son  for  many 
years.  He  was  an  early  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  in  all  respects, 
a  worthy  citizen.  He  died  in  1829,  at  an  advanced  age.  Bring 
ing  with  him  into  the  country  at  so  early  a  period,  active  and  en 
terprising  sons,  the  family  occupied  a  prominent  position  for  a  long 
series  of  years.  His  eldest  son,  Stephen,  marrying  the  daughter 
of  Deacon  Handy  of  W.  Bloomfield,  became  a  successful  farmer 
in  Gorham,  was  sheriff  of  Ontario,  a  member  of  Assembly,  and  a 
Senator.  In  1845,  he  emigrated  to  Sauk,  Wisconsin,  where  he 
died  the  year  following  ;  and  of  a  large  family  of  children,  but  few 
survive.  Asher  Bates  married  the  daughter  of  Elisha  Steel,  of 
East  Bloomfield;  in  1808,  moved  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  and 
opened  a  public  house  on  the  main  road  between  Caledonia  and  Le 
Roy;  was  one  of  the  earliest  sheriffs  of  Genesee;  died  in  1810. 
An  only  son  studied  law  with  Spencer  and  Sibley  in  Canandaigua, 
settled  in  Detroit,  and  is  now  a  resident  at  Honolulu,  one  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  acting  in  the  capacity  of  the  King's  attorney  or 
counsellor.  His  first  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Beals  of 
Canandaigua ;  the  second,  is  a  sister  of  Dr.  Judd,  the  physician  of 
the  missionaries  in  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  widow  of  Asher 
Bates  is  now  the  wife  of  Dr.  Wm.  Sheldon  of  Le  Roy.  Phineas 
P.  Bates  succeeded  his  father  as  a  landlord  in  Canandaigua,  and 
was  for  many  years  a  deputy  sheriff  and  sheriff  of  Ontario.  He 
is  the  only  one  of  a  large  family  that  survives  :  is  the  occupant 
of  a  fine  farm  adjoining  the  village  of  Canandaigua.  David  C. 


ITS       PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

Bates  was  a  farmer  near  Canandaigua;  died  in  1849.  A  daughter 
of  the  elder  Phineas  Bates  became  the  wife  of  John  A.  Stevens, 
the  early  Printer,  and  Editor  of  the  Ontario  Messenger.  An  elder 
daughter  was  the  wife  of  Orange  Brace,  who  has  been  named  in 
connection  with  the  early  advent  of  the  family ;  in  1806,  he  be 
came  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  upon  the  purchase  of  Phelps  and 
Chipman,  in  Sheldon,  Wyoming  county.  * 

Phineas  P.  Bates,  Esq.,  the  survivor  of  the  family,  who  has  been 
named,  in  1800,  was  the  mail  boy  from  Canandaigua  to  Fort  Nia 
gara.  The  mail  route  had  been  established  about  two  years  pre 
vious,  and  was  carried  through  by  Jasper  Marvin,  who  sometimes 
dispensed  with  mail  bags,  and  carried  the  contents  in  a  pocket 
book.  Mr.  Bates  observes  that  when  he  commenced  carrying  it 
for  his  brother  Stephen,  who  was  the  mail  contractor,  it  used  to 
take  six  days  to  go  and  return.  His  stopping  places  over  night, 
were  at  Mrs.  Berry's,  among  the  Indians  at  Tonawanda,  and  at 
Fort  Niagara. 

In  some  reminiscences  of  Mr.  Bates,  he  observes,  that  "in  1793, 
one  of  those  fatal  accidents  occurred  at  Canandaigua,  which  always 
cast  a  gloom  over  small  communities.  A  Mr.  Miles,  from  what  is 
now  Lima,  and  a  citizen  of  Canada,  were  on  their  way  to  Massa 
chusetts.  Riding  into  the  village,  when  they  were  within  a  few 
rods  of  Main-street,  a  tree  turned  out  by  the  roots,  fell  upon  the 
travellers,  killing  them  both,  and  one  of  their  horses.  What  made 
the  affair  a  very  singular  one,  was  the  fact,  that  although  it  was 
raining  moderately  at  the  time,  there  was  not  the  least  wind  to 
cause  the  fall  of  the  tree." 

Dr.  Moses  Atwater  settled  in  Canandaigua  as  a  physician,  at  the 
early  period  of  1791.  In  some  correspondence  that  passed  be 
tween  Gen.  Chapin  and  Judge  Phelps,  there  was  much  gratifica 
tion  manifested  that  their  new  settlement  was  to  have  the  benefit 
of  a  physician.  Dr.  Atwater  enjoyed  for  a  long  period  an  extensive 
practice,  and  made  himselt  eminently  useful  in  the  new  country. 

*  The  Pioneer  and  a  son,  both  died  on  the  frontier,  where  they  had  gone  under 
Smyth's  proclamation,  in  the  war  of  1812.  Another  son  and  a  daughter  died  about 
the  same  period.  Toward  the  close  of  the  war,  a  son-in-law,  Ardin  Merrill,  was  kill 
ed  on  board  of  a  ferry  boat,  at  the  Canada  landing,  opposite  Black  Hock.  Many 
households  of  all  the  Genesee  country  were  thinned  by  disease,  and  deaths  upon  bat 
tle  grounds,  during  the  war ;  but  there  were  few,  if  any,  hearthstones  made  as  desolate 
as  was  theirs.  Leicester  Brace  of  Buffalo,  late  sheriff  of  Erie  county,  is  a  surviving 
son  of  Orange  Brace,  and  a  surviving  son  and  daughter  reside  in  Illinois. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

^ 

He  was  an  early  Judge  of  Ontario  county.  He  died  in  1848,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  82  years.  Samuel  Atwater  of  Canandaigua, 
and  Moses  Atwater  of  Buffalo,  are  his  sons ;  a  daughter  became 
the  wife  of  Robert  Pomeroy,  of  Buffalo ;  and  another,  the  wife  of 
Lewis  Jenkins,  formerly  a  merchant  of  Canandaigua,  now  a  resi 
dent  of  Buffalo.  Dr.  Jeremiah  Atwater,  a  brother  of  Moses,  set 
tled  in  Canandaigua  in  early  years.  He  still  survives  at  the  age 
of  80  years,  laboring,  however,  uiider  the  infirmity  of  a  loss  of 
sight. 

Mr.  Samuel  Dungan  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  a  student 
with  the  celebrated  Dr.  Wistar.  He  settled  in  practice  in  Canan 
daigua  in  1797.  He  possessed  extraordinary  skill  as  a  surgeon,  and 
in  that  capacity,  was  known  throughout  a  wide  region.  He  died 
nearly  thirty  years  since.  He  left  a  son  and  a  daughter,  both  of 
whom  are  still  living. 

Dr.  William  A.  Williams  was  from  Wallingford,  Conn.  He  en 
tered  Yale  College  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  and  graduated  at 
the  early  age  of  sixteen.  After  passing  through  a  regular  course 
of  medical  studies,  he  commenced  practice  in  Hatfield,  Mass.;  but 
in  a  few  years,  in  1793,  emigrated  to  Canandaigua,  established  him 
self  in  a  large  and  successful  practice,  which  he  retained  until  near 
the  close  of  a  long  life.  One  who  was  his  neighbor  for  near  forty 
years,  observes  :  —  "He  was  a  man  of  plain  and  simple  manners, 
amiable  and  kind  hearted ;  at  the  bed  side  of  his  patients,  he  min 
gled  the  consolations  of  friendship  with  professional  advice ;  in 
day  or  night  time,  in  sunshine  or  in  storm,  whether  his  patients  were 
rich  or  poor,  he  was  the  same  indefatigable,  faithful  physician  and 
good  neighbor.  He  died  in  1833  or  '4.  Col.  George  Williams,  of 
Portage,  and  Charles  Williams,  of  Nunda,  are  his  sons.  His 
daughters  became  the  wives  of  the  late  Jared  Wilson,  Esq.,  and 

John  A.  Granger,  of  Canandaigua,  and Whitney,  the  present 

P.  M.  at  Canandaigua,  and  Editor  of  the  Ontario  Repository. 


NATHANIEL  W.  HOWELL. 

The  venerable  Nathaniel  W.  Howell,  now  in  his  81st  year,  is  the 
oldest  resident  member  of  the  Bar  of  Western  New  York.  His 
native  place  is  Blooming  Grove,  Orange  County,  N.  Y.  The  son 


180  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

of  a  farmer,  at  a  period  when  farmer's  sons  were  early  inured  to 
toil,  a  naturally  robust  and  vigorous  constitution  was  aided  by  the 
healthy  labors  of  the  field.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  was  placed  in 
an  Academy  in  Goshen,  founded  by  Noah  Webster,  the  widely 
known  author ;  where  he  remained  for  nearly  two  years  ;  after 
which  he  entered  the  Academy  at  Hackensack,  N.  J.,  the  Principal 
of  which  was  Dr.  Peter  Wilson,  formerly  Professor  of  languages  in 
Columbia  College.  In  May,  1787,  he  entered  the  junior  class  in 
Princeton  College,  and  graduated,  in  Sept.  1788.  A  few  months 
after  graduating,  making  choice  of  the  legal  profession,  he  com 
menced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  late  Gen.  Wilkin,  in 
Goshen.  Remaining  there  but  a  short  period,  he  accepted  a  call  to 
take  charge  of  an  Academy  at  Ward's  Bridge  in  Ulster  Co.,  where 
he  continued  for  over  three  years  ;  after  which,  he  resumed  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  late  Judge  Hoffman,  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  He  was  admitted  an  Attorney  of  the  Supreme  Court 
in  May,  1794. 

In  May,  1795,  he  opened  an  office  in  the  town  of  Union,  near 
the  now  village  of  Binghampton,  in  Tioga  county.  The  late  Gen. 
Matthews  was  then  practicing  law  in  Newtown,  now  Elmira.  The 
two  were  the  only  Supreme  court  lawyers  then  in  the  county. 

Judge  Howell  was  admitted  as  an  Attorney  of  the  court  of  com 
mon  pleas  in  Ontario  in  June,  1795,  and  in  the  following  February, 
removed  to  Canandaigua,  where  he  has  continued  to  reside  until 
the  present  time.  The  records  of  the  courts  bear  evidence  of  his 
having  acquired  a  large  practice  in  early  years.  He  was  one  of  the 
local  legal  advisers  of  Mr.  Williamson,  and  was  employed  by 
Joseph  Eliicott  in  his  earliest  movements  upon  the  Holland  Purchase. 
Laying  before  the  author  at  this  present  writing,  are  copies  of  his 
letters  to  Mr.  Williamson  written  in  1795,  and  a  letter  written  with 
in  the  present  year,  in  a  fair  hand,  but  little  marked  by  the  tremor 
of  age.  Fifty  six-years  have  intervened ! 

In  1799,  he  was  appointed  by  the  council  of  appointment,  on  the 
nomination  of  Gov.  Jay,  assistant  Attorney  General  for  the  five 
western  counties  of  this  state,  the  duties  of  which  office  he  contin 
ued  to  discharge  until  his  resignation  in  1802.  In  1819  he  was 
appointed  by  the  council  of  appointment,  on  the  nomination  of  Gov 
Dewitt  Clinton,  First  Judge  of  the  county  of  Ontario,  which  office 
he  filled  for  thirteen  years.  He  was  an  early  representative  in  the 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  181 

state  legislature,  and  in  1813,  '14,  he  represented  in  Congress,  the 
double  district,  composed  of  Ontario  and  the  five  counties  to  the 
west  of  it.  On  retiring  from  the  Bench,  he  retired  from  his  profes 
sion,  employing  himself  in  the  superintendence  of  a  farm  and  gar 
den,  enjoying  good  health,  with  slight  exceptions ;  in  summers  labor 
ing  more  or  less  with  his  own  hands. 

In  a  previous  work,  the  author  has  observed,  that  there  are  few 
instances  of  so  extended  a  period  of  active  participation  in  the 
affairs  of  life  ;  and  still  fewer  instances  of  a  life  that  has  so  adorned 
the  profession  to  which  he  belongs,  and  been  so  eminently  useful 
and  exemplary.  To  him,  and  to  such  as  him  —  his  early  cotem- 
porary,  General  Matthews,  for  instance  —  and  others  of  his  cotem- 
poraries  that  could  be  named,  is  the  highly  honorable  profession  of 
law  in  Western  New  York  indebted  for  early  and  long  continued 
examples  of  those  high  aims,  dignity,  and  exalted  integrity,  which 
should  be  its  abiding  characteristics.  They  have  passed,  and  are 
passing  away.  If  days  of  degeneracy  should  come  upon  the  profes 
sion —  renovation  become  necessary  —  there  are  no  better  prece 
dents  and  examples  to  consult,  than  the  lives  and  practices  of  the 
Pioneer  Lawyers. 

The  first  wife  of  Judge  Howell  was  the  youngest  daughter  of 
General  Israel  Chapin.  She  died  in  1808,  leaving  two  sons  and  a 
daughter.  He  married  for  a  second  wife,  in  1809,  the  daughter  of 
Dr.  Coleman,  of  Anchram,  Mass.  She  died  in  1842,  leaving  three 
sons  and  a  daughter.  The  surviving  sons  are  :  — •  Alexander  H. 
Howell,  Thomas  M.  Howell,  Nathaniel  W.  Howell,  Augustus  P. 
Howell.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Amasa  Jackson  of  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  Henry  S.  Mulligan  of  Buffalo. 

Dudley  Saltonstall  was  a  native  of  New  London,  Conn.,  a  grad 
uate  of  Yale  College.  He  studied  law  in  the  celebrated  law  school 
of  Judge  Reeves  of  Litchfield,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
court  of  common  pleas  of  Ontario,  in  1795.  He  had  genius,  and 
high  attainments  in  scholarship,  commenced  practice  under  favorable 
auspices ;  but  aiming  high  and  falling  below  his  aim,  in  his  first 
forensic  efforts,  he  lost  confidence  in  himself,  and  abandoned  the 
profession.  He  engaged  in  other  pursuits  with  but  little  better 
success,  and  in  1808,  emigrated  to  Maryland,  and  soon  after  to 
Elizabeth  city,  N.  Carolina,  where  he  died  some  fifteen  years  since. 

Dudley  Marvin  did  not  locate  at  Canandaigua  within  a  pioneer 


182  PHELPS  AM)  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

period,  but  his  name  is  so  blended  with  the  locality,  that  a  tirief  no 
tice  of  him  will  perhaps  be  anticipated.  He  was  a  native  of 
Lyme,  Connecticut.  His  law  studies  were  commenced  and  com 
pleted  in  the  office  of  Messrs.  Howell  &  Greig ;  in  the  absence  of 
any  classical  education,  but  in  its  place  was  a  vigorous  intellect, 
peculiarly  adapted  to  the  profession  he  embraced.  He  had  not 
been  long  admitted  to  the  bar,  when  he  had  no  superior,  and  few 
if  any  equals,  as  an  advocate,  in  the  western  counties  of  this  State  ; 
indeed,  the  giants  of  the  law  from  the  east,  who  used  to  follow  the 
circuits  of  the  old  Supreme  Court  Judges  in  this  direction,  found  in 
the  young  advocate  of  the  west,  a  competitor  who  plucked  laurels 
from  their  brows  they  had  won  upon  other  theatres  of  forensic  strife. 
"  When  sitting  as  a  judge,"  says  one  of  his  early  legal  mentors,  "  I 
frequently  listened  with  admiration  to  his  exceedingly  able  and  elo 
quent  summings  up  in  jury  trials.  I  was  once  present  on  the  trial 
of  an  important  and  highly  interesting  cause,  in  which  Mr.  Marvin 
and  the  celebrated  Elisha  Williams  were  opposed  to  each  other, 
and  I  thought  the  speech  to  the  jury  of  Marvin,  was  quite  as 
eloquent  as  that  of  Williams,  and  decidedly  more  able.  He  was,  in 
deed,  unsuccessful,  but  the  failure  was  owing  to  his  cause,  and  not 
to  him.  He  might  well  have  said  with  the  Trojan  hero :  —  "  Si 
Pergama  dextra  defendi  possent  etiam  hac  defensi  f ids  sent." 

He  was  twice  elected  to  Congress,  in  which  capacity  the  high 
expectations  that  were  entertained  of  his  career  were  somewhat  dis 
appointed.  The  new  sphere  of  action  was  evidently  not  his  forte  — 
neither  was  it  to  his  liking ;  while  the  free  habits  that  unfortunately 
so  much  prevailed  at  our  national  eapitol,  were  illy  suited  to  help 
the  wavering  resolutions  of  a  mind  that  was  wrestling  with  all  its  • 
giant  strength,  to  throw  off  chains  with  which  a  generous  social 
nature,  had  helped  to  fetter  him.  Years  followed,  in  which  one  who 
had  filled  a  large  space  in  the  public  mind  of  this  region,  was  almost 
lost  sight  of;  his  residence  being  principally  in  Maryland  and  Vir 
ginia.  He  returned  to  this  State,  and  resumed  practice  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  where  he  continued  but  a  few  years ;  removing  to 
the  county  cf  Chautauque,  and  retiring  upon  a  farm. 

Myron  Holley  came  from  Salisbury  Connecticut,  in  1803,  locating 
at  Canandaigua.  He  had  studied  law,  but  never  engaged  in  prac 
tice.  He  was  an  early  bookseller,  and  for  a  considerable  time 
clerk  of  Ontario  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the  first  Board  of 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.       183 

canal  commissioners,  the  acting  commissioner  in  the  original  con 
struction  of  the  western  division  of  the  Erie  Canal,  unil  the  whole 
*was  put  under  contract.  Soon  after  the  location  of  the  canal  he 
became  a  resident  of  the  village  of  Lyons.  So  eminently  able  and 
faithful  were  his  services  as  a  canal  commissioner,  that  the  grateful 
recollection  and  acknowledgement  of  them,  outlive  and  palliate  the 
mixed  offence  of  fault  and  misfortune,  with  which  his  official  career 
terminated. 

Mr.  Holley  died  in  1839,  or  '40;  his  widow,  the  daughter  of 
John  House,  an  early  Pioneer  at  Canandaigua,  resides  in  Black 
Rock,  Erie  county. 

Isaac  Davis,  an  early  merchant  at  Canandaigua,  and  subsequently 
at  Buffalo,  married  another  daughter  of  Mr.  House.  She  resides 
with  her  two  sons  in  Lockport.  Wm.  C.  House,  a  surviving  son  of 
John  House,  was  an  early  merchant  in  Lockport,  and  lately  the 
canal  collector  at  that  point ;  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  John  G. 
Bond,  an  early  merchant  in  Rochester. 

Thomas  Beals  became  a  resident  of  Canandaigua,  engaging  in 
the  mercantile  business,  in  1803.  In  early  j^earshis  trade  extended 
over  a  wide  region  of  country,  in  which  he  was  highly  esteemed 
as  an  honest  and  fair  dealing  merchant.  The  successor  of  Thad- 
deus  Chapin  as  treasurer  of  Ontario  county,  in  1814,  he  continued 
to  hold  the  office  for  twenty  eight  years.  As  Trustee  and  Secretary, 
he  has  been  connected  with  the  Canandaigua  Academy  forty  years. 
He  was  one  of  the  trustees,  and  a  member  of  the  building  com 
mittee  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  1812;  and  was  one  of  the 
county  superintendents  of  the  poor,  when  the  Poor  House  was  first 
erected.  He  is  now,  in  his  66th  year,  engaged  in  the  active 
pursuits  of  life ;  the  Treasurer  of  the  Ontario  Savmgs  Bank,  a 
flourishing  institution  of  which  he  was  the  founder.  Mrs.  Beals, 
who  was  the  daughter  of  the  early  settled  clergyman  at  Canan 
daigua,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fields,  still  survives.  There  are  two  survi- 
veing  sons,  one  a  resident  of  New  York,  and  the  other  in  Indiana. 
Surviving  daughters  are :  —  Mrs.  Alfred  Field,  and  Mrs.  Dr.  Carr, 
of  Canandaigua,  and  Mrs.  James  S.  Rogers,  of  Wisconsin. 

In  1798,  a  formidable  party  of  emigrants  arrived  and  settled  near 
Canandaigua.  It  consisted  of  the  families  of  Benjamin  Barney, 
Richard  Daker  and  Vincent  Grant.  They  were  from  Orange  county; 
and  were  all  family  connexions..  With  their  six  or  seven  teams, 


184  PIIELPS  AISD  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

and  a  numerous  retinue  of  foot  passengers,  and  stock,  their  advent 
is  well  remembered.  They  practiced  one  species  of  travelling 
economy,  that  the  author  has  never  before  heard  of  among  the  de 
vices  of  pioneer  times :  — •  the  milk  of  their  cows  was  put  into  a 
churn,  and  the  motion  of  the  wagon  produced  their  butter  as  they 
went  along.*  The  journey  from  Orange  county  consumed  twenty- 
six  days.  The  sons  who  came  with  Benj.  Barney,  were  :  —  Thomas, 
John,  Nicholas,  Joseph  and  Henry.  Thomas  was  the  head  of  a 
family  when  they  came  to  the  Genesee  country ;  a  surviving  son 
of  his,  is  Gen.  V.  G.  Barney  of  Newark  Wayne  county ;  a  surviv 
ing  daughter  is  the  wife  of  EHsha  Higby,  of  Hope  well,  Ontario 
county;  —  and  in  this  connection  it  may  be  observed,  that  Mr, 
Higby  erected  the  first  carding  machine  in  the  Genesee  country, 
in  1804,  in  what  is  now  the  town  of  Hopewell,  to  which  he  soon 
added  a  cloth  dressing  establishment. 

James  Sibley,  the  early  and  widely  known  silver  smith,  watch 
repairer,  and  jeweler,  of  Canandaigua,  still  survives,  retired  from 
business,  a  resident  of  Rochester.  His  son,  Oscar  Sibley,  pursuing 
the  business  of  his  father,  is  the  proprietor  of  a  large  establishment 
in  Buffalo.  By  the  aid  of  a  singularly  retentive  memory — especi 
ally  in  reference  to  names  and  localities  —  he  has  furnished  the 
author  with  the  following  names  of  all  the  heads  of  families  in  Can- 
andaigua,  village,  in  1803  :  — 


Seth  Thompson, 
Abner  Bunnell, 

Widow  Whiting, 
Phineas  Bates, 

Svlvester  Tiffany, 
Wm.  A.  Williams, 

Elijah  Morley, 

Augustus  Porter, 

James  Holden, 

Henry  Chapin. 

Zachariah  Seymour, 

Hath.  W.  Howell, 

Samuel  Latta, 

Nathaniel  Sanborn, 

Samuel  Dungan, 

Dudley  Saltonstall, 
Leander  Butler, 

Tiaiothy  Burt, 
Thomas  Moms, 

Robert  Spencer, 
Hannah  Whalley, 

Luther  W.  Benjamin, 

Thomas  Beals, 

Ebenezer  F.  Norton, 

John  Hall, 

Moses  Atwater, 

John  Furguson, 

John  House, 

Thaddeus  Chapin, 

Abner  Barlow, 

Martin  Dudley, 

Israel  Chapin, 

Norton  <fc  Richards, 

Gen.  Wells, 

Gould  &  Post, 

Nathaniel  Gorham. 

Jasper  Parish, 

James  Dewey, 

William  Shepherd, 

Mr.  Crane, 

Ezekiel  Taylor, 

Freeman  Atwater, 

Daniel  Danes, 

Wm.  Antiss, 

William  Chapman, 

Mr.  Sampson, 
Timothy  Youn  glove, 

John  Clark, 
James  Smedley, 

Col.  Hyde, 
Virtue  Bronson, 

Samuel  Abbey, 

Jacob  Haskell, 

James  B.  Mower, 

John  Shuler, 

Rev.  Timothy  Field, 

Oliver  Phelps, 

John  Brockelbank, 

Joshua  Eaton, 

Peter  H.  Colt. 

Jeremiah  Atwater, 

Samuel  Brock, 

Luther  Cole, 

General  Taylor, 

Moses  Cleveland, 

Amos  Beach. 

*  But  this  device  found  more  than  its  match  with  an  old  lady  who  was  fleeing  from 
the  frontier  in  the  war  of  1812.    An  alarm  found  her  with  her  dough  mixed  for  baking. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  185 

The  first  permanent  church  organization  in  Canandaigua,  of 
which  the  author  finds  any  record,  was  that  of  St.  Mathew's 
church  of  the  town  of  Canand.aigua,  February  4th,  1799.  "A 
meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Nathaniel  Sanborn  ;  Ezra  Platt 
was  called  to  the  chair  to  regulate  said  meeting."  The  following 
officers  were  chosen  :  —  Ezra  Platt,  Joseph  Colt,  Wardens ;  John 
Clark,  Augustus  Porter,  John  Hecox,  Nathaniel  Sanborn,  Benjamin 
Wells,  James  Fields,  Moses  Atwater,  Aaron  Flint,  Vestrymen. 

The  Rev.  Philander  Chase,  the  present  Bishop  of  the  United 
States,  then  in  Deacon's  orders,  presided  at  this  organization  ;  re 
mained  and  officiated  as  clergyman  for  several  months. 

About  the  same  period,  "  the  first  Congregational  church  of  the 
town  of  Cannandaigua,"  was  organized.  "  Ail  persons  who  had 
statedly  worshipped  in  said  congregation,"  met  "at  the  school 
house,"  and  chose  as  Trustees  :  — Othniel  Taylor,  Thaddeus  Chapin, 
Dudley  Saltonstall,  Seth  Holcomb,  Abner  Barlow,  Phineas  Bates. 
The  first  settled  minister  of  this  church,  was  the  Rev-  Mr.  Field. 

The  first  record  of  election  returns  that  the  author  has  been 
enabled  to  obtain,  is  that  of  the  election  of  Senators  and  Assem 
blymen  in  1799.  This  was  before  Ontario  was  dismembered,  or 
rather  before  Steuben  had  a  separate  organization,  and  the  returns 
of  course  embrace  the  whole  region  west  of  Seneca  Lake.  Vin 
cent  Matthews,  Joseph  White,  Moss  Kent,  were  the  candidates  for 
Senators.  The  candidates  for  Assembly  were,  Charles  Williamson 
and  Nathaniel  Norton,  opposed  by  Lemuel  Chipman  and  Dudley 
Saltonstall.  Williamson  and  Saltonstall  were  elected.  The  entire 


vote  is  given  : 

— 

Bloomfield 

168 

Jerusalem        - 

101 

ISTorthfield 

59 

Hartford 

70 

Charleston 
East  on 

125 

58 

Palmyra 
Gencseo           ... 

55 
44 

Augusta    - 

58 

Sodus     -'-.-- 

46 

Sparta 

82 

Seneca            - 

55 

She  rolled  it  up  in  a  bed,  and  sitting  upon  it,  kept  it  warm,  pulling  it  out  and  baking 
as  she  stopped  along  the  road. 


.  —  There  was  a  little  feeling  of  rivalry  in  the  organization  of  these  Pioneer 
churches:  thence  the  anecdote  of  "  Bishop  Chase's  fiddle."  The  then  young  clergy 
man  boarded  with  Mrs.  Sanborn,  and  to  amuse  one  of  her  children,  whittled  out  a 
shingle  in  the  shape  of  a  fiddle,  and  stringing  it  with  silk  thread,  put  it  in  the  win 
dow  ;  an  ^Eolian  harp.  The  trifling  affair  soon  got  noised  about,  and  some  members 
of  the  rival  church  organization  converted  it  to  no  less  offence  than  that  of  a  minister 
of  the  gospel  making  a  fiddle. 
12 


186  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

Canandaigua      ...          66  Middlesex       ...          53 

Bristol       -        -        -        -        110  Frederickstown       -        -          46 

Phelps       -        -        -        -        104  Painted  Post  63 

Pittstown  62  Dansville        -        -        -          54 

Middletown  86  Canisteo  76 

Bath  106 

978  

766 
978 

Total 1744 

In  1800,  Lemuel  Chipman  and  Nathaniel  Norton  were  elected; 
number  of  votes,  3,582.  Thomas  Morris  was  elected  to  Congress, 
receiving  almost  the  entire  vote  of  the  Genesee  country.  Canan 
daigua,  Palmyra,  Bristol,  Sparta,  Hartford,  Easton,  Charleston, 
Northfield,  Augusta,  their  entire  vote ;  and  in  several  other  towns 
there  were  but  one,  two  and  three,  against  him.  1801  —  Peter  B. 
Porter  and  Daniel  Chapin  were  elected  to  the  Assembly.  1802  — 
Steuben  elected  separately,  Pollydore  B.  Wisner,  Augustus  Porter 
and  Thaddeus  Chapin,  were  elected  members  of  Assembly  from 
Ontario.  1803  —  Batavia,  which  was  then  all  of  the  Holland 
Purchase,  gave  less  than  180  votes.  In  that  year,  Amos  Hall, 
Nathaniel  W.  Howell,  Pollydore  B.  Wisner,  were  elected  to  the 
Assembly.  1804  —  The  members  of  Assembly  were,  Amos  Hall, 
Daniel  W.  Lewis  and  Alexander  Rhea. 

Jonathan  Philips,  an  early  shoemaker  of  Canandaigua,  still  sur 
vives,  hammering  and  drawing  out  his  waxed  ends  upon  a  seat  he 
has  occupied  for  51  years  ;  being  now  75  years  of  age.  The  old 
gentleman  observes,  that  in  that  now  healthy  locality,  he  has  known 
it  to  be  so  sickly,  that  more  than  half  the  entire  population  would 
be  afflicted  with  fevers. 

South  worth  Cole,  an  elder  brother  of  Luther  Cole,  came  into  the 
country  in  1797.  He  located  on  the  east  side  of  the  Lake,  in  a 
then  wilderness,  at  what  was  known  in  early  days  as  '•  Corn  Creek." 
There  was  an  old  Indian  clearing  of  about  20  acres.  Mr.  Cole 
was  for  several  years  the  only  settler  between  the  foot  of  the  Lake 
and  Naples.  The  location  was  famed  as  the  favorite  ground  of  the 
rattle  snake :  some  members  of  this  Pioneer  family  have  killed  as 
many  as  160  in  the  course  oi  a  day  at  their  den.  Deer  were  so 
plenty,  that  a  hunter  of  the  family  has  killed  60  in  a  season.  The 
sons  of  the  Pioneer  were  Abner  Cole,  an  early  lawyer  of  Palmyra ; 
Dorastus  Cole,  of  Palmyra ;  Joseph  Cole,  of  Michigan ;  G.  W. 


PHELPS  AND  GOPJIAM'S  PURCHASE.  187 

Cole,  of  Saratoga  Springs  ;  and  Benjamin  B.  Cole,  of  Ogden. 
Mrs.  Philetus  Swift  of  Phelps,  and  Mrs.  Kingsley  Miller  of  Palmy 
ra,  were  his  daughters.  Joseph  Colt,  the  early  merchant  of  Geneva 
and  Palmyra,  married  a  sister  of  Southworth  and  Luther  Cole. 


BLOOMF1ELD. 

The  settlement  of  East  Bloomfield,  commenced  simultaneously 
with  that  of  Canandaigua.  The  east  township  was  purchased  by 
Capt.  Wm.  Bacon,  Gen.  John  Fellows,  Elisha  Lee,  Deacon  John 
Adams,  Dr.  Joshua  Porter  (the  father  of  Peter  B.  and  Augustus,) 
Deacon  Adams  became  the  pioneer  in  settlement ;  —  and  the  pa 
triarch  it  might  well  be  added,  for  he  introduced  a  large  household 
into  the  wilderness.  His  family  consisted  of  himself  and  wife,  his 
sons  John,  Jonathan,  William,  Abner  and  Joseph  ;  his  sons  in  laws, 

Ephraim  Rew,  Lorin  Hull,  and Wilcox,  and  their  wives,  and 

Elijah  Rose,  a  brother  in  law  and  his  family,  and  three  unmarried 
daughters.  Joined  with  all  these  in  the  primitive  advent,  were :  — 
Moses  Gunn,  Lot  Rew,  John  Barnes,  Roger  Sprague,  Asa  Hickox, 
Benjamin  Goss,  John  Keyes,  Nathaniel  Norton.  Early  after  the 
opening  of  navigation,  in  1789,  the  emigrants  departed  from  Sche- 
nectady,  some  of  the  men  with  the  household  furniture  and  stores,  by 
water,  but  most  of  the  party  upon  pack  horses,  following  principally 
the  Indian  trails.  In  May,  they  were  joined  by  Augustus  Porter, 
Thaddeus  Keyes,  Joel  Steele,  Eber  Norton  and  Orange  Woodruff. 
Judge  Porter,  then  but  twenty  years  of  age,  had  been  employed  to 
make  farm  surveys  of  the  township.  When  he  arrived  he  found 
the  Adams  family,  and  those  who  had  come  in  with  them,  the  occu 
pants  of  a  log  house,  30  by  40  feet,  the  first  dwelling  erected  west 
of  Canandaigua  after  white  settlement  commenced.  To  accomo- 
date  so  large  a  family  with  lodgings,  there  were  berths  upon  wooden 
pins  along  the  walls  of  the  house,  one  above  another,  steam,  or 
packet  boat  fashion.  It  was  the  young  surveyor's  first  introduction 
to  backwoods  life.  He  added  to  the  crowded  household  himself  and 
his  assistants,  and  soon  shouldered  his  "  Jacob  staff,"  and  commen 
ced  his  work.  The  emigrants  had  brought  on  a  good  stock  of  pro 
visions  and  some  cows ;  wild  game  soon  began  to  be  added,  which 
made  them  very  comfortable  livers.  The  Judge,  in  his  later  years, 


188  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

would  speak  with  much  animation,  of  the  primitive  log  house,  its 
enormous  fire  place ;  and  especially  of  the  bread  "baked  in  ashes" 
which  Mrs.  Rose  used  to  bring  upon  the  table,  and  which  he  said 
was  excellent. 

William  Bacon,  a  principal  proprietor  in  Bloomfield,  was  a  res 
ident  of  Sheffield,  Mass.;  he  never  emigrated.  He  bore  a  captain's 
commsssion  in  the  Revolution,  and  was  a  contractor  for  the  army. 
After  the  Revolution  he  drove  cattle  through  upon  the  old  Indian 
trail  to  Fort  Niagara.  Deacon  Adams,  Nathaniel  Eggleston,  and 
several  others  of  the  early  settlers  in  Bloomfield,  first  saw  the  Gen- 
esee  Country,  in  connection  with  this  cattle  trade  to  Niagara.  Col. 
Asher  Saxton  a  prominent  pioneer,  in  Bloomfield,  Cambria,  and 
Lockport  Niagara  co.,  and  lastly  upon  the  river  Raisin,  near 
Monroe,  was  a  son  in  law  of  capt.  Bacon  and  his  local  representa 
tive.  He  died  at  his  residence  in  Michigan  in  1847  at  an  advanced 
age.  He  married  for  a  third  wife  a  sister  of  Gen.  Micah  Brooks. 
When  he  left  Bloomfield  to  go  into  a  new  region  in  Niagara  county, 
he  remarked  to  an  old  friend  that  he  was  going  "  where  they  live  in 
log  cabins."  "  I  want"  said  he  "  to  see  more  of  Pioneer  life."  The 
roof  of  a  log  cabin  has  seldom  sheltered  a  worthier  man. 

The  author  is  unable  to  name  the  year  in  which  all  of  the  emi 
grants  settled  in  Bloomfield  after  the  primitive  advent  of  the  Adam's 
household,  and  those  who  came  in  the  same  year.  Those  who  will 
be  named  were  of  the  earliest  class  of  Pioneers. 

Dr.  Daniel  Chapin  was  the  early  physician.  He  was  the  next 
representative  of  Ontario  county  in  the  Legislature  after  Gen. 
Israel  Chapin.  He  removed  to  Buffalo  in  1805  and  died  there  in 
1835. 

Amos  Bronson  was  from  Berkshire,  a  persevering  and  enterprising 
man,  and  became  the  owner  of  a  large  farm.  He  died  in  1835. 
His  wife  still  survives,  at  the  advanced  age  of  over  90  years.  Mrs. 
Bronson,  and  Benjamin  Goss,  are  the  only  two  surviving  residents 


NOTE.  —  There  are  no  surviving  descendants  in  the  first  degree  of  the  early  Pioneer 
Deacon  John  Adams.  In  the  second,  third  and  fourth  degree,  few  families  are  more 
numerous.  The  three  unmarried  daughters  mentioned  above,  became  the  wives  of 

John  Keyes, Benjamin,  and  Silas  Eggleston .    Among  the  descendants  are  the 

family  who  gave  the  name  to  "Adams  Basin,"  in  Ogden ;  Gen.  Wm.  H.  Adams  of 
Lyons,  "Wm.  Adams  of  Rochester,  and  Mrs.  Barrett  of  Lockport ;  and  the  author  re 
grets  that  he  has  not  the  memorandums  to  enable  him  to  remember  more  of  a  name 
and  family  so  prominently  identified  with  Pioneer  settlement. 


PHELPS  AISTD  GOKHAM'S  PTJECHASE.  189 

of  all  the  adult  pioneers  of  East  Bloomfield.  The  sons  are  among 
the  wealthy  and  public  spirited  men  of  the  town. 

Benjamin  Goss,  who  is  named  above,  was  in  the  country  as  early 
as  1791.  He  married  a  daughter  of  Deacon  George  Codding,  of 
Bristol.  Theirs  was  the  first  wedding  on  Phelps  and  Gorham's  Pur 
chase.  He  is  now  90  years  of  age ;  a  Revolutionary  pensioner. 
He  was  in  the  battle  at  Johnstown,  at  Sharon  Springs,  and  was  in 
the  unsuccessful  expedition  of  Col.  Marinus  Willett  to  Oswego  in  the 
winter  of  1781.* 

Nathaniel  Norton  was  from  Goshen,  Conn.  He  was  the  foun 
der  of  the  mills  that  took  his  name,  on  the  Ganargwa  creek,  in 
Bloomfield.  He  was  an  early  sheriff  of  Ontario,  and  its  represen 
tative  in  the  Legislature ;  and  an  early  merchant  in  Bloomfield  and 
Canandaigua.  He  died  in  1809  or  '10.  The  late  Heman  Norton 
was  his  son ;  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Judge  Baldwin  of  the 

Sup.  Court  of  the  United  States ;  another  of Beach,  of  the 

firm  of  Norton  &  Beach.  Aaron  Norton,  the  brother  of  Nathaniel, 
settled  in  Bloomfield  about  the  same  time;  died  soon  after  1815. 
Hon.  Ebenezer  F.  Norton  of  Buffalo,  and  Reuben  Norton  of  Bloom- 
field,  are  his  sons.  A  daughter  became  the  wife  of Kibbe, 

the  early  Bank  cashier  at  Canandaigua  and  Buffalo ;  another,  the 
wife  of  Peter  Bowen.  Eber  Norton,  another  brother  of  Nathaniel, 
died  in  1810;  Judge  Norton  of  Allegany  is  a  so.n  of  his. 

Roger,  Azel,  and  Thomas  Sprague,  with  their  father  and  mother, 
and  three  sisters,  were  early  pioneers.  Roger  succeeded  Nathaniel 
Norton  as  Sheriff  of  Ontario,  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
supervisor.  He  died  in  Michigan,  in  1848.  Asahel  and  Thomas, 
both  died  soon  after  1810.  The  only  survivor  of  the  family  is  a 
sister  who  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Ralph  \Vilcox. 


*  Tlie  old  gentleman  gives  a  relation  of  suffering  and  privation  in  that  expedition, 
which  exhibits  some  of  the  harshest  features  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  The  con 
templated  attack  upon  Oswego,  was  undertaken  in  mid  winter,  and  the  army  encoun 
tered  deep  snow.  Many  of  the  men  had  their  feet  frozen,  and  the  relator  among  the 
number.  The  expedition  was  undertaken  in  sleighs,  and  upou  snow  shoes,  the  men 
going  ahead  upon  the  snow  shoes,  and  partly  beating  the  track.  Oneida  Lake  was 
crossed  upon  the  ice.  Arriving  at  Fort  Brewerton,  a  large  number  of  the  pressed  mil 
itia,  appalled  by  the  suffering  and  danger  they  were  to  encounter,  deserted  and  return- 
-ed  to  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk ;  the  remainder,  an  unequal  force  for  the  work  that 
was  before  them,  struck  off  into  the  dark  forest  in  the  direction  of  Oswego,  were  badly 
piloted,  missed  their  course,  and  were  three  days  wanderers  amid  the  deep  snows  of 
the  wilderness.  Coming  within  four  miles  of  a  strong  fortress,  with  provisions  exhaus 
ted,  ammunition  much  damaged,  and  men  already  worn  out  in  the  inarch,  a  council  de 
cided  against  the  attack,  and  the  expedition  retreated  to  Fort  Plain. 


190  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Moses  Gunn  was  from  Berkshire.  He  died  in  1820  ;  Linus  Gunn 
of  Bloomfield  was  a  son  of  his ;  another  son  was  an  early  tavern 
keeper  on  north  road  to  Canandaigua. 

As  early  as  1790  Daniel  Gates  located  in  the  town  of  Bloomfield, 
on  the  Honeoye  creek,  at  what  is  now  known  as  North  Bloomfield, 
and  erected  the  first  saw  mill  upon  that  stream.  Procuring  some 
apple  sprouts  from  the  old  Indian  orchard  at  Geneva  he  had  one  of 
the  earliest  bearing  orchards  in  the  Genesee  country,  His  youngest 
son,  Alfred  Gates,  now  resides  upon  the  old  homestead. 

Dr.  John  Barnes  was  an  early  physician,  remained  a  few  years, 
and  emigrated  to  Canada. 

Elijah  Hamlin,  Philo  Hamlin,  Cyprian  Collins,  Gideon  King,  Ben 
jamin  Chapman,  Joel  and  Christopher  Parks,  Ephraim  and  Lot  Rue, 
Alexander  Emmons,  Ashbel  Beach,  Nathan  Waldron,  Enos  Hawley, 
Timothy  Buel,  were  Pioneers  in  Bloomfield,  but  in  reference  to  them, 
the  author  as  in  many  other  instances,  has  to  regret  the  absence  of 
datas  to  enable  him  to  speak  of  them  beyond  the  mention  of  their 
names.  Elijah  Hamlin,  who  was  alive  a  short  time  since,  in  Mich 
igan,  if  alive  now,  is  the  only  survivor  of  them.  He  was  a  contrac 
tor  on  the  Erie  Canal,  at  Lockport,  in  1822.  Joel  Parks,  a  son  of 
one  of  those  named,  married  a  daughter  of  Dea.  Gooding  of  Bristol. 
He  was  a  pioneer  at  Lockport,  Niagara  county,  a  Justice  of  the 
peace  and  merchant ;  and  is  now  a  resident  of  Lockport  Illinois. 

Moses  Sperry  moved  from  Berkshire  to  Bloomfield,  in  March, 
1794,  with  his  wife  and  seven  children.  He  was  then  but  27  years 
old.  Remaining  in  Bloomfield  until  1813,  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  the  town  of  Henrietta,  when  settlement  had  but  first  com 
menced,  and  where  he  had  been  preceded  two  or  three  years  by 
some  of  his  sons.  He  died  in  the  town  of  Gates,  in  1826,  aged  62 
years.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  had  living,  12  children,  67 
grand-children,  and  7  great-grand  children ;  nine  of  the  sons  and 

NOTE.  —  Amos  Otis  Esq.  of  Perry,  "Wyoming  county,  who  has  furnished  the  author 
•with  some  interesting  reminiscences  of  the  early  settlement  of  his  present  locality,  a 
nephew  of  the  above  named  Daniel  Gates,  resided  with  him  as  early  as  1804.  He  was 
informed  by  his  uncle  that  he  ploughed  up  many  relics  in  the  earliest  years  of  settle 
ment  ;  among  which  was  a  sword  blade  about  two  feet  long,  and  a  brass  kettle.  The 
old  gentleman  also  informed  him  the  Indians  were  very  troublesome  previous  to  the 
Pickering  treaty ;  BO  much  so  that  they  would  enter  the  log  cabins  of  the  new  settlers, 
insolently  demanding  whatever  they  wanted  to  eat  or  drink.  Mr.  Otis  mentions  an 
additional  fact  that  the  author  has  learned  from  no  other  source,  that  in  the  height  of 
Indian  alarm,  the  new  settlers  erected  a  block  house,  upon  the  Ball  farm,  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town  of  Lima. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  191 

daughters  are  now  living.  The  mother  died  in  Randolph,  Cattara- 
gus  county,  in  1840,  aged  78  years;  the  eldest  son  at  Council  Bluff, 
on  his  way  to  Oregon,  in  1846.  The  history  of  this  family  furnishes 
a  remarkable  instance  of  the  spirit  of  enterprise  and  adventure  in 
herited  by  the  descendants  of  the  early  pioneers  of  the  Genesee 
country.  Residing  in  one  town,  in  1813,  in  1842  the  sons  and 
daughters  were  residents  of  five  different  States.  Nine  of  them 
are  now  living :  James  Sperry,  in  Henrietta,  a  well  known  surveyor, 
and  a  local  agent  of  the  Wadsvvorth  estate  ;  Moses  Sperry,  the 
present  Surrogate  of  Monroe  ;  Calvin  Sperry,  in  Gates,  Monroe 
county ;  Charles  Sperry  in  Quincy,  Illinois ;  George  Sperry  in 
Trumbull  county  Ohio.  A  sister  resides  in  Cattaragus  county; 
another  in  Akron,  Ohio ;  another  in  Missouri ;  another  in  Gates, 
Monroe  county. 

Mr  James  Sperry  having  kindly  furnished  the  author  with  some 
interesting  pioneer  reminiscences,  they  are  inserted  in  the  form 
adooted  in  other  instances. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  JAMES  SPERRY. 


Among  the  trials  of  the  first  settlers,  there  were  none  more  irritating  than 
the  destruction  of  sheep  and  swine  by  the  wolves  and  bears.  Often  whole 
flocks  of  sheep  would  be  slaughtered  in  the  night  by  the  wolves.  This  hap 
pened  so  frequently  that  those  who  determined  to  preserve  their  sheep,  made 
pens  or  yards,  so  high  and  tight  that  a  wolf  could  not  get  over  or  through 
them.  If  left  out  by  accident  or  carelessness,  they  were  almost  sure  to  be  at 
tacked.  The  state,  county  and  town,  offered  bounties,  in  the  aggregate, 
amounting  to  $20  for  each  wolf  scalp.  Asahel  Sprague  caught  ten  in  Bloom- 
field,  which  had  the  effect  to  pretty  much  stop  their  ravages  in  that  quarter. 

Bears  preyed  upon  the  hogs,  that  from  necessity  the  new  settlers  were 
oViged  to  let  run  in  the  woods  for  shack.  A.bout  two  years  after  we 
came  to  Bloomfield,  when  our  nearest  neighbor  was  a  mile  from  my  father's 
house,  one  dark  evening  in  October,  when  we  were  all  sitting  around  the 
table  pearing  pumpkins  to  dry,  (and  to  make  apple  sauce,)  we  were  suddenly 
started  by  a  loud  squeal  from  the  mother  of  the  grunters,  who  with  her  pro 
geny,  were  resting  in  a  hollow  log  in  the  woods.  My  father  having  no  am 
munition  for  his  old  French  gun,  seized  an  axe,  and  went  to  the  rescue,  un 
hindered  by  the  remonstrances  of  my  mother.  The  bear  fled  at  his  approach, 
bat  had  so  injured  the  hog  that  my  father  killed  her  and  dragged  in  the  carcass. 

It  was  not  uncommon  for  boys  to  see  bears  when  after  the  cows,  but  I 
think  no  one  of  the  early  settlers  received  any  injury  from  them,  unless  they 
had  first  been  wounded.  One  of  .the  Coddino-s,  in  Bloomfield,  came  pretty 


192  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

near  having  a  clinch  with  one,  while  in  the  woods,  splitting  rails.  Stooping 
down  to  pick  up  his  axe  to  cut  a  sliver,  he  turned  around  and  found  himself 
confronted  by  a  bear  standing  upon  its  hind  legs,  with  fore  paws  extended,  to 
give  him  a  hug.  He  declined  the  offer,  struck  the  bear  in  the  head  with  the 
axe,  but  making  a  glancing  stroke,  failed  to  penetrate  the  skull.  The  bear 
fled,  bearing  off  the  axe,  which  was  held  by  the  wounded  skin  and  flesh. 

Asahel  Sprague  shot  one  effectually  in  the  night,  while  he  had  hold  of  one 
of  his  hogs  in  the  fattening  pen.  James  Parker  drove  one  out  of  his  corn  field 
in  the  day  time,  followed  close  upon  his  heels,  and  broke  his  back  with  a 
hand-spike  as  he  was  getting  over  the  fence.  The  second  year  of  our  residence 
in  Bloomfield,  one  day  when  my  father  had  gone  to  training,  a  bear  came 
within  six  or  eight  rods  of  the  house  and  caught  a  hog.  My  mother  and 
eldest  sister  frightened  him  from  his  prey.  So  much  for  bear  stories,  and 
enough  perhaps,  though  I  could  tell  a  dozen  more  of  them. 

Among  the  pleasures  of  Pioneer  life,  there  was  nothing  I  used  to  enjoy 
more  than  to  see  the  flocks  of  deer  bounding  over  the  openings  when  we 
were  out  for  the  cows,  or  whenever  we  went  a  little  way  from  the  clearings. 
Many  enjoyed  the  sport  of  hunting  them,  and  some  were  successful  enough 
to  make  the  sport  profitable  ;  killed  enough  to  supply  themselves  and  their 
neighbors  with  meat,  and  themselves  with  breeches  from  the  dressed  skins. 
By  the  way,  I  would  remark  here,  that  at  that  early  day,  the  openings  about 
Bloomfield  were  so  clear  of  trees  and  bushes,  that  in  many  places  deer  would 
be  seen  from  a  half  to  three  quarters  of  a  mile  off.  The  openings  were 
burned  over  every  spring,  and  every  season  they  would  be  green  with  the 
tender  "  bent  grass,"  which  made  good  feed  for  the  cattle  and  deer.  In  a 
few  years,  however,  improvements  were  so  extended  that  the  inhabitants 
ceased  firing  the  openings,  and  soon  they  began  to  be  covered  with  oak  and 
hickory  bushes.  I  know7  of  two  localities  where  the  ground  was  free  from 
trees  or  bushes  fifty  years  ago,  that  would  produce  as  many  cords  of  wood 
now  per  acre,  as  the  heaviest  timbered  native  forests. 

Although  the  privations  of  the  first  settlers  were  numerous  and  hard  to 
bear,  having  often  to  go  without  meat  and  sometimes  bread  ;  obliged  to  go 
on  horseback  to  mill,  often  fifteen  and  twenty  miles  ;  to  go  with  poor  shoes 
and  moccasins  in  the  winter,  and  barefoot  in  the  summer ;  yet,  notwithstand 
ing  all  this,  to  their  praise  be  it  recorded,  they  showed  a  considerable  zeal  in 
the  support  of  schools  for  their  children.  When  our  family  arrived  in 
March,  1794,  there  was  a  school  in  the  north  east  corner  of  the  town,  near 
the  residence  of  the  Adams  and  Nortons,  kept  by  Laura  Adams.  Four  of 
the  oldest  of  our  family  entered  the  school  as  soon  as  we  arrived.  Heman 
Norton  and  Lot  Rue,  who  afterwards  "  went  through  college,"  were  mem 
bers  of  this  school.  The  next  spring,  a  seven  by  ten  log  school  house  was 
built  about  one  and  a  half  miles  south  west  of  the  centre,  where  a  school 
•was  kept  by  Lovisa  Post,  who  afterwards  married  William  H.  Bush,  and 
removed  to  Batavia,  *  During  the  summer  of  '95  and  '6,  Betsey  Sprague 

*  The  wife  'of  the  author  is  a  daughter  of  his.  After  leaving  Bloomfield  in  1606, 
he  built  mills  at  a  place  "which  took  his  name,  on  the  Tonawanda  Creek,  three  miles 
west  of  Batavia.  He  was  a  Pioneer  of  Bloomfield,  and  also  upon  the  Holland  Pur 
chase.  He  carded  the  first  pound  of  wool  by  machinery ;  dressed  the  first  piece  of 
cloth,  and  made  the  first  ream  of  paper  west  of  Calatkmia.  He  still  survives,  in  the 
78th  year  of  his  age. 


PIEELPS  AKD  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.  193 

kept  tliis  school.  There  was  then  but  two .  schools  in  the  town.  Miss 
Sprague  kept  the  same  school  in  the  winter  of  '96  and  '7.  My  eldest 
brother  and  myself  attended  this  school  in  the  winter,  walking  two  and  a  half 
miles  through  the  snow  across  the  openings  »  not  with  "  old  shoes  and  clout 
ed  "  on  our  feet,  but  with  rags  tied  on  them  to  go  and  come  in,  taking  them 
oft'  in  school  hours.  The  young  men  and  boys,  the  young  women  and  girls, 
for  three  miles  around,  attended  this  school.  John  Fairchild,  west  of  the 
Centre,  sent  his  children. 

ID  the  fall  of  '97,  a  young  man  with  a  pack  on  his  back,  came  into  the 
neighborhood  of  Gunn,  Goss,  King,  Larnberton,  and  the  Bronsons,  two  miles 
east  of  the  south  west  school,  and  one  mile  north  of  may  father's,  and  intro 
duced  himself  as  a  schoolteacher  from  the  land  of  steady  habits ;  proposing 
that  they  form  a  new  district,  and  he  would  keep  their  school.  The  proposi 
tion  was  accepted,  and  all  turned  out  late  in  the  season,  the  young  man  volun 
teering  his  assistance,  and  built  another  log  school  house  in  which  he  kept  a 
school  in  the  winter  of  '97  and  '8,  and  the  ensuing  winter.  The  school  was 
as  full  both  winters  as  the  house  could  hold.  Two  young  men,  John  Lam- 
berton  and  Jesse  Tainter,  studied  surveying  both  winters,  and  in  1800, 
Lamberton  commenced  surveying  for  the  Holland  Company,  doing  a  larger 
amount  of  SUIT  eying  upon  their  Purchase  than  any  other  man.  He  now 
lives  near  Pine  Hill,  a  few  miles  north  of  Batavia.  The  first  winter,  my 
father  sent  seven  to  this  school,  and  the  second  winter  eight.  In  this  school, 
most  of  us  learned  for  the  first  time  that  the  earth  was  round,  and  turned 
round  upon  its  axis  once  in  24  hours,  and  revolves  around  the  sun  once  a 
year.  I  shall  never  forget  the  teacher's  manner  of  illustrating  these  facts  :  — 
For  the  want  of  a  globe,  he  took  an  old  hat,  the  crown  having  "gone  up  to 
seed,"  doubled  in  the  old  limber  trim,  marked  with  chalk  a  line  round  the 
middle  for  the  equator,  and  another  representing  the  eliptic,  arid  held  it  up 
to  the  scholars,  with  the  "  seed  end  "  towards  them,  and  turning  it,  com 
menced  the  two  revolutions.  The  simultaneous  shout  which  went  up  from 
small  to  great,  was  a  "  caution'"  to  all  young  school  masters  how  they  in 
troduce  "  new  things"  to  young  Pioneers.  Although  the  school  master  was 
a  favorite  with  parents  and  pupils,  the  "  most  orthodox  "  thought  he  was 
talking  of  some  thing  of  which  he  knew  nothing,  and  was  teaching  for  sound 
doctrine  what  was  contrary  to  the  common  sense  of  all;  for  every  body 
knew  that  the  earth  was  flat  and  immovably  fixed,  and  that  the  sun  rose  and 
set  every  day.  That  teacher  finally  settled  in  Bloomfield,  was  afterwards 
many  years  a  Justice  of  the  Peace ;  for  one  term,  member  of  the  legislature ; 
and  for  one  term,  a  member  of  Congress;  now  known  as  Gen.  Micah  Brooks, 
of  Brook's  Grove,  Livingston  county. 

The  first  meeting  house  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  erected  in  Bloomfield, 
in  1801.  A  church  and  society  had  been  formed  some  years  before;  Seth 
Williston  and  Jedediah  Bushnell,  missionaries  from  the  east,  labored  occa 
sioually  and  sometimes  continually  in  Bloomfield,  from  1797  to  1800.  An 
extensive  revival  in  that  and  adjoining  towns  continued  under  their  labors  for 
several  years,  and  in  1801,  they  raised  a  large  meeting  house.  Robert 
Powers  was  the  builder.  Meetings  were  held  in  it  summer  and  winter,  when 
it  was  in  an  unfinished  condition,  and  without  warming  it,  until  1807  and  '8, 
when  it  was  finished;  Andrew  Colton  being  the  architect. 

Ancient  occupancy  was  distinctly  traced  at  the  period  of  early  settlement 


194      PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

in  Bloomfield.  On  the  farm  of  Nathan  Waldron,  and  on  others  contiguous, 
in  the  north  east  corner  of  the  town,  near  where  the  Adams,  Nortons  and  > 
Rues  first  settled,  many  gun  barrels,  locks  and  stock  barrels,  of  French  con 
struction,  and  tomahawks,  were*  plowed  up  and  used  for  making  or  mending 
agricultural  implements.  I  have  seen  as  many  as  15  or  20  barrels  at  a  time,  at 
Waldron's  blacksmith  shop,  while  he  and  David  Reese,  Lis  journeyman,  were 
working  them  np.  I  once  saw  Reese  pointing  out  in  the  roof  of  the  shop, 
the  effect  of  a  ball  fired  from  an  old  barrel  while  heating  it  in  the  forge ;  his. 
hearers  wondering  how  the  powder  retained  its  strength  for  so  long  a  period, 
the  barrel  having  lain  under  ground. 

There  were  many  old  Indian  burying  grounds  in  Bloomfield,  and  many  of 
the  graves  were  opened  in  search  of  curiosities.  In  some  of  them,  hatchets 
were  found,  but  generally  nothing  but  bones.  In  ploughing  the  ground, 
bones,  skulls,  and  sometimes  hatchets,  were  found.  The  stones  used  by  the 
Indians  for  skinning  their  game  and  peeling  bark,  were  found  in  various 
localities.  These  stones  were  very  hard,  worked  off  smooth,  and  brought 
down  to  an  edge  at  one  end,  and  generally  from  four  to  six  inches  long. 
Pestle  stones  used  for  pounding  their  com  were  frequently  found.  They 
were  from  one  to  one  a  half  feet  in  length,  round  and  smooth,  with  a  round 
point  at  both  ends,  something  like  a  rolling  pin ;  and  they  were  frequently 
used  by  the  settlers  for  that  purpose. 


The  venerable  Deacon  Stephen  Dudley,  who  settled  in  Bloomfield 
as  early  as  1799,  still  survives.  In  the  summer  of  1848  he  informed 
the  author  that  there  were  then  less  than  twenty  persons  living  in 
Bloomfield,  who  were  adults  when  he  came  there.  He  also  inform 
ed  the  author,  that  Gen.  Fellows  built  the  first  framed  barn  west  of 
Canandaigua;  and  as  an  instance  of  the  value  of  lands  in  an  early 
day,  he  related  an  anecdote :  —  Gen.  Fellows  Lad  no  building  spot 
on  the  road,  on  his  large  tract,  but  an  acre  of  land  on  a  lot  adjoin 
ing  was  desirable  for  that  purpose.  Proposing  to  buy  it,  he  asked 
the  owner  his  price,  who  replied : — "  I  declare,  General,  if  you 
take  an  acre  right  out  of  my  farm,  I  think  you  should  give  me  as 
much  as  fifty  cents  for  it." 

In  1798  a  second  religious  society  was  organized  in  Bloomfield, 
called  the  "North  Congregational  Society."  The  first  trustees 
were :  — Jared  Boughton,  Joseph  Brace,  and  Thomas  Havvley. 


MICAH  BROOKS. 


Micah  Brooks,  was  a  son  of  David  Brooks,  A.  M.,  of  Cheshire, 
Conn.     The  father  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College.     He  belonged 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE.      195 

to  the  first  quota  of  men  furnished  by  the  town  of  Cheshire  ;  en 
tering  the  service  first  as  a  private  soldier,  but  soon  becoming  the 
quarter  master  of  his  regiment.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legisla 
ture  of  Connecticut,  at  the  period  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne, 
and  a  delegate  to  the  State  Convention  that  adopted  the  U.  S.  con 
stitution  at  Hartford.  After  his  first  military  service,  he  alternated 
in  discharging  the  duties  of  a  minister  and  then  of  a  soldier  —  going 
out  in  cases  of  exigency  with  his  shouldered  musket ;  especially  at 
the  burning  of  Danbury  and  the  attack  upon  New  Haven.  After 
the  Revolution,  he  retired  to  his  farm  in  Cheshire,  where  he  died  in 
1802. 

Micah  Brooks,  in  1796,  having  just  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  set  out  from  his  father's  house  to  visit  the  new  region,  the 
fame  of  which  was  then  spreading  throughout  New  England.  Af 
ter  a  pretty  thorough  exploration  of  western  New  York,  he  returned 
to  Whitestown,  and  visited  the  country  again  in  the  fall  of  1797,  stop 
ping  at  Bloomfield  and  engaging  as  a  school  teacher ;  helping  to  build 
his  own  log  school  house.  DCP  See  reminiscences  of  Mr.  James 
Sperry.  Returning  to  Cheshire,  he  spent  a  part  of  a  summer  in 
studying  surveying  with  Professor  Meigs,  with  the  design  of  enter 
ing  into  the  service  of  the  Holland  Company.  In  the  fall  of  '98, 
he  returned,  and  passing  Bloomfield,  extended  his  travels  to  the  Falls 
of  Niagara  on  foot,  pursuing  the  old  Niagara  trail ;  meeting  with 
none  of  his  race,  except  travellers,  and  Poudry,  at  Tonawanda,  with 
whom  and  his  Squaw  wife,  he  remained  over  night.  After  visiting 
the  Falls  —  seeing  for  himself  the  wonder  of  which  he  had  read  so 
imperfect  descriptions  in  New  England  school  books,  he  went  up 
the  Canada  side  to  Fort  Erie,  crossing  the  river  at  Black  Rock. 
The  author  gives  a  graphic  account  of  his  morning' s  walk  from 
Black  Rock  to  where  Buffalo  now  is,  in  his  own  language,  as  he  is 
quite  confident  he  could  not  improve  it :  —  "  It  was  a  bright,  clear 
morning  in  November.  In  my  lonely  walk  along  the  bank  of  the 
Lake,  I  looked  out  upon  its  vast  expanse  of  water,  that  unstirred 
by  the  wind,  was  as  transparent  as  a  sea  of  glass.  There  was  no 
marks  of  civilization  upon  its  shores,  no  American  sail  to  float 
upon  its  surface.  Standing  to  contemplate  the  scene,  — -  here,  I  re 
flected,  the  goodness  of  a  Supreme  Being  has  prepared  a  new  crea 
tion,  ready  to  be  occupied  by  the  people  of  his  choice.  At  what 
period  will  the  shores  of  this  beautiful  Lake  be  adorned  with  dwel- 


196  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S 

lings  and  all  the  appointments  of  civilized  life,  as  now  seen  upon  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic  ?  I  began  to  tax  my  mathematical  powers  to 
see  when  the  east  would  become  so  overstocked  with  population, 
as  to  be  enabled  to  furnish  a  surplus  to  fill  up  the  unoccupied  space 
between  me  and  my  New  England  friends.  It  was  a  hard  question 
to  solve ;  and  I  concluded  if  my  New  England  friends  could  see 
me,  a  solitary  wanderer,  upon  the  shores  of  a  far  off  western  Lake, 
indulging  in  such  wTild  speculations,  they  would  advise  me  to  return 
and  leave  such  questions  to  future  generations.  But  I  have  often 
thought  that  I  had  then,  a  presentiment  of  apart  of  what  half  a 
century  has  accomplished."  Walking  on  to  the  rude  log  tavern  of 
Palmer,  which  was  one  of  the  then,  but  two  or  three  habitations,  on 
all  the  present  site  of  Buffalo,  he  added  to  his  stock  of  bread  and 
cheese,  and  struck  off  again  into  the  wilderness,  on  the  Indian  trail, 
—  slept  one  night  in  the  surveyor's  camp  of  James  Smedley,  and 
after  getting  lost  in  the  dense  dark  woods  where  Batavia  now  is, 
reached  the  transit  line,  where  Mr.  Ellicbtt's  hands  were  engaged  in 
erecting  their  primitive  log  store  house. 

Renewing  his  school  teaching  in  Bloomfield,  in  '99,  he  purchased 
the  farm  where  he  resided  for  many  years.  It  was  at  a  period  of 
land  speculation,  and  inflation  of  prices,  and  he  paid  the  high  price 
of  86  per  acre.  Boarding  at  Deacon  Bronson's  —  working  for  him 
two  days  in  the  week  for  his  board,  and  for  others  during  haying 
and  harvesting,  he  commenced  a  small  improvement. 

Returning  to  Connecticut,  he  kept  a  school  for  the  winter,  and  in 
the  spring  came  out  with  some  building  materials  ;  building  a  small 
framed  house  in  the  course  of  the  season.  In  1801  he  brought  out 
two  sisters  as  house  keepers,  one  of  whom  as  has  been  stated,  be 
came  the  wife  of  Col.  Asher  Saxton,  and  the  other Curtiss,  a 

settler  in  Gorham.  In  1802  he  married  the  daughter  of  Deacon 
Abel  Hall  of  Lyme,  Conn.,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Clark  Peck  of  Bloom- 
field. 

He  became  a  prominent,  public  spirited,  and  useful  Pioneer. 
Receiving  in  one  of  the  earliest  years  of  his  residence  in  the  new 
country,  a  military  commission,  he  passed  through  the  different  gra 
dations  to  that  of  Major  General.  Appointed  to  the  office  of  justice 
of  the  peace  in  1806,  he  was  an  assistant  justice  of  the  county 
courts  in  1808,  and  was  the  same  year  elected,  to  the  Legislature 
from  Ontario  county.  In  1800,  he  was 'an  associate  commissioner 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  19  Y 

with  Hugh  McNair  and  Mathevv  Warner,  to  lay  out  a  road  from 
Canandaigua  to  Olean  ;  and  another  from  Hornellsville  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Genesee  River.  In  the  war  of  1812,  he  was  out  on  the 
frontier  in  two  campaigns,  serving  with  the  rank  of  Colonel.  In 
1814  was  elected  to  Congress.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Convention  in  1822,  and  a  Presidential  Elector  in  1824.  He  was 
for  twenty  years  a  Judge  of  the  Ontario  county  courts. 

In  1823,  he  purchased  in  connection  with  Jellis  Clute  and  John 
B.  Gibson,  of  Mary  Jemison,  commonly  called  the  White  Woman, 
the  Gardeau  tract  on  the  Genesee  River.  Selecting  a  fine  portion 
of  it  for  a  large  farm  and  residence,  on  the  road  from  Mount  Mor 
ris  to  Nunda,  he  removed  to  it  soon  after  the  purchase.  The  small 
village  and  place  of  his  residence  is  called  "  Brook's  Grove. " 

Gen.  Brooks  is  now  75  years  of  age,  retaining  his  mental  facul 
ties  unimpaired ;  as  an  evidence  that  his  physical  constitution  holds 
out  well,  after  a  long  life  of  toil  and  enterprise,  it  may  be  remarked 
that  in  the  most  inclement  month  of  the  last  winter,  he  made  a  jour 
ney  to  New  England  and  the  city  of  New  York.  His  present  wife 
was  a  sister  of  the  first  wife  of  Frederick  Smith,  Esq.  of  Palmyra, 
and  of  the  second  wife  of  Gen.  Mills,  of  Mount  Morris.  His  sons 
are  Lorenzo  H.  Brooks,  of  Canadea,  and  Micah  W.  Brooks,  residing 
at  the  homestead.  A  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Henry  O'Rielly  Esq., 
formerly  the  editor  of  the  Rochester  Daily  Advertiser,  and  P.  M. 
of  Rochester ;  now  a  resident  of  New  York,  widely  known  as  the 
enterprising  proprietor  of  thousands  of  miles  of  Telegraph  lines  in 
different  States  of  the  Union ;  another,  is  the  wife  of  Mr.  George 
Elhvanger,  one  of  the  enterprising  proprietors  of  Mount  Hope  Gar 
den  and  Nursery ;  another  the  wife  of  Theodore  F.  Hall,  formerly 
of  Rochester,  now  of  Brook's  Grove.  He  has  two  unmarried 
daughters,  one  of  whom  is  a  well  educated  mute,  and  is  now  a 
teacher  in  the  deaf  and  dumb  institution  at  Hartford,  Conn. 

The  history  of  Micah  Brooks  furnishes  a  remarkable  instance  of 
a  man  well  educated,  and  yet  unschooled.  The  successful  teacher, 
the  competent  Justice  and  Judge  —  as  a  member  of  our  State  and 
National  councils,  the  drafter  of  bills  and  competent  debater  —  the 
author  of  able  essays  upon  internal  improvements,  and  other  sub 
jects —  even  now  in  his  old  age,  a  vigorous  writer,  and  a  frequent 
contributor  to  the  public  «press: —  never  enjoyed,  in  all,  a  twelve 
months  of  school  tuition !  The  small  library  of  his  father,  a  good 


198  PHELPS  AOT)  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 


native  intellect,  intercourse  with  the  world,  a  laudable  ambition  and 
self  reliance,  supplied  the  rest. 

The  original  purchasers  of  that  part  of  the  old  town  of  Bloom- 
field,  which  is  now  the  town  of  West  Bloomfield,  (or  10,560  acres  of 
it,)  were  Robert  Taft,  Amos  Hall,  Nathan  Marvin  and  Ebenezer 
Curtis.  All  of  these,  it  is  presumed,  became  settlers  in  1789,  '90  ; 
as  was  also  Jasper  P.  Sears,  Peregrine  Gardner,  Samuel  Miller, 
John  Algur,  Sylvanus  Thayer. 

Amos  Hall  was  from  Guilford,  Conn.  He  was  connected  with 
the  earliest  military  organizations,  as  a  commissioned  officer,  and 
rose  to  the  rank  of  Major  General,  succeeding  William  Wadsworth. 
At  one  period  during  the  war  of  1812,  he  was  the  commander-in- 
ch'ief  upon  the  Niagara  frontier.  He  also  held  several  civil  offices  ; 
and  in  all  early  years  was  a  prominent  and  useful  citizen.  He  died 
in  1827,  aged  66  years.  The  surviving  sons  are  :  —  David  S.  Hall, 
merchant,  Geneva  ;  Thomas  Hall,  superintendant  of  Rochester  and 
Syracuse  R.  Road  ;  Morris  Hall,  Cass  county  Michigan  :  Heman 
Hall,  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania.  An  only  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Josiah  Wendle,  of  Bloomfield. 

Gen.  Hall  was  the  deputy  Marshall,  and  took  the  U.  S.  census  in 
Ontario  county,  in  1790,  in  July  and  August,  it  is  presumed.  His 
roll  has  been  preserved  by  the  family,  and  will  be  found  in  the  Ap 
pendix,  (No.  9.) 


HONEOYE  —  PITTSTOWN-^NOW  RICHMOND. 

In  April,  1787,  three  young  men,  Gideon  Pitts,  James  Goodwin, 
and  Asa  Simmons  left  their  native  place,  (Dighton,  Mass.,)to  seek  a 
new  home  in  the  wilderness.  They  came  up  the  Susquehannah 
and  located  at  Newtown,  now  Elmira.  Here,  uniting  with  other 
adventurers  they  erected  the  first  white  man's  habitation  upon  the 
site  of  the  present  village  ;  and  during  the  summer  and  fall  planted 
and  raised  Indian  corn.  Returning  to  Dighton,  their  favorable  rep 
resentations  of  the  country  induced  the  organization  of  the  "  Dighton 
Company"  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  a  large  tract  as  soon  as 
Phelps  and  Gorham  had  perfected  their  title.  To  be  in  season,  Cal 
vin  Jacobs  vras  deputed  to  attend  the  treaty  with  Gideon  Pitts,  and 
select  the  tract.  As  soon  as  the  townships  were  surveyed,  the  com- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  199 

pany  purchased  46,080  acres  of  the  land  embraced  in  Townships  9 
in  the  3d,  4th,  and  5th  Ranges :  being  most  of  what  was  after 
wards  embraced  in  the  towns  of  Richmond,  Bristol,  and  the  fraction 
of  number  nine,  on  the  west  side  of  Canandaigua  lake,  The  title 
was  taken  for  the  company,  in  the  name  of  Calvin  Jacobs  and 
John  Smith. 

In  1789,  Capt.  Peter  Pitts,  his  son  William,  Dea.  George  Codding, 
and  his  son  George,  Calvin  Jacobs,  and  John  Smith,  came  via  the 
Susquehannah  route  to  the  new  purchase,  and  surveyed  what  is  now 
the  town  of  Richmond  and  Bristol.  One  of  the  party,  (the  Rev. 
John  Smith,)  on  their  arrival  at  Canandaigua,  preached  the  first 
sermon  there,  and  first  in  all  the  Genesee  country,  save  those 
preached  by  Indian  missionaries,  by  the  chaplain  at  Fort  Niagara 
and  at  Brant's  Indian  church  at  Lewiston.  The  lands  having  been 
divided  by  lottery,  Capt.  Pitts  draw  for  his  share,  3000  acres,  at 
the  foot  of  Honeoye  lake,  embracing  the  flats,  and  a  cleared  field 
which  had  been  the  site  of  an  Indian  village  destroyed  by  Sullivan's 
army. 

In  the  spring  of  .1790,  Gideon  and  William  Pitts  commenced  the 
improvement  of  this  tract.  Coming  in  with  a  four  ox  team,  they 
managed  to  make  a  shelter  for  themselves  with  the  boards  of  their 
sled,  ploughed  up  a  few  acres  of  open  flats,  and  planted  some  spring 
crops,  from  which  they  got  a  good  yield,  preparatory  to  the  coming 
in  of  the  remainder  of  the  family.  Withal,  fattening  some  hogs 
that  William  had  procured  in  Cayuga  county,  driving  them  in,  and 
carrying  his  own,  and  their  provisions  upon  his  back.  Capt.  Peter 
Pitts,  started  with  the  family  in  October,  in  company  with  John 
Codding  and  family.  They  came  from  Taunton  River  in  a  char 
tered  vessel,  as  far  as  Albany,  and  from  Schenectady  by  water, 
landing  at  Geneva.  The  tediousness  of  the  journey,  may  be  judged 
from  the  fact  that  starting  from  Dighton  on  the  llth  of  October 
they  did  not  arrive  at  Pitt's  flats  until  the  2d  day  of  December. 
A  comfortable  log  house  had  been  provided  by  Gideon  and  William. 
The  family  consisted  of  the  old  gentleman,  his  wife,  and  ten  children, 
besides  hired  help.  For  three  years  they  constituted  the  only  family 
in  town  ;  their  neighbors,  the  Wadsworths  at  Big  Tree,  Capt.  Taft 
in  West  Bloomfield,  and  the  Coddings  and  Goodings,  in  Bristol. 

The  House  of  this  early  family  being  on  the  Indian  trail  from 
Canandaigua  to  Genesee  river  —  which  constituted  the  early  trav- 


200  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

elled  road  for  the  white  settlers  —  "  Capt.  Pitts  "  and  "  Pitts  Flats  " 
had  a  wide  notoriety  in  all  primitive  days.  It  was  the  stopping 
place  of  the  Wadsworths  and  Jones,  of  Thomas  Morris  and  in 
fact  of  all  of  the  early  prominent  Pioneers  of  that  region.  Louis 
Phillipe,  when  from  a  wanderer  in  the  backwoods  of  America,  he  had 
become  the  occupant  of  a  throne,  remembered  that  he  had  spent  a 
night  in  the  humble  log  house  of  Capt.  Pitts.  The  Duke  Liancourt, 
strolling  every  where  through  this  region,  in  1795,  with  his  com 
panions  went  from  Canandaigua  to  make  the  patriarch  of  the  back 
woods  a  visit.* 

The  Indians  upon  their  trail,  camping  and  hunting  upon  their  old 
grounds,  the  flats,  and  the  up  lands  around  the  Honeoye  Lake 
were  the  almost  constant  neighbors  of  Capt.  Pitts,  in  the  earliest 
years.  Generally  they  were  peaceable  and  well  disposed ;  a  party 
of  them  however,  most  of  whom  were  intoxicated,  on  their  way  to 
the  Pickering  treaty  at  Canandaigua  in  1794,  attacked  the  women 
of  the  family  who  refused  them  liquor,  and  Capt.  Pitts,  his  son's 
and  hired  men,  coming  to  the  rescue,  a  severe  conflict  ensued. 
The  assailed  attacking  the  assailants  with  clubs,  shovels  and  tongs, 
soon  vanquished  them  though  peace  was  not  restored,  until  Hor 
atio  Jones,  fortunately  arriving  on  his  way  to  the  treaty,  interfered. 

The  first  training  in  the  Genesee  country  was  held  at  Captain 
Pitt's  house  ;  a  militia  company,  commanded  by  Captain  William 
Wadsworth ;  and  Pitt's  Flats  was  for  many  years  a  training  ground. 

Captain  Peter  Pitts  died  in  1812,  aged  74  years.  His  eldest  son 
Gideon,  who  was  several  times  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
a  delegate  to  the  state  convention  in  1822,  died  in  1829  aged  63 
years.  The  only  survivors  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Capt. 
Pitts,  are,  Peter  Pitts,  and  Mrs.  Blackmer.  A  son,  Samuel  Pitts 

*  The  Duke  has  made  a  record  of  it :  —  "  We  set  out  with  Blacons  to  visit  an  estate 
belonging  to  one  Mr.  Pitt,  of  which  we  had  heard  much  talk  through  the  countiy. 
On  our  arrival  we  found  the  house  crowded  with  Presbyterians ;  its  owner  attending 
to  a  noisy,  tedious  harangue,  delivered  by  a  minister  with  such  violence  of  elocution, 
that  he  appeared  all  over  in  a  perspiration."  [It  was  the  Rev.  Zadock  Huun.J  "We 
found  it  very  difficult  to  obtain  some  oats  for  our  horses  and  a  few  hasty  morsels  for  our 
dinner."  The  Duke  however  admired  the  fine  herd  of  cattle ;  and  with  characteristic 
gallantry,  adds,  that "  a  view  of  the  handsome  married  and  unmarried  women"  that  he 
saw  attending  the  meeting,  "  was  even  more  delectable  to  our  senses  than  the  fine 
rural  scenery"  Rev.  Zadock  Hunn,  who  was  not  so  fortunate  as  a  part  of  his  hearers 


house 

Canandaigua  and 

Bristol"     She  differs  with  the  Duke —  says  they  "used  to  have  good  meetings;  much 
better  ones  than,  we  do  now." 


PHELPS  AIST>  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  201 

was  an  early  and  prominent  citizen  of  Livonia.  The  descendants 
of  Capt.  Pitts  are  numerous.  Levi  Blackmer  settled  in  Pittstown 
in  '95,  is  still  alive,  aged  78  years,  his  wife,  (the  daughter  of  Capt. 
Pitts,)  aged  72.  In  the  summer  of  1848,  the  boy  who  had  driven 
an  ox- team  to  the  Genesee  country,  in  1795,  was  at  work  on  the 
highway. 

The  Duke  Liancourt,  said  that  Capt.  Pitts  had  to  u  go  to  mill  with 
a  sled,  twelve  miles  " ;  this  was  to  Norton's  Mills.  In  '98,  Thomas 
Morris  built  a  grist  and  saw  mill  on  the  outlet  of  Hemlock  Lake,  and 
in  1802  Oliver  Phelps  built  a  grist  mill  on  Mill  Creek. 

In  '95,  Drs.  Lemuel  and  Cyrus  Chipman,  from  Paulet,  Vermont, 
and  their  brother-in-law,  Philip  Reed,  came  into  Pittstown,  with 
their  families.  They  came  all  the  way  by  sleighing,  with  horse  and 
ox  teams.  The  teams  were  driven  by  Levi  Blackmer,  Pierce 
Chamberlain,  Asa  Dennison,  and  Isaac  Adams,  all  of  whom  became 
residents  of  the  town.  They  were  eighteen  days  on  the  road. 

Lemuel  Chipman  had  been  a  surgeon  in  the  army  of  the  Revolu 
tion.  He  was  one  of  a  numerous  family  of  that  name  in  Vermont, 
a  brother  of  the  well  known  lawyer,  and  law  professor  in  Middle- 
bury  College.  In  all  early  years  he  was  a  prominent,  public  spirited 
and  useful  helper  in  the  new  settlements  ;  one  of  the  best  specimens 
of  that  strong  minded,  energetic  race  of  men  that  were  the  founders 
of  settlement  and  civil  institutions  in  the  Genesee  country.  He  was 
an  early  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  a  judge  of  the  courts  of 
Ontario  county ;  was  twice  elector  of  President  and  Vice  President ; 
and  was  a  State  Senator.  Soon  after  1800,  he  purchased,  in  con 
nection  with  Oliver  Phelps,  the  town  of  Sheldon,  in  Wyoming 
county,  and  the  town  was  settled  pretty  much  under  his  auspices. 
He  removed  to  that  town  in  1828,  where  he  died  at  an  advanced 
age.  His  sons  were  Lemuel  Chipman  of  Sheldon,  deceased,  father 
of  Mrs.  Guy  II.  Salisbury  of  Buffalo ;  Fitch  Chipman  of  Sheldon ; 
and  Samuel  Chipman  of  Rochester,  the  well  known  pioneer  in  the 
temperance  movement — now  the  editor  of  the  Star  of  Temperance. 
A  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Dr.  Cyrus  Wells  of  Oakland  county, 
Michigan,  and  another  the  wife  of  Dr.  E.  W.  Cheney,  of  Canan- 
daigua. 

Dr.  Cyrus  Chipman  emigrated  at  an  early  period  to  Pontiac, 
Michigan,  where  he  was  a  Pioneer,  and  where  his  descendants 
principally  reside. 
13 


202  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

In  the  year  1796,  Roswell  Turner  came  from  Dorset,  Vermont, 
took  land  on  the  outlet  of  Hemlock  Lake,  cleared  a  few  acres,  built 
a  log  house,  and  in  the  following  winter  moved  on  his  family,  and 
his  father  and  mother.  The  family  had  previously  emigrated  from 
Connecticut  to  Vermont.  After  a  long  and  tedious  journey,  with 
jaded  horses,  they  arrived  at  Cayuga  Lake,  where  they  were  des 
tined  to  encounter  a  climax  of  hardship  and  endurance.  Crossing 
upon  the  ice  on  horseback,  a  part  of  the  family,  the  Pioneer,  his 
mother  and  two  small  children,  broke  through  in  a  cold  day,  and 
were  with  difficulty  saved  from  drowning  by  the  help  of  those  who 
came  to  their  rescue  from  the  shore.  Arrived  at  their  new  home, 
sickness  soon  added  to  their  afflictions,  and  two  deaths  occurred  in 
the  family  the  first  year.  The  residence  of  the  family  was  changed 
in  a  year  or  two  to  the  neighborhood  of  Allen's  Hill,  where  they 
remained  until  1804,  and  then,  as  if  they  had  not  seen  enough  of 
the  hardships  of  Pioneer  life,  pushed  on  to  the  Holland  Purchase, 
into  the  dark  hemlock  woods  of  the  west  part  of  Wyoming,  the 
Pioneer  making  his  own  road,  west  of  Warsaw,  thirteen  miles ; 
he  and  his  family  being  the  first  that  settled  in  all  the  region  west 
of  Warsaw,  south  of  Attica  and  the  old  Buffalo  road,  and  east  of 
Hamburgh;  —  pages  could  be  filled  with  the  details  of  the  hard 
ships  of  the  first  lonely  winter,  its  deep  snows,  the  breaking  of 
roads  out  to  Wadsworth's  Flats,  and  digging  corn  from  under  the 
snow  to  save  a  famishing  stock  of  cattle  too  weak  to  subsist  upon 
brouse,  and  other  incidents  which  would  show  the  most  rugged 
features  of  backwoods  life  ;  but  it  is  out  of  the  present  beat.  Ros 
well  Turner  died  in  1809.  His  sons  were,  the  late  Judge  Horace 
S.  Turner  of  Sheldon ;  the  author  of  this  work ;  and  a  younger 
brother,  Chipman  Phelps  Turner  of  Aurora,  Erie  county.  Daugh 
ters —  Mrs.  Farnum  of  Bennington;  Mrs.  Sanders  of  Aurora; 
and  the  first  wife  of  Pliny  Sexton,  of  Palmvra. 


PITTSTOWN  —  REMINISCENCES  OF  MRS.  FARNUM. 


I  nemember  very  well,  that  when  early  deaths  occurred  in  our  family,  no 
seasoned  boards  could  be  obtained  for  coffins,  short  of  taking  down  a  parti 
tion  of  our  log-liouse.  The  second  winter,  myselfj  a  sister,  and  young  bro 
ther,  went  to  school  two  miles  arid  a  half  through  the  woods,  into  what  is 
now  Livonia.  We  went  upon  the  old  Big  Tree  Road,  and  mostly  had  to 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.      203 

beat  our  own  path,  for  but  a  few  sleighs  passed  during  the  winter.     There 
was  but  one  family  —  that  of  Mr.  Briggs  —  on  the  way. 

I  think  it  was  in  the  summer  of  1802,  that  a  little  daughter  of  one  of  our 
neighbors,  Sewal  Boyd,  three  years  old,  was  lost  in  the  woods.  A  lively 
sympathy  was  created  in  the  neighborhood,  the  woods  were  scoured,  the  out 
let  waded,  and  the  flood  wood  removed ;  on  the  third  day,  she  was  found  in 
the  woods  alive,  having  some  berries  in  her  hand,  which  the  instincts  of 
hunger  had  caused  her  to  pick.  The  musquetoes  had  preyed  upon  her  until 
they  had  caused  running  sores  upon  her  face  and  arms,  and  the  little  wander 
er  had  passed  through  a  terrific  thunder  storm. 

The  Indians,  if  they  were  guilty  of  occasional  outrage,  had  some  of  the 
finest  impulses  of  the  human  heart.  The  wife  of  a  son  of  Capt.  Pitts,  who 
had  always  been  kind  to  them,  was  upon  her  death  bed ;  hearing  of  it,  the 
Squaws  came  and  wailed  around  the  house,  with  all  the  intense  grief  they 
exhibit  when  mourning  the  death  of  kindred. 

Upon  "  Phelps'  Flats,"  as  they  were  called,  near  the  Old  Indian  Castle, 
at  the  foot  of  Honeoye  Lake,  in  the  first  ploughing,  many  brass  kettles,  guns, 
beads,  &c.,  were  found.  An  old  Squaw  that  had  formerly  resided  upon  the 
Flats,  said  that  the  approach  of  Sullivan's  army  was  not  discovered  by  them 
until  they  were  seen  coming  over  the  hill  near  where  Capt.  Pitts  built  his 
house.  They  were  quietly  braiding  their  corn,  and  boiling  their  succotash. 
She  said  there  was  a  sudden  desertion  of  their  village ;  all  took  to  flight  and 
left  the  invaders  an  uncontested  field.  One  Indian  admitted  that  he  never 
looked  back  until  he  reached  Buffalo  Creek. 

In  the  earliest  years,  deer  would  come  in  flocks,  and  feed  upon  our  green 
wheat  ;  Elisha  Pratt,  who  was  a  hunter,  made  his  home  at  our  house,  and  I 
have  known  him  to  kill  six  and  seven  in  a  day.  Bears  would  come  and  take 
the  hogs  from  directly  before  the  doors  of  the  new  settlers — sometimes  in  open 
day  light.  I  saw  one  who  had  seized  a  valuable  sow  belonging  to  Peter 
Allen,  and  retreated  to  the  woods,  raising  her  with  his  paws  clenched  in  her 
spine,  and  beating  her  against  a  tree  to  deprive  her  of  life ;  persisting  even  af 
ter  men  had  approached  and  were  attacking  him  with  clubs. 

I  could  relate  many  wolf  stories,  but  one  will  perhaps  be  so  incredible  that 
it  will  suffice.  A  Mr.  Hurlburt,  that  lived  in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  was 
riding  through  our  neighborhood,  on  a  winter  evening,  and  passing  a  strip  of 
woods  near  our  house,  a  pack  of  wolves  surrounded  him,  but  his  dog  diverted 
their  attention  until  he  escaped.  While  sitting  upon  his  horse,  telling  us  the 
story,  the  pack  came  within  fifteen  rods  of  the  house,  and  stopping  upon  a 
knoll  almost  deafened  us  with  their  howl.  Retreating  into  the  woods  a  short 
distance,  they  seemed  by  the  noise  to  have  a  fight  among  themselves,  and  in 
the  morning,  it  was  ascertained  that  they  had  actually  killed  and  eat  one  of 
their  own  number!  * 

Capt.  Harmon,  built  a  barn  in  1802  or  '3 ;  at  the  raising,  an  adopted  son 
of  his,  by  the  name  of  Butts,  was  killed  outright,  and  Isaac  Bishop  was  stun- 
neJ,  supposed  to  be  dead.  He  recovered,  but  with  the  entire  loss  of  the  fac- 


*  This  is  not  incredible  ;  other  similar  cases  are  given  upon  good  authority.  Fam 
ishing,  ravenous ;  a  fight  occurs,  and  tasting  blood,  they  know  no  distinction  between 
their  own  and  other  species. — AUTHOR. 


204  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

ulty  of  memory.  Although  he  had  possessed  a  good  education,  he  had  lost 
it  all,  even  the  names  of  his  children,  his  wife  and  farming  utensils.  His 
wife  re-taught  him  the  rudiments  of  education,  beginning  with  the  ABC, 
and  the  names  of  things. 

Rattle  snakes  were  too  common  a  thing  to  speak  of;  but  we  had  a  few  of 
another  kind  of  snake,  that  I  have  never  heard  or  read  of,  elsewhere.  It  had 
a  horn  with  which  it  would  make  a  noise  like  the  rattle  of  a  rattle  snake. 


In  1796  and  '7,  Peter  Allen  and  his  family ;  his  brother  Nathaniel, 
and  the  father,  Moses  Allen,  became  residents  of  the  town.  The 
father  and  mother  died  in  early  years.  Peter  Allen  was  connected 
with  early  military  organizations,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  a  Brig. 
Gen.  He  was  in  command  of  a  Regiment  at  the  battle  of  Queens- 
ton,  in  which  he  was  made  a  prisoner ;  afterwards  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  from  Ontario.  [CP  See  Peter  Allen  and  "  Hen.  Fel 
lows,"  Hammond's  Political  History.  In  1816  he  emigrated  to  In 
diana,  becoming  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Terra  Haute  ;  a  por" 
tion  of  his  original  farm,  being  now  embraced  in  the  village.  He 
died  in  1837,  many  of  his  descendants  are  residents  of  Terra 
Haute.  Nathaniel  Allen  was  the  primitive  blacksmith  of  Pitts- 
town  ;  working  first  as  a  journeyman  in  Canandaigua,  and  then 
starting  a  shop,  first  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pitts  Flats,  and  after 
wards,  on  the  Hill,  that  assumed  his  name.  He  was  an  early  officer 
of  militia,  deputy  sheriff,  member  of  the  legislature.  In  the  war 
of  1812,  he  successively  filled  the  post  of  commissioner  and  pay 
master,  on  the  N  iagara  Frontier.  After  the  war,  he  was  sheriff  of 
Ontario  county,  and  in  later  years,  for  two  terms,  its  representative 
in  Congress.  He  died  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  in  1833,  where  he  was  a 
contractor  for  the  construction  of  the  canal  around  the  Falls  of  the 
Ohio.  Of  five  sons,  but  one  survives.  Dr.  Orrin  Allen,  a  resident 
of  Virginia.  An  only  daughter  was  the  first  wife  of  the  Hon.  R. 
L.  Rose,  who  is  the  occupant  of  the  homestead  of  the  family  on 
Allen's  Hill.  The  family  were  from  Dutchess  county.  The  daugh 
ters  of  Moses  Allen  became  the  wives  of  Elihu  GifFord,  of  Easton, 
Washington  county,  Samuel  Woodworth  of  Mayville,  Mont,  co., 
Samuel  Robinson  of  Newark,  Wayne  co.,  Fairing  Wilson,  of  Stock- 
bridge,  Mass.,  Roswell  Turner  of  Pittstown,  Ont.,  and  Stephen 
Durfee  of  Palmyra,  Wayne  county. 

Sylvester  Curtis  erected  the  first  distillery  in  town  ;  and  James 


PHELPS  AND  GOREAM'S  PURCHASE.  205 

Henderson  who  was  a  pioneer  at  the  head  of  Conesus  Lake,  was  an 
early  landlord  upon  the  Hill. 

David  Akin,  Wm.  Baker,  Thomas  Wilson,  James  Hazen,  Silas 
Whitney,  Cyrus  Wells,  the  Johnsons,  David  Winton,  Nathaniel 
Harmon,  William  Warner,  were  settlers  in  earliest  years. 

Philip  Reed,  who  came  in  with  the  Chiprnans,  died  about  twenty 
years  ago.  His  surviving  sons  are  Col.  John  F.  Reed,  Silas  Reed, 
Wheeler  Reed,  Wm.  F.  Reed,  and  Philip  Reed,  all  residing  on  and 
near  the  old  homestead. 

As  early  as  1796  or  '7,  Elijah  and  Stiles  Parker,  Elisha  Belknap, 
Col.  John  Green,  John  Garlinghouse,  became  residents  of  the  town. 
The  four  first  named,  emigrated  many  years  since  to  Kentucky,  and 
in  late  years  some  of  them  have  pioneered  still  further  on,  over 
the  Rocky  Mountains  to  Oregon.  Joseph  Garlinghouse,  a  son  of 
the  early  pioneer,  John  Garlinghouse,  an  ex-sheriff  of  Ontario 
county,  a  prominent  enterprising  farmer,  still  resides  in  Richmond. 
A  son  of  his  married  a  daughter  of  Erastus  Spalding,  the  early 
pioneer  at  the  mouth  of  Genesee  River ;  another,  the  daughter  of 
David  Stout,  a  pioneer  in  Victor  and  Perinton.  Daughters,  are 
Mrs.  Comstock,  of  Avon,  and  Mrs.  Sheldon,  of  Le  Roy.  Mrs.  Briggs 
and  Mrs.  Hopkins,  of  Richmond,  are  daughters  of  John  Garling 
house  ;  and  a  son  and  daughter  reside  in  Iowa. 

Asa  Dennison  who  is  named  in  connection  with  the  Chipmans, 
still  survives,  a  resident  of  Chautauque  county. 


GORHAM. 


In  all  of  the  old  town  of  Gorham,  at  first  Easton,  (what  was  is 
now  Gorham  and  Hopewell,)  a  few  settlers  began  to  drop  in  along 
on  the  main  road  from  Canandaigua  to  Geneva,  as  early  as  1790.  In 
July  of  that  year,  there  were  the  families  of  Daniel  Gates,  Daniel 

Warren,  Sweets, Platts,  Samuel  Day,  and  Israel  Cha- 

pin  jr.  who  had  commenced  the  erection  of  the  mills  upon  the 
outlet.  Mr.  Day  was  the  father  of  David  M.  Day,  the  early  ap 
prentice  to  the  printing  business  with  John  A.  Stephens  in  Canan- 
andaigua,  and  the  founder  of  what  is  now  one  of  the  prominent 
and  leading  newspapers  of  western  New  York,  the  Buffalo  Commer- 


206  PHELPS  AND    GOKHAM:S    PUKCIIASE. 

cial  Advertiser.  Daniel  Warren  emigrated  to  Sheldon,  now  Wyo 
ming  co.,  in  1810 or  '11,  where  he  died  within  a  few  years;  Pome- 
roy  Warren,  of  Attica,  Wyoming  co.,  is  a  son  of  his,  and  Mrs. 
Harry  Hamilton,  near  Little  Fort,  Illinois,  is  a  daughter. 

Daniel  Gates  and  his  son  Daniel  Gates  jr.  were  from  Stonington 
Conn.,  both  were  out  with  Mr.  Phelps  in  his  primitive  advent. 
They  purchased  land  in  Gorham,  paying  Is  6d  per  acre.  The  old 
gentleman  died  in  1831,  aged  87  years.  He  was  the  first  collector  of 
taxes  of  the  town  of  Gorham.  His  descendants  are  numerous,  a 
large  family  of  sons  and  daughters  becoming  heads  of  families. 
His  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Asahel  Burchard,  the  early 
pioneer  of  Lima ;  Asa  Benton,  Shubel  Clark  and  James  Wyckoff 
of  Gorham.  Daniel  Gates,  jr.  died  in  1812  ;  his  wife  was  a  sister  of 
the  wife  of  Major  Miller  the  early  pioneer  near  Buffalo,  and  of 
the  wife  of  Capt.  Follett ;  Daniel  Gates  of  Palmyra  is  a  son. 

Those  whose  names  will  follow,  were  all  residents  of  Gorham  as 

early  as  1796  or  '7:  —  James  Wood,  Perley  Gates, Ingalls, 

Frederick  Miller,  Silas  Reed,  Capt.  Frederick  Follett,  Lemuel, 
George,  Isaiah  and  William  Babcock ;  Joseph  and  James  Birdseye  ; 
John  Warren. 

Major  Frederick  Miller  left  Gorham  soon  after  1800,  and  was  a 
Pioneer  at  Black  Rock,  the  early  landlord  and  keeper  of  the  ferry 
at  that  point.  William  Miller  of  Buffalo,  is  his  son  ;  and  Mrs. 
Heman  B.  Potter  is  a  daughter.  Mrs.  Miller,  Mrs.  Follett  and 
Mrs.  Daniel  Gates,  jr.,  were  daughters  of  George  Babcock. 

Silas  Reed  died  in  1834,  at  the  age  of  76  years  ;  an  only  sur 
viving  son,  is  Seneca  Reed  of  Greece ;  a  daughter  became  the 
•wife  of  Levi  Taylor,  an  early  Pioneer  of  Lockport,  now  a  resident 
of  Ionia,  Michigan. 

Frederick  Follett,  in  1778,  was  among  the  border  settlers  of 
Wyoming  Valley.  In  company  with  Lieut.  Buck,  Messrs.  Stephen 
Pettibone  and  Elisha  Williams,  on  the  Kingston  side  of  the  river, 
within  sight  of  the  Wilkesbarre  Fort,  the  party  were  suddenly  at 
tacked  by  twenty  Indians.  Three  of  the  four  were  murdered  and 
scalped.  Mr.  Follett  was  pierced  by  two  balls,  one  in  either  shoulder, 
and  stabbed  nine  times  with  spears.  Still  having  consciousness,  he 
fell  on  his  face  —  being  unable  to  escape  —  held  his  breath  as  much 
as  possible,  and  feigned  death,  in  hopes  he  might  escape  further  muti 
lation  at  the  hands  of  his  ruthless  pursuers.  But  he  was  not  thus 


PHELPS  AND  GOPJIAM'S  PUECIIASE.  207 

to  be  spared.  The  Indians  came  up  to  him,  and  without  any  un 
necessary  delay  or  useless  ceremony,  scalped  him  as  he  lay  in  his 
gore  and  agony ;  and  but  for  the  approach  of  assistance  from  the 
fort,  would  no  doubt  have  ended  his  days  with  the  tomahawk. 
The  spear  wounds  were  severe  and  deep  —  one  of  which  penetra 
ted  his  stomach,  so  that  its  contents  came  out  at  his  side !  His 
case  was  deemed  hopeless,  but  kindness  prompted  all  the  aid  that 
medical  and  surgical  skill  could  afford.  He  was  placed  in  charge 
of  Dr.  William  Hooker  Smith,  who  did  all  in  his  power  to  save 
him  —  and  his  efforts  were  crowned  with  success,  and  he  became  a 
hearty  and  well  man.  He  was  then  young  and  full  of  vigor,  and 
never  experienced  any  particular  inconvenience  from  these  severe 
wounds,  except  occasional  pain  from  one  of  the  bullets,  which  was 
never  extracted  from  his  body,  and  extreme  sensitiveness  to  the 
slightest  touch,  or  even  the  air,  of  that  portion  of  the  head  from 
which  the  scalp  was  removed. 

He  afterwards  entered  the  naval  service  —  was  captured,  and 
taken  to  Halifax,  and  confined  in  a  dungeon  six  months ;  was  re 
leased  ;  entered  the  service  again,  and  was  twice  captured  by  the 
British,  and  eventually  returned  to  his  native  country,  to  Dalton, 
Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  from  whence  he  removed  at  an  early  day 
to  Gorham. 

It  is  a  somewhat  singular  coincidence  that  his  eldest  son  —  now 
dead  —  who  entered  the  naval  service  as  a  midshipman,  in  1812, 
was  captured  on  board  the  Chesapeake  in  her  engagement  with  the 
Shannon,  and  was  also  imprisoned  in  the  same  dungeon  six  months 
that  his  father  had  occupied  during  our  first  conflict  with  the  pow 
ers  of  England. 

••'  Capt.  Follett "  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  manuscripts  of 
Charles  Williamson,  and  would  seem  to  have  been  in  his  employ  as 
early  as  1794.  His  surviving  sons  are,  :  — Orrin  Follett,  an  early 
printer  and  editor  at  Batavia,  and  a  member  of  the  legislature  from 
Genesee  county,  now  a  resident  of  Sandusky,  Ohio;  his  second 
wife,  a  niece  of  James  D.  Bemis,  of  Canandaigua ;  Nathan  Follett 
of  Batavia  ;  and  Frederick  Follett,  of  Batavia,  the  successor  of  his 
brother,  as  a  printer  and  editor  —  for  a  long  period  honorable  asso 
ciated  with  the  public  press  of  the  Genesee  country  — and  at 
present,  one  of  the  Board  of  Canal  Commissioners  of  this  State ; 
having  in  immediate  charge  the  western  division  of  the  Erie  Canal, 


208  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECIIASE. 

and  the  Genesee  Valley  Canal.  A  son  of  his,  is  Lieut.  Frederick 
M.  Follett,  of  the  U.  S.  army,  a  graduate  of  West  Point ;  a  cir 
cumstance  worthy  of  mention,  as  the  patronage  of  that  national 
school  is  not  always  as  well  bestowed,  as  in  this  instance,  upon  the 
descendant  of  one  so  eminently  entitled  to  be  remembered  for  ser 
vices,  sacrifices  and  sufferings,  unparalleled  in  our  Revolutionary 
annals. 


BRISTOL, 


Gamaliel  Wilder  and  Joseph  Gilbert  were  the  Pioneers  of  Bris 
tol.  About  the  period  that  Mr.  Phelps  was  holding  his  treaty  with 
the  Indians,  in  1788,  they  located  at  the  Old  Indian  Orchard,  and 
commenced  improvements.  In  1790,  Mr.  Wilder  built  the  small 
Pioneer  Mill  that  has  been  often  named  in  other  connections.  He 
died  many  years  since.  Joseph  Gilbert  was  living  a  few  months 
since,  at  the  age  of  93  years ;  if  living  now,  he  is  the  oldest  sur 
viving  resident  of  the  Genesee  country. 

Deacon  William  Gooding  and  George  Codding  were  among  the 
few  who  wintered  in  the  Genesee  country  in  1789,  '90.  Both 
families  have  been  widely  known,  and  few  have  been  more  useful 
in  the  work  of  subduing  the  wilderness,  and  promoting  the  health 
ful  progress  of  religion,  education  and  sound  moral  principles.  The 
descendants  of  George  Codding  are  numerous,  and  mostly  reside  in 
the  early  home  of  their  Pioneer  ancestor.  William  T.  Codding  is 
the  only  surviving  son.  Ebenezer  Gooding,  of  Henrietta,  is  a  son 
of  the  early  Pioneer ;  another  son,  Stephen,  resides  in  Illinois. 
Deacon  John  Gooding,  another  son,  was  one  of  the  early  founders 
of  Lockport,  Niagara  county,  where  he  died  in  1838  or  '9. 

The  earliest  record  of  a  town  meeting  in  Bristol,  is  that  of  1797. 
In  that  year,  William  Gooding  was  chosen  Supervisor,  and  John 
Codding,  Town  Clerk.  Other  town  officers :  —  Fauner  Codding, 
Nathan  Allen,  Nathaniel  Fisher,  James  Gooding,  Jabez  Hicks, 
Moses  Porter,  Amos  Barber,  Alden  Sears,  jr.,  George  Codding, 
Stephen  Sisson,  Amos  Rice,  Ephraim  Wilder,  Nathan  Hatch. 
Peter  Ganyard,  Elizur  Hills,  Theophilus  Allen,  Elnathan  Gooding, 
John  Simmons.  Other  citizens  of  the  town  in  that  year,  were  :  — 
Daniel  Burt,  Moses  Porter,  Jonathan  Wilder,  Theophilus  Allen, 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUEcnASE.       209 

Elnathan  Gooding,  Chauncey  Allen,  Samuel  Mallory,  Ephraim 
Francis,  Seth  Hathaway,  Constant  Simmons,  James  Carl,  Zebulon 
Mark. 


MANCHESTER. 


Township  12,  R.  2,  originally  a  part  of  Farmington,  now  Man 
chester;  settlement  commenced  as  early  as  1793.  Stephen  Jared, 
Joel  Phelps,  and  Joab  Gillett,  were  the  first  settlers.  QCP  For 
Stephen  Phelps,  see  Palmyra.  Gillett,  in  early  years,  moved  to  No. 
9,  Canandaigua. 

Nathan  Pierce,  from  Berkshire,  was  a  settler  in  1795.  But  small 
openings  had  then  been  made  in  the  forest.  Mr.  Pierce  erected  a 
log  house,  had  split  bass  wood  floors,  no  gable  ends,  doors,  or  win 
dows  ;  neither  boards  or  glass  to  be  had ;  and  "  wolves  and  bears 
were  his  near  neighbors."  Coming  from  Parker's  Mills  through 
the  woods  at  night,  with  his  grist  on  his  back,  a  pack  of  wolves 
followed  him  to  his  door.  Brice  Aldrich,  a  Pioneer  of  Farmington, 
was  taking  some  fresh  meat  to  Canandaigua  on  horseback,  when  a 
wolf  stoutly  contended  with  him  for  a  share  of  it.  There  were 
many  Indian  hunters  camped  along  on  the  outlet ;  some  times  the 
whites  would  carry  loads  of  venison  to  Canandaigua  for  them, 
where  it  would  be  bought  up,  and  the  hams  dried  and  sent  to  an 
eastern  market.  Trapping  upon  the  outlet  was  profitable  for  both 
Indians  and  whites. 

Mr.  Pierce  was  supervisor  of  Farmington  for  fifteen  years,  and 
an  early  magistrate;  he  died  in  1814;  his  widow  is  now  living,  at 
the  age  of  87  years.  His  surviving  sons  are: —Nathan  Pierce, 
of  Marshall,  Michigan,  Darius  Pierce,  of  Washtenaw,  Ezra  Pierce 
of  Manchester.  Daughters  :  —  Mrs.  Peter  Mitchell,  of  Manches 
ter,  Mrs.  David  Arnold,  of  Farmington.  John  McLouth,  from 
Berkshire,  came  in  '95,  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Nathan  Pierce ; 
died  in  1820.  Joshua  Van  Fleet,  was  one  of  the  earliest;  was  an 
officer  of  the  Revolution,  a  member  of  the  legislature  from  Ontario ; 
a  judge  and  magistrate,  and  the  first  supervisor  of  Manchester. 
He  is  90  years  of  age,  a  resident  of  Marion,  Ohio.  First  merchant, 
Nathan  Barlow,  a  son  of  Abner  Barlow,  of  Canandaigua ;  resides 
now  in  Michigan.  First  physician,  James  Stewart.  Nathan 


210        PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Jones  came  in  1799,  died  in  1839 ;  Samuel  and  Nathan  Jones  are 
his  sons  ;  Mrs.  Dr.  Ashley,  of  Lyons,  and  Mrs.  Simmons  of  Phelps, 
are  his  daughters.  Jedediah  Dewey,  from  Suffield,  Conn.,  came 
in  '98,  is  still  living.  Hooker  and  Joseph  Sawyer,  were  early. 
Gilbert  Rowland,  a  brother  of  Job  Rowland,  of  Farmington,  set 
tled  in  Manchester  in  1800 ;  purchasing  a  large  tract  of  land.  The 
Rowlands  were  from  Berkshire ;  Gilbert  died  in  1830.  Nicholas 
Rowland,  of  Farmington,  and  Jonathan  Rowland  of  Adrian,  Mich 
igan,  are  his  sons.  Mrs.  Silas  Brown  of  Hamburg,  Erie  county,  is 
a  daughter. 

John  Lamunion,  came  in  early  years ;  was  from  Rhode  Island. 
He  died  ten  or  twelve  years  since.  His  wife,  who  was  the  widow 
of  Capt.  Follett,  died  two  or  three  years  since. 

Peleg  Redfield,  was  a  townsman  of  Mr.  Phelps  in  Suffield  ;  was 
a  musician  in  the  Connecticut  line  during  the  Revolution.  In  1799, 
he  exchanged  with  Mr.  Phelps,  his  small  farm  in  Suffield,  for  200 
acres,  wherever  he  should  choose  to  locate,  on  any  unsold  lands  of 
Mr.  Phelps.  He  selected  the  land  where  he  now  resides  on  the 
Rail  Road,  a  mile  and  a  half  wes*  of  Clifton  Springs  ;  (a  judicious 
selection,  as  any  one  will  allow,  who  sees  the  fine  farm  into  which 
it  has  been  converted ; )  clearing  three  acres  and  erecting  the  body  of 
a  log  house,  he  removed  his  family  in  Feb.  1800,  consisting  of  a  wife 
and  six  children.  "  The  journey,"  says  a  son  of  his,  "  was  perform 
ed  with  a  sleigh  and  a  single  span  of  horses.  Besides  the  family, 
the  sleigh  was  loaded  with  beds  and  bedding,  and  articles  of  house 
hold  furniture.  I  shall  never  forget  this,  my  first  journey  to  the 
Genesee  country,  especially  that  portion  of  it  west  of  Utica.  The 
snow  was  three  feet  deep,  and  the  horses  tired  and  jaded  by  the 
cradle-holes,  often  refused  to  proceed  farther  with  their  load.  I 
had  the  privilege  of  riding  down  hill,  but  mostly  walked  with  my 
father,  my  mother  driving  the  team." 

Arriving  at  their  new  home,  the  Pioneer  family  found  shelter  with 
a  new  settler,  "  until  the  bark  would  peel  in  the  spring,"  when  a 
roof  was  put  upon  the  body  of  the  log  house  that  Mr.  Redfield  had 
erected ;  openings  made  for  a  door  and  window,  and  bass-wood  logs 
^plit  for  a  floor.  Here  the  family  remained  until  autumn,  when  a 
double  log  house  had  been  erected.  Mr.  Redfield  is  now  in  his 
80th  year ;  his  memory  of  early  events,  retentive,  and  his  physical 
constitution  remarkable  for  one  of  his  years.  He  is  the  father  of 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PUECHASE.  211 

the  Hon.  Heman  J.  Redfield,  of  Batavia ;  of  Lewis  H.  Redfield, 
the  well  known  editor,  publisher,  and  bookseller  at  Syracuse  ;  Hiram 
Redfield  of  Rochester,  George  Redfield,  Cass  co.  Michigan,  Alex 
ander  H.  Redfield  of  Detroit,  Cuyler  Redfield,  with  whom  he  re 
sides  upon  the  old  homestead.  His  son,  Manning  Redfield,  of  Man 
Chester,  was  killed  in  a  mill  where  he  was  marketing  his  grain  in 
1850.  One  of  his  daughters,  was  the  wife  of  Leonard  Short,  of 
Shortsville,  and  the  other,  of  Marvin  Minor,  a  merchant  at  Bergen 
and  Johnson's  creek.  "  I  could  have  made  my  location  at  Fort 
Hill,  near  Canandaigua,"  said  the  old  gentleman  to  the  author,  "but 
a  town  was  growing  up  there,  and  I  feared  its  influence  upon  my 
boys."  There  are  many  Pioneer  fathers  who  have  lived  to  regret, 
that  they  had  not  been  governed  by  the  same  prudent  motive. 

The  Pioneer  mother  died  in  1844,  aged  80  years.  It  will  appeal 
incredible  to  the  house  keepers,  and  young  mothers  of  the  present 
day,  when  they  are  told,  that  Mrs.  Redfield,  in  early  years,  when 
she  had  a  family  of  six  and  seven  children,  performed  all  her  ordin 
ary  house- work,  milked  her  own  cows ;  and  carded,  cpun  and  wove, 
all  the  woolen  and  linen  cloth  that  the  family  \vore.  But  the  old 
gentleman  thinks  it  should  be  added,  that  he  and  the  boys  lightened 
her  labor,  by  uniformity  wearing  buckskin  breeches  in  the  winter ; 
though  the  mother  had  them  to  make. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  PELEG  REDFIELD. 


In  1800,  a  log  house  had  been  vacated;  we  fitted  it  up  and  hired  Elam 
Crane*  to  teach  a  school.  It  was  a  mile  from  my  house,  and  my  boys  used 
to  go  through  the  woods  by  marked  trees. 

In  early  years,  wolves  were  a  great  nuisance ;  nothing  short  of  a  pen  sixteen 
rails  high,  would  protect  our  sheep.  In  winters,  when  hungry,  they  would 
collect  together  and  prowl  around  the  log  dwellings ;  and  if  disappointed  in 
securing  any  prey,  their  howling  would  startle  even  backwoodsmen.  The 
Indian  wars  upon  the  wolf  with  great  hatred ;  it  is  in  a  spirit  of  revenge  for 
their  preying  upon  their  game,  the  deer.  In  the  side  hill,  along  on  my  farm, 
they  dug  pits,  covered  them  over  with  light  brush  and  leaves,  and  bending 
down  small  trees,  suspended  the  offals  of  deer  directly  over  the  pits.  In 
springing  for  the  bait  the  wolf  would  land  in  the  bottom  of  the  pits  where  they 
could  easily  be  killed.  The  salmon  used  to  ascend  the  Canandaigua  outlet, 
as  far  up  as  Shortsville,  before  mill  dams  were  erected.  The  speckled  trout 
were  plenty  in  tlie  Sulphur  Spring  brook ;  and  in  all  the  small  streams. 

*  Mr.  Crane  died  recently  in  south  Bristol  aged  83  years;  lie  came  to  the  Genesee 

country  in  1788. 


212  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

In  1805,  I  was  erecting  my  frame  house,  and  wanted  glass  and  nails.  I 
I  went  with  oxen  and  sled  to  Utica,  carrying  50  bushels  of  wheat.  I  sold  it  for 
$1,68  per  bushel,  to  Watts  Sherman,  a  merchant  of  Utica,  and  paid  18d  per 
pound  for  wrought  nails  ;  $7  50  for  two  boxes  of  glass.* 

It  was  pretty  easy  for  young  men  to  secure  farms,  in  the  earliest  years  of 
settlement.  I  knew  many  who  received  a  dollar  a  day  for  their  labor,  and 
bought  lands  for  twenty  five  cents  per  acre. 


A  Baptist  Church  was  organized  in  Manchester  in  1804;  the 
first  Trustees  were  :  —  Ebenezer  Pratt,  Joseph  Wells  and  Jeremiah 
Dewey.  This  was  the  first  legal  organization,  a  society  had  been 
formed  previous  to  1800.  Judge  Phelps  gave  the  society  a  site  for 
a  meeting  house,  and  in  1806  Deacon  John  McLouth  erected  a  log 
building.  In  1812  or  13,  the  stone  meeting  house  was  erected. 
Rev.  Anson  Shay  organized  the  church,  and  remained  its  pastor 
for  25  years ;  he  emigrated  to  Michigan,  where  he  died  in  1845. 
The  Methodists  had  a  society  organization  as  early  as  1800,  hold 
ing  their  primitive  meetings  in  school  and  private  houses. 

"  St.  John's  Church,  Farmington,"  (Episcopal,  at  Sulphur  Springs.) 
was  organized  by  the  Rev.  Devenport  Phelps,  in  1807.  The  offi 
cers  were  :  —  John  Shekels,  Samuel  Shekels,  wardens ;  Darius 
Seager,  William  Warner,  George  Wilson,  Archibald  A.  Beal,  Davis 
Williams,  Thomas  Edmonston,  Alexander  Howard,  William  Pow- 
ell.f 


GOLD  -  BIBLE  —  MOEM03TISM. 


As  we  are  now  at  the  home  of  the  Smith  family — in  sight  of  "  Mormon 
Hill" — a  brief  pioneer  history  will  be  looked  for,  of  the  strange,  and  singularly 
successful  religious  sect — the  Mormons ;  and  brief  it  must  be,  merely  starting 
it  in  its  career,  and  leaving  to  their  especial  historian  to  trace  them  to  Kirtland, 
Nauvoo,  Beaver  Island,  and  Utah,  or  the  Salt  Lake. 

Joseph  Smith,  the  father  of  the  prophet  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  was  from  the 
Merrimack  river,  N.  H.  He  first  settled  in  or  near  Palmyra  village,  but  as 

*Mr.  Redfield  has  preserved  his  store  bill.  It  is  made  out  and  signed  by  Henry 
B.  Gibson,  the  well  known  Canandaigua  Banker,  who  was  the  book  keeper  in  Sher 
man's  store. 

t  A  brother  of  the  early  Hotel  keeper  at  Geneva  The  two  brothers  had  erected  a 
public  house  at  the  Springs,  and  William  was  the  landlord, 


PHELP3  AND  GOEHAM's   PURCHASE.  213 

early  as  1819  was  the  occupant  of  some  new  land  on  "  Stafford  Street"  in  the 
town  of  Manchester,  near  the  line  of  Palmyra.*  "  Mormon  Hill "  is  near  the 
plank  road  about  half  way  between  the  villages  of  Palmyra  and  Manchester. 
The  elder  Smith  had  been  a  IJniversalist,  and  subsequently  a  Methodist ;  was 
a  good  deal  of  a  srnatterer  in  Scriptural  knowledge :  but  the  seed  of  revela 
tion  was  sown  on  weak  ground ;  he  was  a  great  babbler,  credulous,  not  espe 
cially  industrious,  a  money  digger,  prone  to  the  marvellous ;  and  withal,  a  lit 
tle  given  to  difficulties  with  neighbors,  and  petty  law-suits.  Not  a  very  pro 
pitious  account  of  the  father  of  a  Prophet, — the  founder  of  a  state;  but  there 
was  a  "  woman  in  the  case."  However  present,  in  matters  of  good  or  evil ! — 
In  the  garden  of  Eden,  in  the  siege  of  Troy,  on  the  field  of  Orleans,  f  in  the 
dawning  of  the  Reformation,  in  the  Palace  of  St.  Petersburgh,  and  Kremlin 
of  Moscow,  in  England's  history,  and  Spain's  proudest  era;  and  here  upon 
this  continent,  in  the  persons  of  Ann  Lee,  Jemima  Wilkinson,  and  as  we  are 
about  to  add,  Mrs.  Joseph  Smith !  A  mother's  influences ;  in  the  world's 
history,  in  the  history  of  men,  how  distinct  is  the  impress! — In  heroes,  in 
statesmen,  in  poets,  in  all  of  good  or  bad  aspirations,  or  distinctions,  that 
single  men  out  from  the  mass,  and  give  them  notoriety ;  how  often,  almost  in 
variably,  are  we  led  back  to  the  influences  of  a  mother,  to  find  the  germ  that 
has  sprouted  in  the  offspring. 

The  reader  will  excuse  this  interruption  of  narrative,  and  be  told  that  Mrs. 
Smith  was  a  woman  of  strong  uncultivated  intellect ;  artful  and  cunning ;  im 
bued  with  an  illy  regulated  religious  enthusiasm.  The  incipient  hints,  the 
first  givings  out  that  a  Prophet  was  to  spring  from  her  humble  household, 
came  from  her ;  and  when  matters  were  maturing  for  denouement,  she  gave 
out  that  such  and  such  ones — always  fixing  upon  those  who  had  both  money 
and  credulity — were  to  be  instruments  in  some  gre%c  work  of  new  revelation. 
The  old  man  was  rather  her  faithful  co-worker,  or  executive  exponent.  Their 
son,  Alvah,  was  originally  intended,  or  designated,  by  fireside  consultations, 
and  solemn  and  mysterious  out  door  hints,  as  the  forth  coming  Prophet.  The 
mother  and  the  father  said  he  was  the  chosen  one ;  but  Alvah,  however  spir 
itual  he  may  have  been,  had  a  carnal  appetite ;  eat  too  many  green  turnips, 
sickened  and  died.  Thus  the  world  lost  a  Prophet,  and  Mornionism  a  leader ; 
the  designs  impiously  and  wickedly  attributed  to  Providence,  defeated ;  and 
all  in  consequence  of  a  surfeit  of  raw  turnips.  Who  will  talk  of  the  cackling 
geese  of  Rome,  or  any  other  small  and  innocent  causes  of  mighty  events,  af 
ter  this?  The  mantle  of  the  Prophet  which  Mis.  and  Mr.  Joseph  Smith  and 
one  Oliver  Cowdery,  had  wove  of  themselves — every  thread  of  it — -fell  upon 
their  next  eldest  son,  Joseph  Smith,  Jr. 

And  a  most  unpromising  recipient  of  such  a  trust,  was  this  same  Joseph 
Smith,  Jr.,  afterwards,  "  Jo.  Smith."  He  was  lounging,  idle;  (not  to  say 
vicious,)  and  possessed  of  less  than  ordinary  intellect.  The  author's  own  re 
collections  of  him  are  distinct  ones.  He  used  to  come  into  the  village  of 
Palmyra  with  little  jags  of  wood,  from  his  backwoods  home ;  sometimes  pat 
ronizing  a  village  grocery  too  freely ;  sometimes  find  an  odd  job  to  do  about 

*  Here  the  author  remembers  to  have  first  seen  the  family,  in  the  winter  of  '19,  '20, 
in  a  rude  log  house,  with  but  a  small  spot  underbrushed  around  it 

t  France. 


214  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  store  of  Seymour  Scovell ;  and  once  a  week  he  would  stroll  into  the  office 
of  the  old  Palmyra  Register, 'for  his  father's  paper.  How  impious,  in  us  young 
"  dare  Devils"  *  to  once  and  a  while  blacken  the  face  of  the  then  meddling 
inquisitive  lounger — but  afterwards  Prophet,  with  the  old  fashioned  balls, 
when  he  used  to  put  himself  in  the  way  of  the  working  of  the  old  fashioned 
Rarnage  press !  The  editor  of  the  Cultivator,  at  Albany — esteemed  as  he 
may  justly  consider  himself,  for  his  subsequent  enterprize  and  usefulness,  may 
think  of  it,  with  contrition  and  repentance ;  that  he  once  helped,  thus  to  dis 
figure  the  face  of  a  Prophet,  and  remotely,  the  founder  of  a  State. 

But  Joseph  had  a  little  ambition;  and  some  very  laudable  aspirations;  the 
mother's  intellect  occasionally  shone  out  in  him  feebly,  especially  when  he 
used  to  help  us  solve  some  portentous  questions  of  moral  or  political  ethics, 
in  our  juvenile  debating  club,  which  we  moved  down  to  the  old  red  school 
house  on  Durfee  street,  to  get  rid  of  the  annoyance  of  critics  that  used  to  drop 
in  upon  us  in  the  village;  and  subsequently,  after  catching  a  spark  of  Metho 
dism  in  the  camp  meeting,  away  down  in  the  woods,  on  the  Vienna  read,  ho 
was  a  very  passable  exhorter  in  evening  meetings. 

Legends  of  hidden  treasure,  had  long  designated  Mormon  Hill  as  the  de 
pository.  Old  Joseph  had  dug  there,  and  young  Joseph  had  not  only  heard 
his  father  and  mother  relate  the  marvelous  tales  of  buried  wealth,  but  had  ac 
companied  his  father  in  the  midnight  delvings,  and  incantations  of  the  spirits 
that  guarded  it. 

If  a  buried  revelation  was  to  be  exhumed,  how  natural  was  it  that  the  Smith 
family,  with  their  credulity,  and  their  assumed  presentiment  that  a  Prophet 
was  to  come  from  their  household,  should  be  connected  with  it ;  and  that 
Mormon  Hill  was  the  place  where  it  would  be  found. 

It  is  believed  by  those  w"ho  were  best  acquainted  with  the  Smith  family, 
and  most  conversant  with  all  the  Gold  Bible  movements,  that  there  is  no 
foundation  for  the  statement  that  their  original  manuscript  was  written  by  a< 
Mr.  Spaulding,  of  Ohio.  A  supplement  to  the  Gold  Bible,  "  The  Book  of 
Commandments"  in  all  probability,  was  written  by  Rigdon,  and  he  may  have 
been  aided  by  Spaulding's  manuscripts;  but  the  book  itself  is  without  doubt, 
a  production  of  the  Smith  family,  aided  by  Oliver  Cowdery,  who  was  a  school 
teacher  on  Stafford  street,  an  intimate  of  the  Smith  family,  and  identified 
with  the  whole  matter.  The  production  as  all  will  conclude,  who  have  read 
it,  or  even  given  it  a  cursory  review,  is  not  that  of  an  educated  man  or  wo 
man.  The  bungling  attempt  to  counterfeit  the  style  of  the  Scriptures;  the 
intermixture  of  modern  phraseology ;  theignorraicc  of  chronology  arid  geogra 
phy;  its  utter  crudeness  and  baldness,  as  a  whole,  stamp  its  character,  and 
clearly  exhibits  its  vulgar  origin.  It  is  a  strange  medley  of  scriptures,  romance, 
and  bad  composition. 

The  primitive  designs  of  Mrs.  Smith,  her  husband,  Jo  and  Cowdery,  was 
money-making ;  blended  with  which  perhaps,  was  a  desire  for  notoriety,  to  be 
obtained  by  a  cheat  and  a  fraud.  The  idea  of  being  the  founders  of  a  new  sect, 
was  an  after  thought,  in  which  they  were  aided  by  others. 


*  To  soften  the  use  of  such  an  expression,  the  reader  should  be  reminded  that  ap 
prentices  in  printing  offices  have  since  the  days  of  Faust  and  Gottcnberg,  been  thus 
called,  and  sometimes  it  was  not  inappropriate. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  215 

The  projectors  of  tlie  humbug,  being  destitute  of  means  for  carrying  out 
their  plans,  a  victim  was  selected  to  obviate  that  difficulty.  Martin  Harris, 
was  a  farmer  of  Palmyra,  the  owner  of  a  good  farm,  and  an  honest  worthy 
citizen ;  but  especially  given  to  religious  enthusiasm,  new  creeds,  the  more 
extravagant  the  better ;  a  monomaniac,  in  fact.  Joseph  Smith  upon  whom 
the  mantle  of  prophecy  had  fallen  after  the  sad  fate  of  Alva,  began  to  make 
demonstrations.  He  informed  Harris  of  the  great  discovery,  and  that  it  had 
been  revealed  to  him,  that  he  (Harris,)  was  a  chosen  instrument  to  aid  in  the 
great  work  of  surprising  the  world  with  a  new  revelation.  They  had  hit  up 
on  the  right  man.  He  mortgaged  his  fine  farm  to  pay  for  printing  the  book, 
assumed  a  grave,  mysterious,  ancl  unearthly  deportment,  and  made  he're  and 
there  among  his  acquaintances  solemn  annunciations  of  the  great  event  that 
was  transpiring.  His  version  of  the  discovery,  as  communicated  to  him  by 
the  Prophet  Joseph  himself,  is  well  remembered  by  several  respectable  citi 
zens  of  Palmyra,  to  whom  he  made  early  disclosures.  It  was  in  substance,  as 
follows : 

The  Prophet  Joseph,  was  directed  by  an  angel  where  to  find,  by  excava 
tion,  at  the  place  afterwards  called  Mormon  Hill,  the  gold  plates ;  and  was 
compelled  by  the  angel,  much  against  his  will,  to  be  the  interpreter  of  the  sa 
cred  record  they  contained,  and  publish  it  to  the  world.  That  the  plates 
contained  a  record  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  country,  "engraved  by 
Mormon,  the  son  of  Nephi."  That  on  the  top  of  the  box  containing  the  plates, 
"  a  pair  of  large  spectacles  were  found,  the  stones  or  glass  set  in  which  were 
opaque  to  all  but  the  Prophet,"  that  "  these  belonged  to  Mormon,  the  engra 
ver  of  the  plates,  and  without  them,  the  plates  could  not  be  read."  Hams  as 
sumed,  that  himself  and  Cowdery  were  the  chosen  amanuenses,  and  that  the 
Prophet  Joseph,  curtained  from  the  world  and  them,  with  his  spectacles,  read 
from  the  gold  plates  what  they  committed  to  paper.  Harris  exhibited  to  an 
informant  of  the  author,  the  manuscript  title  page.  On  it  were  drawn,  rudely 
and  bunglingly,  concentric  circles,  between  above  and  below  which  were  char 
acters,  with  little  resemblance  to  letters ;  apparently  a  miserable  imitation  of 
hieroglyphics,  the  writer  may  have  somewhere  seen.  To  guai'd  against  pro 
fane  curiosity,  the  Prophet  had  given  out  that  no  one  but  himself,  not  even 
his  chosen  co-operators,  must  be  permitted  to  see  them,  on  pain  of  instant 
death.  Harris  had  never  seen  the  plates,  but  -the  glowing  account  of  their 
massive  richness  excited  other  than  spiritual  hopes,  and  he  upon  one  occasion, 
irot  a  village  silver-smith  to  help  him  estimate  their  value;  taking  as  a  basis, 
the  Prophet's  account  of  their  dimensions.  It  was  a  blending  of  the  spiritual 
and  utilitarian,  that  threw  a  shadow  of  doubt  upon  Martin's  sincerity.  This, 
and  some  anticipations  he  indulged  in,  as  to  the  profits  that  would  arise  from 
the  sale  of  the  Gold  Bible,  made  it  then,  as  it  is  now,  a  mooted  question, 
whether  he  was  altogether  a  dupe. 

The  wife  of  Harris  was  a  rank  infidel  and  heretic,  touching  the  whole  thing, 
and  decidedly  opposed  to  her  husband's  participation  in  it.  With  sacriligious 
hands,  she  seized  over  an  hundred  <5f  the  manuscript  pages  of  the  new  reve 
lation,  and  burned  or  secreted  them.  It  was  agreed  by  the  Smith  family, 
Cowdery  and  Harris,  not  to  transcribe  these  again,  but  to  let  so  much  of  the 
new  revelation  drop  out,  as  the  "  evil  spirit  would  get  up  a  story  that  the 
second  translation  did  not  agree  with  the  first."  A  very  ingenious  method, 
•surely,  of  guarding  against  the  possibility  that  Mrs.  Harris  had  preserved  the 


216  JPHELPS  A:ND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

manuscript  with  which  they  might  be  confronted,  should  they  attempt  an  im 
itation  of  their  own  miserable  patchwork. 

The  Prophet  did  not  get  his  lesson  well  upon  the  start,  or  the  household  of 
impostors  were  in  the  fault.  After  he  had  told  his  story,  in  his  absence,  the 
rest  of  the  family  made  a  new  version  of  it  to  one  of  their  neighbors.  They 
shewed  him  such  a  pebble  as  may  any  day  be  picked  up  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Ontario — the  common  horn  blend — carefully  wrapped  in  cotton,  and 
kept  in  a  mysterious  box.  They  said  it  was  by  looking  at  this  stone,  in  a 
hat,  the  light  excluded,  that  Joseph  discovered  the  plates.  This  it  will  be  ob 
served,  differs  materially  from  Joseph's  story  of  the  angel.  It  was  the  same 
stone  the  Smiths'  had  used  in  money  digging,  and  in  some  pretended  discov 
eries  of  stolen  property. 

Long  before  the  Gold  Bible  demonstration,  the  Smith  family  had  with  some 
sinister  object  in  view,  whispered  another  fraud  in  the  ears  of  the  credulous. 
They  pretended  that  in  digging  for  money,  at  Mormon  Hill,  they  came  across  "a 
chest,  three  by  two  feet  in  size,  covered  with  a  dark  colored  stone.  In  the 
centre  of  the  stone  was  a  white  spot  about  the  size  of  a  sixpence.  Enlarg 
ing,  the  spot  increased  to  the  size  of  a  twenty  four  pound  shot  and  then  explo 
ded  with  a  terrible  noise.  The  chest  vanished  and  all  was  utter  darkness. " 

It  may  be  safely  presumed  that  in  no  other  instance  have  Prophets  and  the 
chosen  and  designated  of  angels,  been  quite  as  calculating  and  worldly  as  were 
those  of  Stafford  street,  Mormon  Hill,  and  Palmyra.  The  only  business  con 
tract  —  veritable  instrument  in  writing,  that  was  ever  executed  by  spiritual 
agents,  has  been  preserved,  and  should  be  among  the  archives  of  the  new 
state  of  Utah.  It  is  signed  by  the  Prophet  Joseph  himself,  and  witnessed 
by  Oliver  Cowdery,  and  secures  to  Martin  Harris,  one  half  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  sale  of  the  Gold  Bible  until  he  was  fully  reimbursed  in  the  sum  of  $2,500, 
the  cost  of  printing. 

The  after  thought  that  has  been  alluded  to  ;  the  enlarging  of  original  in 
tentions  ;  was  at  the  suggestion  of  Sidney  Rigclon,  of  Ohio,  who  made  his 
appearance,  and  blended  himself  with  the  poorly  devised  scheme  of  impos 
ture  about  the  time  the  book  was  issued  from  the  press.  He  unworthily  bore 
the  title  of  a  Baptist  elder,  but  had  by  some  previous  freak,  if  the  author  is 
rightly  informed,  forfeited  his  standing  with  that  respectable  religious  denom 
ination.  Designing,  ambitious,  and  dishonest,  under  the  semblance  of  sanc 
tity  and  assumed  spirituality,  he  was  just  the  man  for  the  uses  of  the  Smith 
household  and  their  half  dupe  and  half  designing  abettors  ;  and  they  were 
just  the  fit  instruments  he  desired.  He  became  at  once  the  Hamlet,  or  more 
appropriately  perhaps,  the  Mawworm  of  the  play.  Like  the  veiled  Prophet 
Mokanna,  he  may  be  supposed  thus  to  have  soliloquised  :  — 

"  Ye  too,  believers  of  incredible  creeds, 
Whose  faith  enshrines  the  monsters  which  it  breeds ; 
Who  bolder,  even  than  Nimrod,  think  to  rise 
By  nonsense  heaped  on  nonsense  to  the  skies ; 
Ye  shall  have  miracles,  aye,  sound  ones  too, 
Seen,  heard,  attested,  every  thing  but  true. 
Your  preaching  zealots,  too  inspired  to  seek 
One  grace  of  meaning  for  the  things  they  speak ; 
Your  martyrs  ready  to  shed  out  their  blood 


PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  217 

For  truths  too  heavenly  to  be  understood ;" 

*  *  *  * 

• 

"  They  shall  have  mysteries — aye,  precious  stuff 
For  knaves  to  thrive  by — mysteries  enough ; 
Dark  tangled  doctrines,  dark  as  fraud  can  weave, 
"Which  simple  votaries  shall  on  trust  receive, 
While  craftier  feign  belief,  'till  they  believe." 

Under  the  auspices  of  Rigdon,  a  new  sect,  the  Mormons,  was  projected, 
prophecies  fell  thick  and  fast  from  the  lips  of  Joseph  ;  old  Mrs.  Smith  assum 
ed  all  the  airs  of  the  mother  of  a  Prophet  ;  that  particular  family  of 
Smiths  were  singled  out  and  became  exalted  above  all  their  log-ion  of  name 
sakes.  The  bald,  clumsy  cheat,  found  here  and  there  an  enthusiast,  a  mo 
nomaniac  or  a  knave,  in  and  around  its  primitive  locality,  to  help  it  upon  its 
start  ;  and  soon,  like  another  scheme  of  imposture,  (that  had  a  little  of  dig 
nity  and  plausibility  in  it,)  it  had  its  Hegira,  or  flight,  to  Kirtland;  then  to 
Nauvo  ;  then  to  a  short  resting  place  in  Missouri — and  then  on  over  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  Utah,  or  the  Salt  Lake.  Banks,  printing  offices,  tem 
ples,  cities,  and  finally  a  State,  have  arisen  under  its  auspices.  Converts  have 
multiplied  to  tens  of  thousands.  In  several  of  the  countries  of  Europe  there 
are  preachers  and  organized  sects  of  Mormons  ;  believers  in  the  divine  mission 
of  Joseph  Smith  &  Co. 

And  here  the  subject  must  be  dismissed.  If  it  has  been  treated  lightly  — - 
with  a  seeming  levity  —  it  is  because  it  will  admit  of  no  other  treatment. 
There  is  no  dignity  about  the  whole  thing  ;  nothing  to  entitle  it  to  mild 
treatment.  It  deserves  none  of  the  charity  extended  to  ordinary  religious 
fanatacism,  for  knavery  and  fraud  has  been  with  it  incipiently  and  progress 
ively.  It  has  not  even  the  poor  merit  of  ingenuity.  Its  success  is  a  slur  upon 
the  age.  Fanaticism  promoted  it  at  first  ;  then  ill  advised  persecution  ; 
then  the  designs  of  demagogues  who  wished  to  command  the  suffrages  of ' 
its  followers  ;  until  finally  an  American  Congress  has  abetted  the  fraud  and 
imposition  by  its  acts,  and  we  are  to  have  a  state  of  our  proud  Union  — 
in  this  boasted  era  of  light  and  knowledge  —  the  very  name  of  which  will 
sanction  and  dignify  the  fraud  and  falsehood  of  Mormon  Hill,  the  gold  plates, 
and  the  spurious  revelation.  This  much,  at  least,  might  have  been  omitted 
out  of  decent  respect  to  the  moral  and  religious  sense  of  the  people  of  tha 
old  states. 


FARMINGTON. 


Township  No.  11,  R.  3,  (now  Farmin^ton,)  was  the  first  sab  of 
Phelps  and  Gorham.  The  purchasers  were  :  —  Nathan  Comstock, 
Benjamin  Russell,  Abraham  Lapham,  Edmund  Jenks,  Jeremiah 
Brown,  Ephraim  Fish,  Nathan  Herendeen,  Nathan  Aldrich,  Ste 
phen  Smith,  Benjamin  Rickenson,  William  Baker  and  Dr.  Daniel 
Brown.  The  deed  was  given  to  Nathan  Comstock,  and  Benjamin 
14 


218  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Russell ;  all  except  Russell,  Jenks,  J.  Brown,  Fish,  Rickenson,  Ba 
ker  and  Smith,  became  residents  upon  the  purchase.  In  1789,. Na 
than  Comstock,  with  two  sons,  Otis  and  Darius,  and  Robert  Hatha 
way,  came  from  Adams,  Berkshire  county,  Mass. ;  a  part  of  them  by 
the  water  route,  landing  at  Geneva,  with  their  provisions,  and  a 
part  by  land  with  a  horse  and  some  cattle.  When  the  overland 
party  had  arrived  within  15  miles  of  Seneca  Lake,  they  had  the  ad 
dition  of  a  calf  to  their  small  stock,  which  Otis  Comstock  carried 
on  his  back,  that  distance.  They  arrived  upon  the  new  purchase, 
built  a  cabin,  cleared  four  acres  of  ground,  and  sowed  it  to  wheat. 
Their  horse  died,  and  they  were  obliged  to  make  a  pack  horse  of 
Darius,  who  went  once  a  week  through  the  woods  to  Geneva,  where 
he  purchased  provisions  and  carried  them  on  his  back,  twenty  miles, 
to  their  cabin  in  the  wilderness.  Upon  the  approach  of  winter, 
the  party  returned  to  Massachusetts,  leaving  Otis  Comstock  to  take 
care  of  the  stock  through  the  winter,  with  no  neighbors  other  than 
Indians  and  wild  beasts,  nearer  than  Boughton  Hill  and  Canandai- 
gua.  About  the  same  period  of  the  advent  of  the  Comstocks, 
Nathan  Aldrich,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  township,  came  by 
the  water  route,  landing  his  provisions  and  seed  wheat  at  Geneva, 
and  carrying  them  upon  his  back  to  the  new  purchase  ;  he  clear 
ed  a  few  acres  of  ground,  sowed  it  to  wheat  and  returned  to  Mass 
achusetts. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1790,  Nathan  Comstock  and  his  large 
family,  started  from  his  home  in  Adams,  accompanied  by  Nathan 
Aldrich  and  Isaac  Hathaway,  and  were  f}llowed  the  day  after  by 
Nathan  Herendeen,  his  son  William,  and  his  two  sons-in-law,  Josh 
ua  Herrington  and  John  M'Cumber.  The  last  party  overtook  the 
first  at  Geneva,  when  the  whole  penetrated  the  wilderness,  making 
their  own  roads  as  they  proceeded,  the  greater  part  of  the  distance, 
and  arrived  at  their  new  homes  in  the  wilderness,  on  the  15th  of 
March.  After  leaving  Whitestown,  both  parties,  their  women  and 
children,  camped  out  each  night  during  their  tedious  journey,  and 
arriving  at  their  destination,  had  most  of  them  to  erect  temporary 
habitations,  and  this  at  an  inclement  season. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  all  who  were  residents  of  the 
'new  township  in  1790 :  —  Nathan  Comstock,  Nathan  Comstock,  jr., 
Otis  Comstock,  Darius  Comstock,  John  Comstock,  Israel  Reed, 
John  Russell,  John  Payne,  Isaac  Hathaway,  Nathan  Herendeen, 


PHELPS  AKD  GOTHAM'S  PtiRcnASE.  219 

Welcome  Herendeen,  Joshua  Herrington,  John  M'Cumber,  Nathan 
Aldrich,  Jacob  Smith,  Job  Rowland,  Abraham  Lapham,  John  Ran- 
kin,  Elijah  Smith,  Levi  Smith,  Annanias  M'Millan,  Edward  Dur- 
fee,  Thomas  W.  Larkin,  Silas  Lawrence,  Jonathan  Smith,  Pardon 
Wilcox,  Robert  Hathaway,  Jeremiah  Smith.  But  a  part  of  all 
these  that  were  married  had  brought  in  their  families,  and  most  of 
them  were  unmarried. 

The  only  survivors  of  all  the  above  named,  are  John  Comstock, 
Pardon  Wilcox,  and  Levi  Smith ;  to  the  last  of  whom  the  author 
is  indebted  for  many  of  his  Pioneer  reminiscences  of  Farmington. 
Joshua  Herendeen  died  last  winter,  at  the  advanced  age  of  over 
90  years. 

Many  of  these  early  Pioneers  were  Friends,  either  by  member 
ship  or  birth  right.  An  early  discipline  of  that  society  was  in  effect, 
that  any  of  its  members  contemplating  any  important  enterprise, 
and  especially  'that  of  emigration,  must  report  their  intentions  to 
their  meeting  for  consideration  and  advisement.  The  rash  enter 
prise  of  going  away  off  to  the  Genesee  country,  and  settling  down 
among  savages  and  wild  beasts,  was  not  consistent  with  the  kindly 
regard  entertained  by  the  meeting  for  the  Farmington  emigrants ; 
consent  was  refused,  and  they  were  formally  disowned.  When  a 
committee  of  the  Friend's  Yearly  Meeting  of  Philadelphia,  attend 
ed  the  Pickering  treaty  at  Canandaigua  in  1794,  they  visited  the 
Friends  of  Farmington,  espoused  their  cause,  interceded  with  the 
meeting  that  had  disowned  them  in  Massachusetts,  which  resulted 
in  their  restoration.  A  meeting  was  soon  after  organized,  the  first, 
and  for  a  long  period,  the  only  one  west  of  Utica.  The  society 
erected  a  meeting  house  in  1804.  Their  early  local  public  Friend, 
or  minister  as  he  would  have  been  called  by  other  orders,  was  Caleb 
M'Cumber.  He  died  last  year  at  an  advanced  age. 

Wheat  was  harvested  in  the  summer  of  1790,  the  product  of 
what  was  sowed  by  the  Comstocks  and  Nathan  Aldrich,  in  the  fall 
previous.  Some  summer  crops  were  raised  in  the  summer  of  '90. 
The  stump  mortar  was  the  principal  dependence  for  preparing 
their  grain  for  bread.  In  the  fall  of  1790,  Joshua  Herendeen,  with 
two  yoke  of  oxen,  made  his  way  through  the  woods  to  Wilder's 
Mills  in  Bristol ;  arriving  late  on  Saturday  night,  the  miller's  wife 
interposed  her  ipsi  dixit,  and  declared  the  mill  should  not  run  on 
Sunday,  "  if  all  Farmington  starved."  This  made  him  a  second 


220  PIEELPS  AND  GORIIAM'S  PURCHASE. 

journey,  and  it  was  a  work  of  days,  as  the  first  had  been.  During 
the  same  season,  Welcome  Herendeen,  John  M'Cumber  and  Jona 
than  Smith,  took  grain  up  the  Canandaigua  outlet  and  Lake  to 
Wilder's  Mill.  They  got  but  a  part  of  it  ground,  and  it  being  late 
in  the  season,  a  part  of  their  grist  lay  over  until  the  next  season. 
Levi  Smith,  in  1791,  then  a  hired  man  of  Nathan  Aldrich  and 
Abraham  Lapham,  carried  grists  upon  two  horses  to  the  Friend's 
Mil],  in  Jerusalam. 

As  an  example  of  the  difficulties  and  hardships  that  attended 
emigration  at  that  early  period,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  1791, 
Jacob  Smith,  with  his  family,  was  thirty  one  days  in  making  the 
journey  from  Adams,  Mass.,  to  Farmington.  Putting  family  and 
household  furniture  on  ^oard  of  a  boat  at  Schenectady,  and  driving 
his  stock  through  the  woods,  along  tho  creeks,  rivers,  and  lakes.,  the 
whole  arrived  at  Swift's  Landing,  beyo  ;d  which  he  had  to  make 
his  road  principally,  as  there  had  been  little  intercourse  in  that 
direction,  from  the  settlement  in  Farmington. 

Nathan  Herendeen  himself  wintered  in  the  new  settlement,  his  son 
Welcome  returning  to  bring  out  the  family,  who  came  in  February, 
'91  ;  and  about  the  same  time  other  considerable  additions  were 
made  to  the  settlement,  consisting  of  the  families  of  those  who  had 
come  in  the  year  before,  and  new  adventurers.  Brice,  and  Turner 
Aldrich  and  their  families,  William  Cady,  Uriel  Smith,  Benjamin 
Lapham,  were  among  the  number.  A  considerable  number  of 
them  came  in  company,  with  ox  and  horse  teams,  were  twenty-one 
days  on  the  route,  the  whole  camping  in  the  woods  eight  nights  on 
the  way. 

The  young  reader,  and  others  who  may  be  unacquainted  with 
Pioneer  life,  in  passing  through  that  now  region  of  wealth  and 
prosperity,  will  be  surprised  to  be  told  that  the  founders  of  many  of 
those  farm  establishments  —  clusters  of  neat  farm  buildings,  sur 
rounded  by  flocks  and  herds,  and  broad  cultivated  fields — in  their 
primitive  advent,  plodded  through  snow  and  mud  days  and  weeks, 
with  stinted  means;  at  night,  with  their  families  of  young  children, 
clearing  away  the  snow  and  spreading  their  cots  upon  the  ground; 
their  slumbers  often  interrupted  by  the  howl  of  the  gaunt  wolf 
prowling  around  the.r  camp-fires.  Unless  in  that  locality,  from  the 
peculiar  character  of  its  inhabitants,  better  ideas  of  right  physical 
education  prevails  than  is  usual,  there  are  daughters  in  those  abodes 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  221 

of  comfort  and  luxury  who  shrink  even  from  the  healthful  breeze 
whos3  mothers  have  prepared  the  frugal  meal  by  the  winter 
camp-fire,  and  kept  nursery  vigils  where  the  driving  storm  pelted 
her  and  her  household  through  their  frail  covering.  Equally  is 
physical  degeneracy,  the  work  of  but  one  and  two  generations, 
marked  in  the  sons.  There  are  those  in  the  Genesee  country  who 
would  deem  it  a  hardship  to  black  their  own  boots,  harness  their 
own  horse,  or  make  their  own  fires,  whose  fathers  and  grand-fathers 
have  carried  provisions  to  their  families  upon  their  backs  through 
long  dreary  winter  woods  paths.  Sincerely  is  it  to  be  hoped  that 
mental  degeneracy  is  not  keeping  pace  with  all  this,  as  some  ob 
servers  and  theorists  maintain. 

But  we  are  losing  sight  of  the  germ  of  what  became  a  prosperous 
settlement.  The  new  comers  were  soon  in  their  log  cabins,  dotted 
down  in  the  forest,  and  making  openings  about  them  to  let  in  the 
sun.  Nathan  Comstock  was  regarded  as  surveyor  general  of  roads. 
Mounted  upon  his  old  mare,  he  would  strike  off  into  the  woods  in 
different  directions  where  roads  were  needed,  followed  by  axe-men 
and  a  teamster  with  oxen  and  sled.  The  underbrush  would  be  cut, 
logs  cut  and  turned  out  of  the  way,  and  thus  the  beginning  of  a 
road  was  made  to  be  followed  up  gradually,  by  widening  out  to  two 
and  four  rods,  and  bridging  of  streams,  sloughs  and  marshes.  As  an 
evidence  that  they  commenced  in  earnest  to  subdue  the  wilderness, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  there  were  considerable  fields  of  wheat 
sown  in  the  fall  of  1790.  Nathan  Aldrich  having  raised  rome 
seed  wheat  in  that  season,  Welcome  Herendeen  worked  for  him 
thirteen  days  for  two  and  a  half  bushels,  sowed  it,  and  he  used  to 
tell  the  story  when  he  became  the  owner  of  broad  wheat  fields, 
remarking  that  lie  never  had  to  buy  any  after  that.  The  first  set 
tlers  of  Farrnington,  bringing  with  them  apple  seeds,  and  peach 
and  plum  pits,  were  early  fruit  growers  —  soon  had  bearing 
orchards —  and  for  long  years,  the  new  settlers  in  far  oil'  neighbor 
hoods,  went  there  for  apples,  and  a  real  luxury  they  were  in  primi 
tive  times.  Farmington  and  Bloomfield  cider,  apples,  and  apple 
sauce,  was  an  especial  treat  for  many  years  in  the  backwoods  of 
the  Holland  Purchase.  Some  enterprising  keeper  of  a  log  tavern 
would  push  out  when  sleighing  came,  and  bring  in  a  load.  His  re 
turn  would  be  heralded  over  a  wide  district ;  and  then  would  fol 
low  ox  sleds  and  horse  sleigh  ride,  through  wood's  roads,  rude  feasts 


222       PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

and  frolics.     The   pampered  appetites  of   the  present   day  know 
nothing  of  the  zest  which  attended  these  simple  luxuries  then. 

The  first  marriage  in  Farmington,  was  that  of  Otis  Comstock  to 
Huldah  Freeman,  at  the  house  of  Isaac  Hathaway,  in  1792,  Dr. 
Atwater,  of  Canandaigua,  officiating.  The  first  birth,  was  that  of 
Welcome  Herendeen,  in  1790,  a  son  of  Joshua  Herendeen,  who  now 
resides  in  Michigan.  As  a  specimen  of  this  first  production,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  his  weight  is  now  said  to  be  350  pounds. 
The  first  death  of  an  adult,  was  that  of  Elijah  Smith,  in  1793. 

The  first  frame  building  was  erected  by  Joseph  Smith  and  James 
D.  Fish  of  Canandaigua,  for  an  ashery,  on  the  farm  of  Welcome 
Herendeen.  The  first  framed  barn  was  built  by  Annanias  McMil 
lan,  for  Isaac  Hathaway,  in  1793;  and  the  same  year,  McMillan 
built  a  small  framed  grist  mill  on  Ganargwa  Creek,  within  the  town 
ship,  for  Jacob  and  Joseph  Smith.  Settlers  have  been  known  to 
come  forty  miles  to  this  mill.  The  wreck  of  it  is  now  standing. 
The  first  saw  mill  was  built  by  Jacob  and  Joseph  Smith,  in  1795. 
The  first  physician  in  Farmington,  was  Dr.  Stephen  Aldridge,  from 
Uxbridge,  Mass.  He  died  about  fifteen  years  since,  alter  a  long 
and  useful  career,  both  in  his  profession  and  as  a  citizen. 

Almost  the  whole  town  of  Farmington  was  settled  by  emigrants 
from  Adams,  in  that  same  county  of  Berkshire  that  has  been  so 
prolific  a  hive,  sending  out  its  swarms  not  only  here,  but  to  all  our 
western  States  and  territories.  The  local  historian  here  and  at 
the  west,  has  often  to  query  with  himself  as  to  whether  there  could 
be  any  body  left  in  Berkshire  ?  It  would  seem  that  when  new 
fields  of  enterprise  were  opened,  new  regions  were  to  be  subdued 
to  the  uses  of  civilization,  legions  went  out  from  its  mountains,  hills 
and  valleys  —  not  "of  armed  men"  —  but  of  the  best  of  materials 
for  the  work  that  lay  before  them.  Berkshire  —  a  single  county  of 
New  England  —  it  may  almost  be  said,  has  been  the  mother  of  em 
pires. 

In  the  history  of  a  wide  region  of  unparalelled  success  and  pros 
perity,  no  where  has  it  been  so  uniform  as  in  the  town  of  Farming- 
ton.  The  town  was  soon  farmed  out  by  the  original  proprietors, 
and  of  all  the  purchasers,  but  one  failed  to' be  a  permanent  citizen 
and  pay  for  his  land.  The  wholesome  discipline  and  example  of 
the  Society  of  Friends  preserved  it  from  the  effects  of  an  early 
profuse  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  so  destructive  to  early  prosperity 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  223 

in  other  localities ;  while  the  fruits  and  example  of  their  proverbial 
industry  and  economy,  gave  the  town  the  pre-eminence  that  it  has 
acquired. 

The  first  town  meeting  of  the  "  District  of  Farmington  "  was  held 
at  the  house  of  Nathan  Aldrich,  in  1797  ;  meeting  was  opened  and 
superintended  by  Phineas  Bates,  Esq.,  when  Jared  Comstock  was 
chosen  Supervisor,  and  Isaac  Hathaway  town  clerk.  Other  town 
officers :  —  Joseph  Smith,  Nathan  Herendeen,  Jonathan  Smith, 
Otis  Comstock,  Asa  Wilmarth,  John  M'Louth,  Isaac  Hathaway, 
Arthur  Power,  Sharon  Booth,  Joab  Gillett,  Gilbert  Buck,  Benjamin 
Peters,  Job  Rowland,  Welcome  Herendeen,  Turner  Aldrich,  Gid 
eon  Payne,  Joshua  Van  Fleet,  Jacob  Smith. 

It  was  voted  that  $10  be  paid  for  the  scalp  of  each  wolf  killed 
in  town.  Fifty  dollars  was  raised  to  defray  the.  expenses  of  the 
Town.  The  meeting  was  adjourned  to  be  held  next  year  at  the 
house  of  Nathan  Herendeen. 


PHELPS. 


John  Decker  Robinson,  from  Claverack,  Columbia  co.,  and 
Nathaniel  Sanborn,  were  among  those  who  came  to  the  Genesee 
country  about  the  time  of  the  Phelps  and  Gorham  treaty.  Mr.  San- 
born  was  employed  by  Mr.  Phelps  to  take  charge  of  a  drove  of 
cattle  that  he  intended  for  beef,  to  distribute  among  the  Indians  at 


NOTE. —  The  family  of  Comstocks  were  from  Rhode  Island,  and  had  been  Pioneers 
in  Berkshire  before  their  advent  to  the  Genesee  country.  New  England  could  hardly 
have  sent  better  materials  to  this  region  ;  or  a  family  that  would  have  proved  more 
useful.  At  the  period  of  emigration,  the  old  Pioneer  and  patroon  of  new  settlement, 
had  six  sons  :  —  Otis,  Darius,  Joseph,  Jajred,  Nathan  and  John.  Nathan  was  the  Pio 
neer  at  Lockport,  having  settled  there  in  the  wilderness  several  years  before  the  canal 
was  constructed.  Joseph,  Jared  and  Darius  went  there  as  soon  as  the  canal  was  loca 
ted,  and  became  the  proprietors  of  a  large  portion  of  the  site  of  the  present  Upper 
Town,  and  the  Lower  Town  has  grown  up  principally  upon  the  original  farm  of  Nathan. 
Darius  was  a  large  contractor  upon  the  Mountain  Ridge,  and  soon  after  the  canal  was 
completed  became  a  Pioneer  near  the  present  village  of  Adrian  Michigan.  &  part  of 
the  site  of  the  village  of  Adrian  was  upon  his  purchase,  and  his  son,  Addison  J.  Com 
stock,  was  a  prominent  founder  of  the  village.  The  father  died  in  Farmington  in  181G  ; 
Joseph,  in  Lockport,  in  1821  ;  Nathan  in  Lockport,  in  1830  ;  Jared  and  Darius  in  Mich 
igan,  in  1844  and  '5  ;  and  Otis  in  Farmington,  in  1850.  The  only  survivor  is  John, 
who  was  an  early  law  student  in  Canandaigua,  and  now  resides  upon  a  farm  near  Ad 
rian,  Michigan.  "  The  descendants  in  the  second  and  third  degree  are  very  numerous, 
their  residences  being  now  principally  in  Michigan.  The  wife  of  Asa  B.  Smith  of 
Farmington,  is  a  daughter  of  Darius.  The  late  Margaret  Snell,  of  Union  Springs, 
was  a  daughter  of  Joseph. 


224       PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  treaty.  As  soon  as  land  sales  commenced,  Mr.  Robinson  bought 
lot  No.  14,  T.  11,  R.  1,  (Phelps)  on  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  in  pay 
ment  for  which  he  erected  for  Phelps  and  Gorharn,  (partly  of  logs 
and  partly  framed,)  the  building  that  was  used  as  the  primitive  land 
office,  and  for  the  residence  of  the  agent  of  Mr.  Walker.  In  the 
spring  of  1789,  he  put  his  family  and  goods  on  board  a  batteaux  at 
Schenectady  and  landed  them  at  their  new  home  in  the  then  wilder 
ness.  Raising  a  cloth  tent  they  brought  with  them,  the  family 
were  sheltered  under  that  until  a  log  cabin  was  erected.  Nine  days 
after  their  arrival,  they  were  joined  by  Pierce  and  Elihu  Granger, 
Nathaniel  Sanborn  and  his  brother-in-law, Gould,  who  remain 
ed  with  them  a  few  months,  cleared  a  few  acres  on  an  adjoining  lot, 
built  shantees,  and  returned  to  SufMd  in  the  fall,  leaving  tha  Rob 
inson  family  to  spend  the  winter  eight  miles  from  their  nearest 
neighbor.  Mr.  Robinson  opened  a  public  house  as  soon  as  '93,  or  4. 
His  location  was  East  Vienna ;  embracing  some  valuable  mill  seats 
on  Flint  creek  and  Canandaigua  outlet.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
enterprising  of  the  early  Pioneers.  His  son  Harry  was  the  first 
male  child  born  in  Phelps;  another  son,  Henry,  II.  resides  in 
Lima. 

Following  the  lead  of  Robinson  and  the  Grangers,  in  1791,  were, 
Thaddeus  Oaks,  Seth  Dean,  Oliver  and  Charles  Humphrey,  and 
Elias  Dickinson. 

Jonathan  Oaks  was  the  primitive  landlord,  ejecting  as  early  as 
'94  the  large  framed  tavern  house,  at  Oak's  Corners,  about  the  same 
time  that  Mr.  Williamson  erected  his  Hotel  at  Geneva,  It  \vas  a 
wonder  in  early  days ;  peering  up  in  a  region  of  log  houses,  it  had 
an  aristocratic  look,  and  its  enterprising  founder  was  regarded  as 
pushing  things  far  beyond  their  time.  It  was  the  second  framed 
tavern  house  west  of  Geneva,  and  when  built,  there  was  probably 
not  half  a  dozen  framed  buildings  of  any  kind,  west  of  that  locality. 
It  was  the  house  of  the  early  explorers  and  emigrants,  and  its  fame 
extended  throughout  New  England.  It  is  yet  standing  and  occu 
pied  as  a  tavern  in  a  pretty  good  state  of  preservation.  Mr.  Oaks 
died  in  1804,  leaving  as  his  successor  his  son  Thaddeus,  who  had 
married  a  grand-daughter  of  Elias  Dickinson.  The  father  dying 
at  so  early  a  period,  the  name  of  Thaddeus  Oaks  is  principally 
blended  in  the  reminiscences  of  the  later  Pioneer  period.  He  died 
in  1824  at  the  age  of  50  years;  an  only  surviving  son,  Nathan 


PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  225 

Oaks,  a  worthy  representative  of  his  Pioneer  ancestors,  inherits  the 
fine  estate,  the  fruit  of  h;s  grand-father  and  father's  early  enterprise. 
He  is  the  P.  M.  at  Oaks'  Corners  ;  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  Truman 
Heminway  Esq.,  of  Palmyra  ;  a  sister,  is  the  wife  of  Leman  Hotch- 
kiss,  Esq.  of  Vienna. 

As  early  as  1810,  the  lessees  of  the  Oaks'  stand,  were  Joel  and 
Levi  Thayer,  now  of  Buffalo.  About  this  period,  the  long  celebra 
ted  Race  Course,  was  established  upon  the  broad  sweep  of  level 
ground,  upon  the  Oaks  farm,  which  passengers  may  observe  from 
the  cars,  in  the  rear  of  the  church.  For  years,  it  was  a  famous 
gathering  place  for  sportsmen,  and  amateur  sportsmen  ;  race  horses 
came  to  it  from  the  south,  and  from  Long  Island  and  New  Jersey. 
The  annual  gatherings  there,  were  to  western  New  York,  in  a 
measure,  what  the  State  Fairs  now  are  to  the  whole  State. 

Philetus  Swift,  a  brother  of  John  Swift,  of  Palmyra,  was  in 
Phelps  as  early  as  '91.  He  was  an  early  representative  of  Ontario, 
in  Assembly  and  Senate  ;  in  anticipation  of  the  war  of  1812,  hold 
ing  the  rank  of  Col.,  he  was  ordered,  with  a  regiment  of  volunteers, 
to  march  to  the  Niagara  Frontier,  and  was  with  his  regiment  at 
Black  Rock,  when  war  was  declared.  He  died  in  1820.  He  left 
no  sons ;  an  only  daughter  by  a  second  marriage,  is  wife  of  Alexis 
Russel,  of  Webster,  Monroe  co. 

Seth  Dean,  was  the  Pioneer  upon  the  site  of  the  present  village 
of  Vienna,  building  a  primitive  grist  and  saw  mill,  upon  Flint  creek. 
His  mill  was  raised  by  himself  and  his  son  Isaac  ;  they  being  unable 
to  procure  any  help.  The  Pioneer  died  in  early  years ;  his  son 
Isaac  resides  in  Adrian,  Michigan,  is  the  father-in-law  of  Addison 
J.  Comstock,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  village  of  Adrian.  Mrs. 
Wells  Whitmore,  of  Vienna,  is  a  daughter  of  Seth  Dean.  Walter 
Dean,  a  brother  of  Seth,  came  in  at  a  later  period.  He  was  the 
father  of  L.  Q.  C.  Dean.  A  daughter  of  his  married  Dr.  Isaac 
Smith,  of  Lockport,  deceased,  and  is  now  the  wife  of  David  Thomas, 
of  Cayuga. 

The  first  merchant  in  Phslps,  was  John  R.  Green,  an  English 


NOTE. —  Mrs.  Dean,  it  is  presumed,  put  the  first  cheese  to  press  in  the  Genesee  coun 
try  ;  and  "thereby  hangs  a  tale"  —  or,  a  bear  story.  It  was  in  one  of  the  old  fashioned, 
out  door  presses ;  a  bear  came  at  night,  and  entirely  devoured  it,  as  his  tracks  aud  tho 
empty  cheege  curb,  bore  wiuess. 


226  PIIELPS  AND  GOKIIAM'S  PUECHASE. 

man,  located  at  Oaks'  Corners.  Leman  Hotrhkiss  and  David  Mc 
Neil,  were  the  first  merchants  in  Vienna  ;  a  firm  of  much  enterprise, 
commanding,  for  a  long  period,  the  trade  of  a  wide  region.  Hotch- 
kiss,  was  the  brother  of  the  late  Judge  Hotchkiss,  of  Lewiston. 
He  died  in  1822.  His  widow  is  now  Mrs.  Joel  Stearns,  of  Vienna. 
Hiram,  of  Lyons,  and  Leman  B.  of  Vienna,  are  his  sons.  McNeil 
was  the  first  P.  M.  in  Phelps,  appointed  in  1804,  he  held  the  office 
until  his  death,  in  1841.  He  died  childless;  his  widow  survives,  a 
resident  of  Vienna. 

Dr.  Joel  Prescott,  was  the  early  physician.  He  was  an  early 
supervisor  of  the  town,  and  for  several  years  chairman  of  the  board 
of  supervisors  of  Ontario.  He  died  during  the  war  of  1812  ;  a 
son  of  his,  Irnly  Prescott,  recently  died  in  Geneva ;  daughters  be 
came  the  wives  of  Owen  Edrnonston,  of  Vienna,  and  James  Dar- 
row,  of  Seneca  county. 

Elder  Solomon  Goodale,  was  the  first  resident  minister  in  Phelps  ; 
preaching  in  school  and  private  houses.  The  first  organized  church 
was  at  Oaks'  Corners  —  Presbyterian  —  the  officiating  minister,  the 
Rev.  Jonathan  Powell,  a  Welchman ;  who  still  survives,  and  is 
settled  over  a  Welch  congregation  in  Ohio;  a  grand-daughter,  Jane 
Reese,  was  a  poetess,  whose  early  effusions  appeared  in  the  Palmy 
ra  Register,  in  1819,  '20;  a  sister  of  hers,  is  Mrs:  Bailey  Durfee, 
of  Palmyra.  The  church  at  Oaks'  Corners,  was  the  second  built 
west  of  Seneca  Lake,  that  of  East  Bloomfield  the  first.  It  was 
erected  in  1804,  but  not  finished  until  1814.  Having  then  became 
almost  a  wreck,  by  a  vote  of  those  interested,  it  was  given  in  charge 
of  Col.  Cost,  who  procured  subscriptions,  and  rented  pews,  the 
avails  of  which,  more  than  paid  for  its  completion.  Thaddeus  Oaks 
gave  the  ground,  and  $1,000  dollars  in  addition,  before  it  was  finish 
ed.  Vienna  and  Oaks'  Corners,  were  originally  competitors  for  the 
location. 

Jonathan  Melvin  was  in  as  early  as  '95  :  far  better  off  than  most 
Pioneers,  he  purchased  800  acres  of  land  at  what  is  known  as 
"  Melvin  Hill."  With  ample  means,  and  by  extraordinary  enter 
prise,  he  soon  had  large  improvements,  grain,  pork,  and  pasturage 
for  new  settlers.  He  built  mills  in  an  early  day  in  Wolcott,  where 
he  was  a  large  landholder.  After  accumulating  a  large  estate,  he 
endorsed,  became  embarrassed,  and  finally  subsisted  in  his  lasts 
years,  upon  a  Revolutionary  pension.  He  died  but  a  few  years 


PHELPS   AOT)    GOEHAM^S    PUECHASE.  227 

since,  at  an  advanced  age.*'     His  son,  Jonathan  Melvin,  now  resides 
upon  the  old  homestead. 

Wells  Whitmore  came  in  with  Jonathan  Oaks ;  married  a  daugh 
ter  of  Seth  Dean ;  his  son  Barnet,  resides  in  Georgia,  and  Mrs. 
Norton,  of  Vienna,  is  a  daughter. 

John  and  Patrick  Burnett,  brothers,  came  in  1795 ;  Patrick  left 
in  a  few  years ;  John  became  a  prominent  citizen.  He  held  a 
Captain's  commission  in  the  Revolution.  Wrn.  Burnett,  his  son, 
was  an  early  supervisor,  magistrate,  and  attained  the  rank  of  Brig. 
Gen.  of  militia.  He  was  in  service  on  the  Niagara  frontier  in  1813, 
and  commanded  the  volunteer  force,  called  out  to  repel  the  British 
invaders  at  Sodus.  He  died  in  1826;  William  Burnett,  of  Ann 
Arbor,  is  his  son  ;  Mrs.  Benjamin  Hartwell,  and  Mrs.  Bainbridge  of 
Phelps,  are  his  daughters. 

Cornelius  Westfall  came  in  '95 ;  purchased  500  acres  of  land ; 
died  in  1832.  His  only  so-n,  Jacab,  a  Captain  of  a  company  of 
riflemen,  was  killed  in  Queenston  battle. 

Elijah  Gates,  came  in  '95  ;  died  in  1835 :  his  sons  Seth  and  Dan 
iel,  reside  at  the  old  homestead. 

Oliver  Humphrey,  one  of  the  earliest,  died  in  1838;  was  a  Major 
of  Militia.  His  son  Hugh  Humphrey,  lives  at  the  old  homestead. 
His  brother  Charles,  who  came  in  with  him,  died  a  few  years  since  j 
his  son  John,  resides  upon  the  homestead. 

Lodovvick  Vandermark,  came  in  '94 ;  erected  one  of  the  earliest 
saw  mills  on  the  outlet.  He  died  just  previous  to  the  war  of  1812 ; 
Frederick  and  William,  of  Phelps,  are  his  sons.  His  brother  Joseph, 
who  came  in  with  him,  died  in  1810. 

Deacon  Jessee  Warner,  one  of  the  earliest,  located  on  site  of 
village  of  Orleans;  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  churches  at 
Orleans  and  Melvin  Hill.  He  died  in  1835;  John  Warner  of  Or 
leans,  is  his  son. 

Solomon  Warner  was  in  Geneva  as  early  as  '88.  He  located 
near,  ar.d  afterwards  became  the  purchaser  of  a  part  of  the  Old 
Castle  tract,  which  he  sold  to  Jonathan  Whitney.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Oaks.  He  died  in  1813;  two  of  his  sons 
reside  in  Michigan,  and  two  at  the  homestead ;  daughters  became 

*  In  passing  the  Old  Castle,  in  an  early  (lay,  he  picked  up  an  apple,  and  was  told  to 
lay  it  down.  "You  must  be  mean"  said  he  "to  begrudge  a  neigbor  an  apple;  1  will 
plant  100  trees  next  year  for  the  public."  He  was  as  good  as  his  word;  the  trees  are 
now  standing  along  the  road,  on  his  old  farm. 


228  PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  wives  of  Cephas  Shekells,  Alfred  Hooker,  William  Jones,  Rev. 
Wm.  Patton.  His  son  Lucius,  now  53  years  of  ag3,  resides  in  the 
houss  his  father  built  in  '89,  and  in  which  he  was  born. 

Col.  Elias  Dickinson,  one  of  the  original  purchasers  of  Phelps,  was 
from  Conway,  Mass.  He  died  in  1804,  or  '5.  His  son,  Col  ton, 
was  killed  in  raising  the  church  at  Oaks'  Corners,  in  1804  ;  Samuel 
Dickinson,  the  eminent  printer  and  publisher,  of  Boston,  was  a  son 
of  Col  ton  Dickinson  ;  he  was  an  apprentice  of  Elias  Hull  of  Ge 
neva.  Another  son  of  the  old  Pioneer,  was  the  founder  "of  the 
large  mills  of  Vienna.  He  died  in  early  years. 

Col.  Elias  Cost  was  a  native  of  Frederick  co.,  Maryland,  a  son 
of  Jacob  Cost ;  a  sister  of  his,  was  the  mother  of  Wm.  Cost  John 
son.  At  the  age  of  21  years,  in  1799,  in  company  with  Benjamin 
Shekel,  and  Abraham  Simmons,  he  came  to  the  Genesee  country. 
The  party  travelled  on  horseback,  coming  in  via  Mr.  Williamson's 
Northumberland  Road;  upon  46  miles  of  which,  there  was  then 
but  one  house;  stopped  at  the  Geneva  Hotel,  and  continued  on 
through  the  woods  to  Sodus,  where  they  found  Mr.  Williamson, 
Jacob  W.  Hallett,  and  James  Reese.  The  young  adventurers  had 
left  their  horses  at  Oaks'  tavern,  and  arriving  at  the  outlet,  at  Ly 
ons,  were  ferried  over  upon  the  back  of  a  stout  backwoodsman,  by 
^the  name  of  Hunn.  Shekels  and  Simmons,  bought  land  at  the  Sul 
phur  Springs.  The  party  returned  to  Maryland.  The  next  season 
Col.  Cost  came  out  and  purchased  land  near  Oaks'  Corners,  where 
he  has  resided  for  half  a  century.  He  is  now  72  years  of  age  : 
may  almost  be  said  to  be  robust  in  health;  his  mind  retaining  its 
vigor  and  elasticity  ;  possessing  the  fine  social  qualities,  peculiar  to 
his  native  region.  His  first  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Shekells. 
After  her  death  he  married  the  widow  of  Thaddeus  Oaks,  and  was 
the  landlord  of  the  Oaks'  stand  for  fourteen  years.  His  daughters, 
the  fruits  of  his  first  marriage,  became  the  wives  of  Thomas  John 
son,  of  Maryland,  and  Lynham  J.  Beddoe,  a  son  of  John  Beddoe, 
of  Yates  co.  An  unmmarried  daughter  whose  mother  was  Mrs. 
Oaks,  supplies  the  place  of  her  mot  e  ,  (who  died  recently,)  in  his 
hospitable  mansion.  Col.  Cost  was  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war  of 
1812,  a  volunteer,  with  the  commission  of  Captain,  in  the  regiment  of 
Col.  Micah  Brooks,  was  at  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie ;  was  a  member 
of  Assembly  from  Ontario,  in  184G. 

KOTE. —  Col.  Cost,  died  in  April  lust,  whilst  this  work  was  in  press. 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE,  229 

Benjamin  Shekell,  whose  advent  is  mentioned  in  connection  with 
Col.  Cost,  died  in  1818.  His  son  Richard  resides  in  Hops-well  ;  a 
daughter,  is  Mrs.  Stephens  of  Hopewell.  Samuel  Shekel!  came  in 
1803  ;  died  in  1820  ;  his  son  Thomas  in  1804,  and  opened  a  store 
at  Clifton  Springs;  returning  to  Maryland  in  a  few  years;  another 
son,  Jacob  M.,  resides  near  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan  ;  another.  John,  in 
Waterloo  ;  another,  Cephus,  in  Milwaukee.  His  daughters  became 
the  wives  of  Col.  Elias  Cost,  Major  VVm.  Howe  Cuyler,  Alexander 
Howard,  and  Andrew  Dorsey,  of  Lyons.  The  Shekells  were  Irom 
Bladensburg,  Maryland. 

William  Hildreth  was  an  early  merchant  and  distiller ;  was  a 
Supervisor  of  the  town,  and  a  member  of  the  legislature.  He 
erected  mills  on  Flint  Creek,  was  a  large  farmer,  and  in  all,  a  man 
of  extraordinary  enterprise,  carrying  on  for  many  years  an  exten 
sive  business.  He  died  in  1838  ;  his  widow  survives.  His  sons, 
William  and  Spencer,  reside  in  Vienna. 

Eleazor,  Cephas  and  Joseph  Hawks,  were  early  settlers  in  Yienna. 
Cephas  Hawks,  just  previous  to  the,  war,  erected  a  large  woolen 
factory  at  Whits  Sprin. s,  on  the  Nicholas  (now  Mrs.  Lee's)  farm, 
near  Geneva  ;  bought  the  line  wool  of  the  Wadsworths;  sold  cloth 
at  from  $5  to  $12  per  yard  ;  made  money  rapidly;  but  low  prices 
and  consequent  failure  succeeded  after  the  war.  He  emigrated  to 
Michigan.  Benjamin  F.  Hawks,  of  Vienna,  is  a  son  of  Eleazor. 

Luther  Root  was  the  first  clothier  in  Phelps ;  he  died  25  years 
since ;  his  widow  and  sons  are  residents  of  Vienna. 

The  town  of  Phelps  was  first  the  "District  of  Sullivan;"  the 
first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Jonathan  Oaks,  in  1796. 
Jonathan  Oaks  was  chosen  Supervisor,  Solomon  Goodale,  Town 
Clerk.  Other  town  officers  :  —  Joel  Prescott,  Philetus  Swift,  Pierce 
Granger,  Cornelius  Westfall,  Abraham  F.  Spurr,  Chas.  Humphrey, 
Elijah  Gates,  Augustus  Dickinson,  John  Patton,  Wells  Whitmore, 
Jonathan  Melvin,  Oliver  Humphrey,  Patrick  Burnett,  Jesse  Warner, 
Oliver  Humphrey,  Philetus  Swift,  Augustus  Dickinson,  Joel  Prescott, 
Oliver  Humphrey,  Solomon  Goodale. 

A  "gratuity  of  four  pounds"  was  voted  for  "every  wolfs  head 
that  shall  be  killed  in  this  district  by  an  inhabitant  thereof." 

At  a  court  of  special  sessions  of  Ontario  county,  in  June,  1706, 
name  was  changed  to  "District  of  Phelps." 

In  February,  1797,  a  special  town  meeting  was  called  "for  tho 


230  FHELPS  AND    GOKHAM's  PTJKCHASE. 

purpose  of  establishing  some  regulations  in  reference  to  schools/' 
After  the  town  had  assumed  his  name,  Mr.  Phelps  gave  an  enter 
tainment  at  Oaks'  Tavern,  and  a  jovial  time  the  backwoodsmen 
had  of  it,  as  but  few  of  them  live  to  recollect. 


GENEVA. 

While  the  Pioneer  events  we  have  been  recording,  were  going 
on  in  other  localities,  the  little  village  of  Kanadesaga,  at  the  foot  o-f 
Seneca  Lake,  had  been  going  a  head  under  the  auspices  of  Reed 
and  Ryckman.  and  the  Lessees.  In  the  'compromise  with  Phelp's 
and  Gorham,  the  Lessees  had  come  in  possession  of  townships  6,  7, 
and  8,  in  the  1st  Range,  and  9  in  the  2d.  These  townships  were 
deeded  to  the  Lessees  under  the  name  of  the  "  New  York  Com 
pany  ;"  and  a  fifth  township  (No.  9  in  the  1st,)  was  deeded  to 
"  Benton  and  Livingston."  *  "  In  the  fall  of  1788,"  says  a  manu 
script  in  the  author's  possession,  "number  8  was  divided  into  lots, 
and  balloted  for  at  Geneva ;  Benjamin  Barton,  sen.,  at  that  time 
being  agent  for  the  Niagara  (or  Canada)  Company,  drew  the  num 
ber  of  lots  assigned  to  them  ;  and  Messrs.  Benton  and  Birdsall, 
being  present,  drew  for  themselves  and  associates."  f 

In  the  fall  of  1788,  about  the  time  that  the  Pioneer  movements 
were  making  at  Canandaigua,  Geneva  had  become  a  pretty  brisk 
place ;  the  focus  of  speculators,  explorers,  the  Lessee  Company  and 
their  agents  ;  and  the  principal  seat  of  the  Indian  trade  for  a  wide 
region.  Horatio  Jones  was  living  in  a  log  house  covered  with 
bark,  on  the  bank  of  the  Lake,  and  had  a  small  stock  of  goods  for 
the  Indian  trade ;  Asa  Ransom  (the  afterwards  Pioneer  at  Buffalo 


*  But  the  four  townships  were  included  in  the  compromise.  Benton  and  Livingston 
were  prominent  among  the  Lessees;  and  either  acquired  the  fifth  township  by  pur 
chase,  or  it  was  a  bonus  to  them  individually,  for  their  agency  in  effecting  the  corrv 
promise. 

t  The  author  has  in  his  possession  the  original  draft  of  this  lottery  scheme,  with  the 
names  of  all  who  drew  lots  —  over  an  hundred — and  th"  numbers  of  the  lots  they 
severally  drew.  The  lots  are  said  to  be  in  th'}  "town  of  Geneva  and  county  thereof." 
Either  the  villfge  of  Geneva,  that  had  been  laid  out  by  Reed  and  Ryckman  was 
merged  with  the  lands  of  the  Lessees,  or  they  laid  out  a  village  upon  the  Lake 
shore,  opposite  T.  8,  as  each  share  holder  drew  a  "town  lot,"  and  a  "large  lot,"  which 
evidently  meant  a  village  lot  ;  nd  a  farm  lot.  Lots  were  drawn  in  the  name  of 
"Street  &  C<J.."  "  Samuel  Street,"  "St: cot  and  B  i  ler,"  "John  Butler,"  and  by  all 
the  members  of  the  New  York  and  Canada  joint  Lessee  Companies. 


PHELPS  AKD  GOTHAM'S  PURCHASE.  231 

and  Ransom's  Grove,)  occupied  a  hut,  and  was  manufacturing 
Indian  trinkets ;  Lark  Jennings  had  a  log  tavern  on  the  bank  of 
the  Lake ;  the  Lessee  Company  had  a  framed  tavern  and  trading 
establishment,  covered  with  bark,  on  the  Lake  shore,  "  near  where 
the  bluff  approaches  the  Lake,"  which  was  occupied  by  Dr.  Ben- 
ton.  There  was  a  cluster  of  log  houses  all  along  on  the  low  ground 
aear  the  Lake  shore.  The  geographical  designations  were  "  hill 
and  bottom."  Petar  Ryckman  and  Peter  Bortle  were  residing 
rhere,  and  several  others  whose  names  are  not  recollected.  Col. 
Seth  Reed  was  residing  at  the  Old  Castle.  Dominick  Debartzch, 
an  Indian  trader  from  Montreal,  was  rather  the  great  man  of  the 
country.  His  principal  seat  was  the  Cashong  farm,  which  he 
claimed  as  an  Indian  grant,  and  where  he  had  a  trading  establish 
ment  ;  though  his  trade  extended  to  the  western  Indians,  among 
whom  he  went  after  selling  his  claim  to  the  Cashong  farm  to  the 
late  Major  Bsnj.  Barton,  of  Lewiston.* 

The  Lessees  were  then  strenuously  claiming  all  of  the  lands  of 
the  six  nations  up  to  the  old  pre-emption  line.  A  letter  from  one 
of  the  company  at  Geneva,  to  one  of  the  Canada  associates,  dated 
in  Nov.  '88,  speaks  confidently  of  a  compromise  with  the  State,  "  by 
which  we  shall  be  enabled  to  hold  a  part,  if  not  the  whole  of  the  lands 
contained  in  our  lease."  To  further  this  object,  it  is  proposed  that 
the  Canada  influence  shall  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  Indians ;  and 
that  a.  strong  delegation  of  the  chiefs  shall  be  at  Albany  when  the 
legislature  meets,  and  "  remonstrate  openly  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
State,  against  the  late  proceedings  at  Fort  Stanwix,  and  demand  the 
restitution  of  their  lands. "f  In  April  and  May,  1789,  the  New 
York  company  held  out  to  their  Canada  associates,  the  strongest 
assurances  of  being  enabled  with  their  assistance,  to  induce  the  In 
dians 'to  abide  by  the  Lease,  instead  of  their  cessions  to  the  State  ; 
but  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  they  began  to  be  disposed  to  take  what 
ever  they  could  get.  In  September,  one  of  the  auditors  of  the  "  New 


*  John  H.  Jones  witnessed  the  confirmation  of  this  bargain.  Major  Barton,  in  part 
payment,  pulled  off  his  overcoat,  and  gave  it  to  Debartzch.  It  has  heretofore  been 
said  that  the  purchase  was  made  of  Poudry.  Mr.  Jones  corrects  this,  and  says  that 
Poudry  at  the  time  was  a  servant  of  Debartzch,  occasionally  asssisting  him  in  the 
Indian  trade.  Both  gloried  in  native  wives. 

t  In  the  month  of  September  preceding,  the  Onondagas  had,  at  a  treaty  at  Fort 
Stanwix,  ceded  their  lands  to  the  State ;  and  in  the  same  month,  the  Oneidas  had 
ceded  theirs. 


232  PIIELPS  Aro  GOBIIAM'S  PURCHASE. 


York  Genesee  Company,"  writing  to4he  "  Niagara  Gonesee  Com 
pany,"  says  :  —  "  Our  business  has  fallen  much  short  of  our  first  idea;" 
and  after  a^!  ing  their  concurrence  in  a  proposed  compromise  with 
the  State,  the  letter  closes  with,  "  I  arn,  with  due  respect,  but  like 
the  rest  of  the  company  at  this  time,  somewhat  dejected,  your  very 
humble  servant." 

All  that  was  done  at  Geneva  previous  to  the  spring  of  1793,  was 
under  the  auspices  of  Reed  and  Ryckman  and  the  Lessees.  The 
little  backwoods  village  that  had  grown  up  there,  the  scattered  set 
tlements  in  the  Lessee  towns  and  upon  the  Gore,  and  at  Jerusalem, 
constituted  a  majority  perhaps  of  all  the  population  west  of  Seneca 
Lake.  "  The  district  of  Seneca,"  which,  so  far  as  organization  was 
concerned,  embraced  all  the  region  north  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  the 
Lessee  towns,  had  its  first  town  meeting  in  April,  1793.  It  was  held 
at  the  house  of  Joshua  Fairbanks,  who  still  survives,  a  resident  of 
Lewiston.  Niagara  county.  Ezra  Patterson  was  chosen  Supervisor, 
Thomas  Sisson,  Town  Clerk.  '  Other  town  officers,  Oliver  Whit- 
more,  Jas.  Rice,  Phineas  Pierce,  Patrick  Burnett,  Samuel  Wheedon, 
Peter  Bortle,  Jr.,  Sanford  Williams,  Jonathan  Oaks,  David  Smith, 
Benjamin  Tuttlo,  Win.  Smith,  Jr.,  David  Benton,  Benj.  Dixon, 
Amos  Jenks,  John  Reed,  Caleb  Culver,  Charles  Harris,  Stephen 
Sisson,  W.  WHitmore,  Joseph  Kilbourn,  Seba  Squires. 

In  1791,  Ambrose  Hull  was  Supsrvisor.  Store  and  tavern  licen 
ses  were  granted  to  Graham  S.  Scott,  Thomas  Sergeants,  Joseph 
Annin,  liewson  &  Co.  1795,  Timothy  Allen  was  Supervisor,  and 
Samuel  Colt,  Town  Clerk  ;  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Ezr,\  Patterson,  who  was  chosen  Supervisor  of  the  town  for  several 
successive  years.  In  1800,  the  number  of  persons  assessed  to  work 
on  the  highways  in  the  town  of  Seneca,  was  290. 

Mr.  Williamson  turned  his  attention  to  Geneva,  in  the  spring  of 
1793  ;  and  as  will  be  observed,  many  of  the  early  reminiscences  of 
the  locality  occur  in  connection  with  him.  In  fact,  Geneva  is  more 
or  less  mingled  with  the  earliest  events  of  the  whole  region.  It  was 
the  door  or  gateway  to  the  Genesce  country,  and  there  our  race  first 
made  a  stand  preliminary  to  farther  advances. 

Herman  H.  Bogert,  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  Geneva, 
in  1797,  being  now  the  oldest  resident  member  of  the  profession, 
except  Judge  Howell,  in  western  New  York.  His  father  was  Isaac 
Bogert,  a  captain  in  the  Revolution,  attached  to  the  New  York  line  ; 


PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  233 

was  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Stanwix,  and  at  the  close  of  the  war  be 
came  a  merchant  in  Albany.  The  son  was  preceded  in  his  profes 
sion  at  Geneva,  only  by  Henry  H.  Van  Rensselaer,  who  remained 
but  a  few  years. 

Mr.  Bogert  observes,  that  at  the  period  he  came  to  Geneva,  land 
speculations  were  at  their  height ;  high  prices  were  the  order  of  the 
day;  board  was  $1,00  per  week  at  the  hotel;  and  all  things  were 
going  on  as  swimmingly  as  in  the  later  years,  1838,  '37.  Eligible 
building  lots  of  three-fourths  of  an  acre-,  sold  for  $500 ;  farming 
lands  in  the  neighborhood,  sold  for  $5,00  an  acre,  that  afterwards 
brought  but  $2  and  $3,00.  Mr.  Williamson  had  a  sloop  upon  the 
Lake  that  was  engaged  in  bringing  down  lumber.  The  mail  was 
brought  from  Albany  once  in  two  weeks  upon  horseback.  Mr.  Wil 
liamson's  head  quarters  were  then  principally  at  the  Geneva  Hotel. 
In  addition  to  his  other  enterprizes,  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the 
construction  of  the  turnpike. 

Mr.  Bogert  is  now  77  years  of  age  ;  his  wife,  the  daughter  of 
John  Witbeck,  of  Red  Hook,  who  also  survives,  is  73.  Charles  A. 
Bogert  of  Dresden,  Yates  county,  is  a  son ;  a  daughter  became  the 
wife  of  Derick  C.  Delamater,  of  Columbia  county ;  another,  of  Her 
man  Ten  Eyck,  of  Albany ;  another,  of  Godfrey  J.  Grosvenor,  of 
Geneva. 

Early  lawyers  in  Geneva,  other  than  Mr.  Bogert,  Pollydore  B. 
Wisner,  Daniel  W.  Lewis,  Robert  W.  Stoddard,  John  Collins,  Da 
vid  Hudson.  Mr.  Wisner  was  an  early  District  Attorney.  He 
died  in  1814.  He  was  from  Orange  county;  studied  law  with 
Richard  Varick ;  at  one  period  member  of  the  Legislature.  Mr. 
Lewis  died  within  a  few  years  in  Buffalo,  leaving  no  children.  An 
adopted  daughter  of  his  was  the  wife  of  Stephen  K.  Grosvenor,  and 
is  now  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Shelton,  of  Buffalo.  Mr.  Stoddard 
died  in  1847.  A  son  of  his  is  a  practicing  lawyer  in  Brooklyn,  and 
another  son  is  an  officer  of  the  navy.  Mr.  Collins  is  now  a  prac 
ticing  lawyer  in  Angelica.  Mr.  Hudson  still  survives,  and  contin 
ues  a  resident  of  Geneva.  Mr.  Parks  is  yet  a  practicing  Attorney 

NOTE. — Mr.  Bogert,  among  other  interesting  reminiscences  of  early  times,  which 
the  author  lias  used  in  other  connections,  speaks  of  a  marked  event — a  thunder  storm 
in  1797.  There  seemed  to  be  a  meeting  of  two  large,  dense,  black  clouds.  For  two 
hours,  there  was  peal  after  peal,  in  quick  succession,  of  thunder ;  not  unlike  the  re 
ports  of  parks  of  artillery.  Water  sponts  rose  upon  the  Lake,  column  after  column  ; 
the  atmosphere  seemed  on  fire ;  the  whole  was  a  scene  of  grandeur  and  terror,  that  Vas 
had  few  parallels. 

15 


234  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

in  Geneva.  He  studied  law  with  Lewis  and  Collins,  and  was  ad 
mitted  to  practice  in  1814.  In  the  war  of  1812,  he  was  upon  the 
frontier,  and  in  the  battle  of  Queenston,  in  command  of  a  company 
of  volunteers. 

The  early  merchants  of  Geneva,  other  than  those  who  were  loca 
ted  there  under  Indian  and  Lessee  occupancy,  were  :  Grieve  and 
Moffat,  Samuel  Colt,  Richard  M.  Williams,  Elijah  H.  Gordon, 
Richard  M.  Bailey,  Abraham  Dox.  Grieve  &  Moffatt  established 
the  first  brewery  in  all  this  region.  Mr.  Grieve  was  in  the  employ 
of  Mr.  Williamson,  in  the  earliest  years,  as  it  is  presumed  Mr.  Mof 
fat  was,  as  his  name  occurs  in  connection  with  the  early  move 
ments  at  Sodus.  Mr.  Grieve  was  out  in  the  war  of  1812,  a  colonel, 
under  Gen.  McClure.  He  died  in  1835.  Mr.  Moffat  removed  to 
Buffalo.  Richard  M.  Williams  became  a  farmer  in  Middlesex,  On 
tario  county,  (or  in  Yates  county)  where  he  died  a  few  years  since ; 
a  son  of  his  was  lately  in  the  Senate  of  this  State.  Mr.  Colt  was  a 
brother  of  Joseph  Colt,  the  early  merchant  of  Canandaigua,,  Auburn, 
and  Palmyra.  He  removed  to  New  York,  and  on  a  visit  to  Ge 
neva,  attending  the  commencement  at  the  College,  he  died  suddenly, 
at  the  Hotel,  in  1834.  Mr.  Baily  is  still  living.  He  entered  the 
regular  army  in  1812;  had  a  staff  appointment,  \vas  taken  prisoner 
at  the  battle  of  Queenston  :  went  to  Quebec  in  company  with  Gen. 
Scott,  where  he  was  parolled. 

Elijah  H.  Gordon  is  one  of  the  three  or  four  survivors  of  all  who 
were  residents  of  Geneva  previous  to  1798  ;  is  in  his  80th  year. 
His  goods  came  in  early  years,  from  Schenectady,  via  the  usual 
water  route,  costing  for  transportation,  generally  about  $3  per  cwt. 
Barter  trade,  in  furs  especially,  constituted  his  principal  early  busi 
ness  ;  potash  and  ginseng  was  added  after  a  few  years. 

Mr.  Gordon  was  a  Judge  of  Ontario  county  courts  in  early  years  ; 
and  the  second  Post  Master  at  Geneva,  succeeding  Walter  Grieves, 
who  was  the  first.  His  two  sons,  John  II.,  and  Win.  W.  Gordon, 
reside  in  Washington,  Louisana. 

Dr.  Adams  was  a  physician  in  Geneva  in  the  earliest  years  of 
settlement.  Dr.  John  Henry  and  Daniel  Goodwin,  were  the  ear 
liest  permanent  physicians.  Dr.  Henry  died  in  1812.  Dr.  Good 
win  removed  to  Detroit,  where  he  died  a  few  years  since.  Stephen 
A.  Goodwin,  an  attorney  at  law,  in  Auburn,  is  a  son  of  his ;  another 
son,  Daniel  Goodwin,  is  an  attorney  in  Detroit. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE.  235 

A  Presbyterian  society  was  organized  in  Geneva,  as  early  as 
1798.  In  July  of  that  year,  a  meeting  was  held;  John  Fulton  and 
Oliver  Whitmore  presided ;  Oliver  Whitmore,  Elijah  Wilder,  Sep 
timus  Evans,  Ezra  Patterson,  Samuel  Latta,  Wm.  Smith,  jr.,  and 
Pollydore  B.  Wisner,  were  chosen  trustees.  The  Rev.  Jedediah 
Chapman  became  the  first  settled  minister,  continuing  as  such, 
until  his  death  in  1813.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Henry 
Axtell.  The  society  built  a  church  in  1811. 

In  1806,  "  nineteen  persons  of  full  age,  belonging  to  the  Protest 
ant  Episcopal  church,  assembled,  and  there  being  no  Rector,  John 
Nicholas  presided."  Trinity  church  was  organized  by  the  election 
of  the  following  officers  : —  John  Nicholas  and  Daniel  W.  Lewis, 
Wardens  ;  Samuel  Shekel!,  John  Collins,  Robert  S.  Rose,  Richard 
Hughes,  Ralph  T.  Wood,  David  Nagler,  Jas.  Reese,  Thomas  Pow 
ell,  Vestrymen. 

The  Rev.  Davenport  Phelps  was  the  first  officiating  clergyman ; 
was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Orrin  Clark,  who  officiated  for  many 
years.  He  died  in  1828.  The  society  erected  a  church  in  1809, 
which  was  removed,  and  its  site  occupied  by  the  present  Trinity 
Church,  in  1845. 

Baptist  and  Methodist  societies  were  organized,  and  churches 
erected,  soon  after  the  war  of  1812,  but  the  author  has  no  farther 
record  or  information  concerning  them. 

Among  the  earliest  mechanics  at  Geneva,  were  :  Wm.  Tappan, 
John  and  Abraham  B.  Hall,  John  Sweeny,  Elisha  Douner,  Moses 
Hall,  W.  W.  Watson,  John  Woods,*  Lucius  Gary,  Jonathan  Doane,f 
Foster  Barnard,  Richard  Lazalere,  Jacob  and  Joseph  Backenstose.  J 

John  Nicholas,  emigrated  from  Virginia,  and  settled  at  Geneva 
in  1804.  He  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  but  had  retired  from 
practice.  He  was  for  several  terms,  a  member  of  the  State  Senate, 
and  a  Judge  of  the  courts  of  Ontario.  He  engaged  extensively  in 

*  Mr.  Wood,  was  also  an  early  landlord. 

t  He  erected  the  primative  churches ;  was  the  father  of  Bishop  Doane  of  N"ew  Jer 
sey,  who  received  his  primary  education  in  Geneva. 

t  They  were  brothers,  came  to  Geneva  in  the  earliest  years.  They  were  the  pioneer 
tailors  of  the  Genesee  country.  Time  was,  when  to  wear  a  coat  from  their  press  board, 
marked  the  wearer  as  an  aristocrat.  Men  going  to  Congress,  or  the  Legislature,  gen 
erally  got  a  coat  from  a  "Geneva  tailor,"  but  never  before  election.  "Generals"  and 
"Colonels"  sometimes  indulged  in  such  an  extravagant  luxury.  The  surviving  sons  of 
Jacob,  arc  :  — John  Barkenstore  a  merchant  of  Geneva,  and  Jacob  and  Frederick,  of 
Bloomfield.  Jacob  Barkenstore  yet  survives,  a  resident  of  Lockport 


236  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

agricultural  pursuits,  owning  and  occupying  the  large  farm  after 
wards  purchased  by  Gideon  Lee.     Judge  Nicholas  died  in   1817 
His  surviving  sons  are  Robert  C.  Nicholas,  Lawson  Nicholas,  Gavin 
L.  Nicholas,  John  Nicholas ;  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Abra 
ham  Dox,  and  another  the  wife  of  Dr.  Leonard,  of  Lansingburg. 

Robert  S.  Rose,  a  brother-in-law  of  Judge  Nicholas,  emigrated 
with  him  from  Virginia.  He  located  upon  a  farm  on  the  opposite 
side  of  Seneca  Lake,  where  for  many  years,  he  was  one  of  the 
largest  farmers  in  western  New  York.  Both  he  and  Judge  Nich 
olas,  were  at  one  period  extensive  wool  growers,  and  did  ;iiuch  to 
promote  the  improvement  of  sheep  husbandry  in  this  region.  He 
was  for  one  or  two  terms,  a  representative  in  Congress.  He  died, 
suddenly,  at  Waterloo,  in  1845.*  His  widow,  who  was  of  the 
Virginia  family  of  Lawsons,  so  highly  esteemed  for  her  quiet  and 
unobtrusive  charities,  and  especially  for  her  zealous  aid  to  the  Epis 
copal  church,  whose  doctrines  she  adorned  through  life,  died  in 
1847,  or  '8.  The  surviving  sons,  are:  —  Dr.  Lawson  G.  Rose,  cf 
Geneva ;  John  and  Henry  Rose,  of  Jerusalem,  Yates  county ; 
Robert  L.  Rose,  of  Allen's  Hill,  Ontario  county,  late  a  representative 
in  Congress,  from  the  Ontario  and  Livingston  district,  and  Charles 
Rose,  of  the  town  of  Rose,  Wayne  county.  A  daughter  became 
the  wife  of  Robert  C.  Nicholas;  another,  the  wife  of  Hopkins  Sill 


BRIEF  REMINISCENCES. 


From  old  newspaper  files,  preserved  by  James  Bogart  Esq.,  an  early  and 
worthy  conductor  of  the  newspaper  press  in  Ontario  county.  JST  See  some 
account  of  the  early  printers  and  editors  of  the  Genesee  country. 

In  Batli  Gazette,  1799,  by  an  advertisement,  it  would  seem  that  tlie  "Bath 
Theatre"  was  in  full  blast.  The  plays  announced,  are  the  "  Mock  Doctor,  or 
the  Dumb  Lady  cured."  "  A  peep  into  the  Seraglio."  "Pit,  six  shillings ; 
Gallery  three  shillings."  In  same  paper,  George  M'Clure,  announces  that  lie 

*  In  early  life  lie  had  entertained  a  presentiment  of  sudden  death,  arising  from  some 
disorganization  in  the  region  of  the  heart  Many  years  previous  to  his  death  he  had 
assured  his  family  it  would  be  sudden,  as  it  proved  to  be.  He  had  dined  with  some 
friends  at  Waterloo  —  at  the  table  had  spoken  of  his  unusual  good  health;  and  in  the 
act  of  stepping  into  his  sleigh  to  return  home,  fell  and  soon  expired.  So  abiding  was 
his  presentiment,  that  he  had  kept  all  his  business  affairs  prepared  for  such  an  exigen 
cy  as  actually  occured. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.       237 

has  opened  a  "house  of  entertainment,"  at  Bath.     Bath  races  are  advertised. 

"Northumberland  and  Sunbury  Gazette,"  1792:  —  Charles  Williamson 
offers  for  sale  "  1,000,000  acres  of  good  land  in  the  Genesee  country,  at  $1,00 
per  acre  to  actual  settlers."  He  says:  —  "A  village  called  Williamsburg, 
is  laid  out  at  the  junction  of  the  Canascraga  and  Genesee  Rivers,  where 
there  is  excellent  navigation  for  boats  carrying  ten  tons,  in  the  driest  season." 
"The  village  will  have  the  advantage  of  a  school,  church,  <fec."  "Mechanics 
wanted,  to  whom  village  lots  will  be  donated."  "Mr.  Williamson  begs 
leave  to  inform  the  German  settlers  in  Pennsylvania,  that  he  expects  to  hear 
of  the  arrival  of  400  Saxons  from  Germany,  who  have  taken  up  lands  in  the 
Genesee  country.  They  sailed  from  Hamburg  in  April  last."  * 

In  "  Seneca  Museum,"  1800,  Elkanah  Watson  and  Wm.  Mynderse,  adver 
tise  that  they  will  contract  the  making  of  a  turnpike  from  Onondaga  Hollow 
to  Geneva,  and  make  payment  for  the  same  "in  good  land."  In  same  paper 
it  is  announced  that  "  Sloop-  Seneca,  will  sail  from  Geneva  every  Tuesday, 
wind  and  weather  permitting,  for  the  head  of  the  Lake,  and  will  generally 
return  from  there  the  Friday  following.  For  freight  or  passage,  apply  to 
Captain  on  board." 

From  the  Geneva  Gazette,  April,  1806: —  "Positive  proof  has  been  ob 
tained  by  Joseph  II.  Davis,  attorney  general  for  Kentucky  district,  that  Burr 
had  formed  an  association  for  making  \var  against  Spain,  invading  Mexico, 
and  forming  a  distinct  empire  in  the  western  country." 


JAMES  REESE. 


In  all  our  country  there  are  but  few  survivors  of  our  Revolution 
ary  period  —  not  one,  perhaps — certainly  not  in  our  local  region, 
survives,  who  was  so  familiar  with  its  stirring  events  as  the  venera 
ble  James  Reese,  of  Geneva,  now  in  his  87th  year.  Entering  the 
counting  house  of  Willing  &  Morris,  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  memora 
ble  year  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  he  remained  there  until 
the  close  of  the  long  struggle  that  ensued.  Transferred  from  the 
commercial  department  of  the  firm  to  the  private  desk,  and  confi 
dence,  of  one  of  its  partners,  Robert  Morris,  then  so  blended  with 
and  so  participating  in  all  that  was  transpiring,  it  may  well  be  con 
ceived  that  his  yet  vigorous  mind  is  a  rich  storehouse  of  historical 
reminiscences.  The  man  survives,  a  citizen  of  our  own  local  region, 
who  was  a  witness  of  the  interviews  that  often  occurred  between 
Geo.  Washington  and  Robert  Morris ;  when  he  who  wielded  the 


*  And  they  proved,  as  the  reader  will  see,  rather  the  hardest  case  that  the  enterpris 
ing  founder  of  settlements,  had  upon  his  hands. 


238  PHELPS  AOT)    GORHAM?S   PURCHASE. 

sword,  would  meet  him  who  wielded  the  purse,  and  the  two,  with 
painful  anxiety,  surrounded  by  embarrassments  —  with  an  unclothed 
and  unpaid  army,  and  an  empty  treasury  —  would  discuss  the  por- 
tentuous  questions,  the  ways  and  means  of  our  nation's  deliverance. 
When  unpaid  armies,  disheartened,  wore  down  by  fatigue  and  pri 
vation,  would  threaten  dispersion  and  a  return  to  their  long  neglect 
ed  homes ;  when  even  their  stout-hearted  leader  would  temporarily 
yield  to  despondency,  and  almost  in  despair  appeal  to  him  whose 
financial  expedients  were  seemingly  exhaustless,  for  council  and 
aid. 

The  printed  notes  of  hand  that  Mr.  Morris  issued  in  several 
emergencies  during  the  Revolution,  —  especially  those  used  in  addi 
tion  to  the  sum  borrowed  of  the  French  to  enable  Washington  to 
put  the  army  upon  its  march,  preparatory  to  the  battle  of  Yorktown, 
were  filled  up  and  afterwards  cancelled  by  Mr.  Reese.  Of  the 
hundreds  in  Mr.  Morris'  employment  at  that  period,  in  all  his  com 
mercial'  relations  —  as  Superintendent  of  the  finances,  and  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury  —  Mr.  Reese  alone  survives.  His  position 
brought  him  in  contact,  and  made  him  acquainted  with  the  leaders 
of  both  the  American  and  French  army,  and  the  officers  of  the 
Navy,  of  those  whose  memories  are  embalmed  in  a  nation's  heart. 
He  names  them  with  all  the  familiarity  of  recent  intercourse  ;  but 
there  are  few,  if  any,  in  the  long  list  that  have  not  gone  to  their  final 
rest.  He  is  one  of  the  few  remaining  links  that  connect  the  Past 
with  the  Present  —  and  his  is  not  only  in  reference  to  our  national 
history,  but  to  the  Pioneer  history  of  our  local  region. 

Mr.  Reese's  first  visit  to  this  region  was  as  clerk  or  secretary  to 
the  commissioners  for  holding  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  at  "  Big 
Tree, "  commonly  called  the  Morris'  treaty.  Returning  to  Phila 
delphia  he  acquired  an  interest  in  the  new  region,  and  in  1798,  he 
removed  his  family  to  Geneva,  where  he  has  since  resided,  with  the 
exception  of  one  year  spent  in  Bath,  in  connection  with  the  land  of 
fice  there.  When  Mr.  Williamson  came  out  as  the  Pultney  agent, 
his  first  business  was  with  Mr.  Morris,  where  Mr.  Reese  became 
one  of  his  earliest  acquaintances  in  this  country.  On  arriving  here, 
he  entered  into  his  agency  service,  and  after  that,  was  his  private 
agent  until  he  returned  to  England. 

NOTE.  —  Major  Reese  died  at  his  residence  in  Geneva  after  this  portion  of  the  work 
was  prepared  for  the  press. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  239 

He  was  appointed  cashier  to  the  old  Bank  of  Geneva  when  it 
went  into  operation.  He  was  in  service  during  the  war  of  1812,  as 
a  Deputy  Quartermaster  of  the  Northern  Division  of  the  Army  ; 
and  in  later  years  he  has  filled  the  office  of  Bank  Commissioner  of 
State,  and  Postmaster  at  Geneva. 

In  a  work  devoted  to  other  objects,  but  a  brief  space  can  be  spared 
for  Revolutionary  reminiscences  —  even  those  as  full  of  interest  as 
are  those  of -the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Speaking  of  Mr.  Morris,  he 
observes:  —  "His  commercial  transactions  were  immense,  extend 
ing  over  the  greater  portion  of  the  commercial  world ;  and  to  all 
this  was  added  the  onerous  task  of  providing  for  an  army  in  the  field, 
and  an  armed  force  upon  the  ocean.  He  brought  all  his  energies 
of  mind  and  body  in  requisition  for  the  Herculean  labor ;  was  active, 
vigilant  —  at  times  sleepless,  —  and  all  in  his  employ  were  kept  in 
motion.  There  was  no  man  who  could  have  filled  his  place.  He 
wielded  an  immense  amount  of  wealth ;  had  an  extraordinary  facul 
ty  to  inspire  confidence  ;  he  unloosed  purse  strings  that  no  one  else 
could  have  unloosed.  Even  those  of  the  society  of  Friends,  their 
principles  forbidding  an  immediate  or  remote  participaton  in  war 
or  any  of  its  relations,  who  constituted  at  that  period  a  large  class  of 
Philadelphia  capitalists,  lent  him  money  ;  in  one  especial  instance, 
$6,000  in  specie,  in  a  pressing  emergency  of  the  army,  with  an  in 
junction  of  secrecy.*  The  relations  between  him  and  Washington 
during  the  whole  of  the  Revolution,  was  one  of  great  intimacy,  con 
fidence  and  friendship.  There  was  no  one  individual  upon  whom 
the  Father  of  his  country  so  much  relied,  in  all  the  terrible  conflict 
that  won  our  national  Independence. 

As  the  clerk  of  Mr.  Morris,  Mr.  Reese  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  Washington  under  circumstances  which  enable  him  to 
speak  familiarly  of  him.  " He  always,"  says  he,  "received  me  and 
treated  me  with  great  kindness  of  manner,  when  I  had  business  to 
transact  with  him.  He  was  mild  and  courteous  —  sedate — not 
austere." 

Mr.   Reese  observes  that  Mr.  Morris'  sudden  reverses  were  in  a 

Wh  on  the  gallant  Rochambeau  was  about  to  return  to  France,  a  deputation  of 
Friends  were  among  those  who  made  to  him  congratulatory  addresses :  —  " It  is  not" 
said  they,  "on  account  of  thy  military  qualities  that  we  make  thee  this  visit  —  those  we 
hold  in  little  esteem  ;  bnt  thou  art  the  friend  of  mankind,  and  thy  army  conducts 
itself  with  the  utmost  order  and  discipline.  It  is  this  which  induces  us  to  render  thce 
our  uspccte. " 


240       PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

great  measure  consequent  upon  what  he  regarded  as  his  fortunate 
investments  in  the  Genesee  country.  Stimulated  by  his  golden 
prospects  here,  and  especially  by  his  successful  sale  to  Sir  William 
Pultney  and  his  associates,  renowned  throughout  Europe  as  the 
fortunate  American  land  operator,  he  bought  of  himself  and  with 
others,  immense  tracts  of  wild  land  in  different  States  of  the  Union. 
Pay  days  came  before  sales  could  be  effected  ;  a  change  from  af 
fluence,  a  princely  fortune,  to  bankruptcy,  attended  with  dignity, 
integrity,  and  honorable  conduct,  marked  the  close  of  his  useful 
career. 


CHAPTER  II. 


SALE  OF  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM  TO    ROBERT  MORRIS RE-SALE  TO  ENG 
LISH   ASSOCIATION ADVENT  OF  CHARLES  WILLIAMSON. 


A  NAME  intimately  blended  with  the  whole  history  of  the  Revo 
lution,  one  to  whose  memory  a  larger  debt  of  national  gratitude  is 
due  than  to  that  of  any  other  man,  (the  great  leader  in  the  struggle 
always  excepted,)  was  early  and  prominently  identified  with  all  this 
region.  What  could  well  furnish  the  material  for  an  elaborate  his 
torical  work,  must  here  be  but  the  brief  sketch  necessary  to  his  in 
troduction  as  a  large  proprietor  of  the  soil  of  the  Genesee  country. 

Robert  Morris  was  a  native  of  Liverpool,  England.  While  a 
youth,  bis  father  emigrated  to  this  country,  locating  in  Baltimore. 
Entering  into  the  service  of  the  eminent  merchant  of  Philadelphia, 
Charles  Willing,  as  a  clerk,  he  became  the  partner  of  his  son  and 
successor.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  although  en 
gaged  in  an  extensive  mercantile  and  commercial  business  that  de 
manded  his  attention,  he  became  at  once  an  active  partizan  in  the 
struggle.  In  1776,  he  was  a  member  of  Congress  from  Pennsyl 
vania,  and  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE.       241 

In  the  previous  year,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Trenton,  General 
Washington,  in  a  pressing  emergency,  had  realized  from  him  a  tem 
porary  loan  for  the  army.  Again,  money  was  wanted  by  the 
commander  in  chief,  and  he  supplied  it;  the  army  was  destitute 
of  bread,  and  the  doors  of  his  store  houses  were  opened  for  their 
relief;  it  was  without  lead  for  bullets,  —  stripping  the  lead  fixtures 
from  private  dwellings  for  that  purpose,  —  when  the  ballast  of  one 
of  his  vessels  supplied  the  deficiency.  Invested  with  the  office  of 
Secretary  of  an  empty  Treasury  —  becoming  the  financier  of  the 
poorest  country  that  ever  kept  an  army  in  the  field,  or  armed  ships 
upon  the  ocean  —  his  own  means  were  put  in  requisition,  and  his 
almost  unbounded  credit  freely  used.  With  a  tact,  as  a  financier; 
never  excelled,  when  money  must  be  had,  he  obtained  it.  When 
other  men  or  bodies  of  men  failed,  he  would  succeed.  When  the 
rich  bankers  of  Amsterdam  knew  no  such  new  creation  as  the 
United  States,  or  its  Congress ;  or,  knowing  them,  had  no  confi 
dence  in  their  engagements,  they  trusted  him  on  his  private  re 
sponsibility  with  millions,  which  he  used  in  the  public  service. 
And  when  the  great  struggle  was  drawing  to  a  close  —  when  a 
last  and  desperate  blow  was  to  be  struck,  and  the  army  that  was  to 
do  it,  was  in  New  Jersey,  without  pay,  and  destitute  of  comfortable 
clothing  and  rations.  *  —  when  even  its  stout  hearted  commander- 
in-chief  was  almost  yielding  to  the  embarrassments  with  which  he 
was  surrounded,  and  upon  the  point  of  leading  his  army  the  wrong 
way,  because  he  could  not  command  the  means  to  move  it  where 
it  should  go  —  the  active,  patriotic  financier  hastened  to  his  camp, 
and  by  assuring  him  that  he  would  supply  all  immediate  wants,  en 
couraged  him  to  put  his  army  in  motion.  The  destination  was 
Yorktown; — the  defeat  of  Cornwallis,  the  crowning  act  of  the 
Revolution,  was  the  result,  f  Mr.  Morris  died  in  New  Jersey,  in 
180G.  He  was  eventually  reimbursed  by  Congress  for  all  of  his 
expenditures  and  losses  in  the  Revolution,  though  not  for  the  sacri 
fices  of  time  and  abstraction  from  his  private  business,  that  his  pub 
lic  services  made  necessary.  He  was,  however,  eminently  success- 


*  "  I  saw  that  army  when  it  passed  through  Philadelphia,"  says  the  venerable 
James  Reese;  "and  a  more  ragged,  shoeless,  and  sad  looking  one,  has  seldom  been 
put  upon  the  march  in  the  direction  of  an  enemy." 

t  The  money  in  specie,  that  he  had  promised,  was  borrowed,  and  paid  to  the  army, 
but  a  few  days  before  the  attack  upon  Cornwallis. 


242  PHELPS  AKD  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

ful  in  his  commercial  affairs,  and  at  one  period,  was  by  far  the 
wealthiest  man  in  the  United  States ;  but  engaging  enormously  in 
land  purchases  —  other  than  in  this  region  —  he  became  embar 
rassed,  and  the  country  he  had  so  well  served,  had  the  sore  morti 
fication  of  seeing  him,  toward  the  close  of  his  useful  life,  the  tenant 
of  jail  limits.  * 

Mr.  Morris'  extended  commercial  affairs,  had  made  him  in  a 
measure,  a  citizen  of  the  world,  instead  of  that  of  the  new  republic. 
Such  was  his  credit  at  one  period,  that  in  most  of  the  commercial 
cities  of  Europe,  his  private  notes  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  with 
all  the  confidence  that  would  have  been  had  in  the  issues  of  a  sound 
bank.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  an  immense  quantity  of  wild 
lands  were  thrown  into  market,  speculation  became  rife,  and  Mr. 
Morris  entered  into  it  upon  an  extensive  scale.  Mr.  Phelps,  during 
the  Revolution,  having  been  connected  with  the  commissary  depart 
ment  of  the  Massachusetts  line,  and  Mr.  Gorham,  being  a  promi 
nent  merchant  in  Boston,  Mr.  Morris  had  made  their  acquaintance, 
and  when  they  sought  a  purchaser  for  their  unsold  lands  in  the  Gen- 
esee  country,  they  applied  to  him.  Little  was  known  in  the  com 
mercial  cities  of  all  this  region,  other  than  what  had  been  gathered 
from  maps,  and  from  those  who  had  accompanied  Sullivan's  expedi- 

NOTE.  —  The  Duke  Liancourt,  who  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Morris,  and  speaks 
of  him  in  language  of  respect  and  esteem,  mentions  among  his  gigantic  business  oper 
ations,  his  investments  in  the  city  of  Washington.  The  capital  was  located  in  an  era 
of  speculation  and  inflation,  and  magnificent  expectations  were  entertained  in  reference 
to  the  city  that  would  grow  up  around  it.  In  company  with  Messrs.  Nicholson  and 
Greenleaf,  of  Philadelphia,  he  purchased  6,000  lots  at  $80  per  lot,  Avith  the  condition 
that  there  should  be  built  upon  them  120  two  story  brick  houses,  within  seven  years. 
This  purchase  was  made  of  commissioners;  the  company  bought  about  an  equal 
number  of  lots  of  original  proprietors  of  the  ground.  Successful  sales  followed,  part 
of  the  buildings  were"  erected,  but  the  bubble  burst  and  added  to  the  embarrassments 
of  Mr.  Moms,  ruining  manv  others  of  the  large  capitalists  of  the  United  States.  The 
city  of  "brickkilns,"  and  "magnificent  distances,"  as  Mr.  Randolph  called  it,  abounds 
with  the  relics  of  the  extravagant,  views  entertained  at  an  early  period. 

The  private  notes  that  Mr.  Morris  issued  during  the  Revolution,  were  called  "  Long- 
Bobs,"Sand  "  hort  Bobs ;"  having  reference  to  the  drawer's  name,  and  the  periods  of 
their  maturity.  (J^f"  For  a  more  extended  biographical  sketch  of  Robert  Morris,  see 
History  of  Holland  Purchase. 

*An  unthinking  Shylock  at  a  public  watering  place,  during  the  last  summer,  in  "W. 
N.  Y.,  gave  it  as  his  sage  and  profound  opinion,  that  no  "  worthy,  deserving  man," 
ever  suffered  by  the  operations  of  the  old  law,  which  imprisoned  for  debt ;  and  added 
the  wish,  that  it  could  be  restored.  The  author  must  here  note  what  occurred  to  him 
at  the  time  :  — The  man,  without  whose  individual  exertions,  the  Revolutionary  strug 
gle  would  have  been  a  failure  ;  and  the  man  who  projected  the  overland  route  of  that 
great  dispenser  of  wealth  and  prosperity  to  millions — the  Erie  Canal  —  were  victims 
of  that  relic  of  an  iron  age,  which  strangely  enough  had  found  at  this  late  period,  one 
advocate. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  243 

ti'on.  Mr.  Morris,  however,  sought  the  means  of  further  informa 
tion.  Ebenezer  (or  Indian)  Allan,  was  then  located  as  an  Indian 
trader  on  the  Genesee  River,  at  what  is  now  Mount  Morris,  and 
was  in  the  habit  of  making  yearly  visits  to  Philadelphia  for  the  pur 
chase  of  goods.  Samuel  Street  who  resided  at  the  Falls  on  the  Can 
ada  side,  had  also  visited  Philadelphia.  From  them  Mr.  Morris  ob 
tained  information,  which  induced  him  to  accede  to  a  proposition  of 
Messrs.  Phelps  &  Gorham.  Their  deed  of  conveyance  embraces 
their  entire  final  purchase  of  Massachusetts,  of  about  two  millions, 
two  hundred  thousand  acres,  excepting  such  towns  and  parts  of  town 
ships  as  they  had  sold,  being  in  all,  about  one  million,  one  hundred 
thousand  acres.  The  consideration  and  actual  price  paid  by  Mr. 
Morris,  was  thirty  thousand  pounds  New  York  currency. 

At  an  early  period  after  the  purchase,  Mr.  Morris  employed  Maj. 
Adam  Hoops  to  explore  the  country,*  who  reported  that  "  in  respect 
to  soil,  climate  and  advantageous  navigation,"  it  was  equal  to  any 
portion  of  the  United  States.  Measures  were  immediately  adopted 
for  the  survey  of  such  portions  as  was  unsurveyed.  The  celebra 
ted  David  Rittenhouse  was  then  just  perfecting  some  surveyor's  in  • 
struments,  and  he  was  employed  to  fit  out  Major  Hoops'  expedition.! 


NOTE. — Mr.  Morris  after  he  had  made  the  purchase,  wrote  to  his  agent  in  London, 
that  "  Mr.  Ebenezer  Allan,  the  oldest  settler  in  that  country"  had  assured  him  "  that 
hemp  grows  like  young  willows,  it  is  so  rampant  and  strong,  and  that  he  has  raised 
forty  bushels  of  the  finest  wheat  he  ever  saw,  and  so  of  other  articles  in  like  abund 
ance.  He  asserts  that  the  forest  trees  about  Philadelphia  are  not  larger  than  the  bran 
ches  of  trees  in  his  neighborhood."  In  another  letter  he  assures  his  agent  that  he  has 
had  the  most  flattering  accounts  of  his  Genesee  purchase,  from  those  who  belonged  to 
the  Friend's  settlement  on  Seneca  Lake,  that  had  returned  to  Pennsylvania  on  a  visit 
to  their  connexion.  He  assures  him  that  he  has  from  all  quarters  heard  such  favora 
ble  accounts  of  the  country,  that  were  he  a  young  man,  he  would  "  pitch  his  tent  there  !" 

*  Major  Hoops  was  residing  near  Philadelphia,  He  had  been  in  the  army  through 
out  the  Revolution,  was  in  Sullivan's  campaign,  and  at  one  period,  belonged  to  the 
staff  of  Washington  ;  and  was  one  of  the  aids  of  Gen.  Sullivan,  in  his  expedition  to  the 
Genesee  country.  He  was  connected  with  the  earliest  surveys  of  all  this  region, 
"When  Mr.  Morris  afterwards,  purchased  all  the  regions  west  of  'Phelps  and  Gorham's 
purchase,  he  explored  it  and  commenced  the  surveys.  In  1804,  he  in  company  with 
Ebenezer  F.  Norton,  purchased  the  most  of  the  township  of  Olean.  They  laid  out 
there,  the  village  of  Hamilton,  which  was  afterwards,  changed  to  Olean.  He  was  a 
bachelor;  died  in  Westchester,  Pa.,  in  1835  or  '6. 

t  There  is  an  anecdote  connected  with  Mr.  Rittenhouse,  which  is  quite  too  good 
to  be  lost,  and  may  be  preserved  here.  When  he  had  completed  one  of  his  astronomical 
instruments,  in  anticipation  of  the  transit  of  Venus,  he  had  invited  several  friends  to 
be  present,  and  enjoy  a  view  of  it  Among  the  rest  he  had  invited  a  respectable  far 
mer  from  the  country,  who  knew  far  more  about  raising  crops,  than  he  did  about 
movements  of  the  planets.  He  answered  in  a  note,  that  he  should  be  very  much  en 
gaged  the  evening  named,  but  if  Mr.  Rittenhouse  would  have  the  "  transit  of  Venus 
postponed  for  a  few  evenings"  he  would  be  very  happy  to  attend. 


244  PIEELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

In  Mr.  Morris'  extensive  land  operations,  he  had  agents  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  Europe.  His  agent  in  London,  was  Wm.  Tem 
ple  Franklin,  a  grand-son  of  Dr.  Franklin,  to  whom  he  had  given 
an  inadequate  idea  of  its  real  value.  Just  as  he  became  fully  ap 
prized  of  its  value,  and  was  in  active  preparation  to  bring  it  into 
market  for  settlers,  under  his  own  auspices,  he  received  news  from 
Mr.  Franklin,  that  he  had  sold  it.  The  purchasers  were  an  "Asso 
ciation,"  consisting  of  Sir  Wm.  Pultney,  John  Hornby  and  Patrick 
Colquhoun.  The  first  was  a  capatalist,  and  at  that  period  occupied 
a  high  position  as  a  citizen  and  statesman.  He  resided  in  the  city  of 
London.  The  second,  had  been  governor  of  Bombay,  and  was  a 
retired  London  capitalist.  The  third  was  eminent  in  his  day,  as  a 
statesman  and  philanthropist.*  The  price  paid  for  what  was  sup 
posed  to  be  about  one  million  one  hundred  thousand  acres,  but 
which  in  fact  amounted  to  almost  one  million  two  hundred  thousand 
acres,  was  thirty  five  thousand  pounds  sterling.  Mr.  Morris  had 
written  to  Mr.  Franklin  previous  to  the  sale,  a  letter  from  which  he 
would  have  inferred,  that  he  intended  advancing  on  the  price,  but 
the  sale  was  made  previous  to  the  reception  of  the  letter.  In  that 
letter  he  says :  —  "I  have  applications  in  all,  for  250,000  acres  of 
the  Genesee  lands,  and  they  are  daily  increasing.  This  winter  has 
disclosed  the  real  character  those  lands  deserve.  Many  genteel 
families  are  going  to  settle  there,  and  as  I  have  determined  to  settle 
my  son  there,  no  one  can  doubt  the  favorable  opinion  I  entertain  of 
the  soil,  climate  and  rapidity  of  settlement."  "  I  consider  that  the 
southwestern  Indian  war,  will  eventually  be  of  advantage  to  the  set 
tlements  of  the  Genesee  country."  "  There  is  now  in  this  city  a  Mr. 
Jackson,  who  lives  on  the  borders  of  Seneca  Lake,  who  is  accom 
panied  by  an  Indian.  They  assured  me  that  before  they  left,  while 
there  was  snow  on  the  ground,  every  night  thirty  or  forty  families 
arrived  at  his  place,  (Friends  settlement,)  on  their  way  to  settle  the 
lands  that  had  been  bought  before  my  purchase."  "  All  our  public 
affairs  go  on  well.  This  country  is  rushing  into  wealth  and  impor- 


*  A  marble  tablet  erected  in  front  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Canandaigua,  to 
perpetuate  his  memory,  has  upon  it  an  inscription  which  recognizes  the  principal 
events  of  his  useful  life.  He  was  a  native  of  Glasgow,  and  died  in  London,  in  1820, 
aged  76  years.  Few  men  have  contributed  more  to  the  reformation  of  criminal  laws, 
to  the  promotion  of  trade  and  commerce,  in  founding  systems  for  benefitting  the  poor, 
and  for  public  education,  in  England  and  Scotland.  In  some  of  his  correspondence 
in  the  hands  of  the  author,  he  mentions  having  spent  some  time  in  America  previ 
ous  to  1790 ;  as  is  inferred,  in  some  of  the  Southern  States. 


PHELPS  AOT)  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  245 


tance  faster  than  ever  was  expected  by  the  most  sanguine  of  the 
sanguinous."  My  Genesee  lands  are  infinitely  preferable  to  any 
American  lands  that  can  be  offered  in  Europe."  After  he  had 
been  apprised  of  the  sale,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Colquhoun  :  —  "Those 
tracts  which  Gorham  and  Phelps  had  sold  previous  to  my  purchase, 
are  settling  very  fast,  and  the  first  settlers  are  raising  enough  to 
supply  the  new  comers."  "  I  am  now  at  New  York,  on  my  return 
from  Boston,  where  I  saw  several  people  from  the  Genesee  country, 
and  it.  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  reiterate  the  account  which  you 
have  already  had,  of  that  fine  country.  On  my  way  through  Connec 
ticut,  I  met  Mr.  Wadsworth  who  has  settled  in  the  Genesee  country, 
with  whom  I  had  much  conversation,  and  who  I  find  like  every 
other  person  who  has  visited  the  country,  is  in  raptures  with  it, 
Mr.  Wadsworth  is  extremely  intelligent,  and  one  upon  whose 
veracity  the  utmost  reliance  can  be  placed.  The  reports  made  by 
him  and  others  in  New  England,  has  turned  the  attention  of  all  who 
think  of  emigration,  towards  the  Genesee,  and  every  man  who 
pitches  his  tent  there,  adds  to  the  value  of  your  purchase." 

Major  Hoops,  prosecuted  the  surveys  under  the  new  proprietors, 
by  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Morris.  He  early  discovered,  what 
had  been  suspected,  a  material  error  in  the  running  the  Pre-emp 
tion  line.  As  this  is  a  matter  which  it  will  be  necessary  for  the 
reader  to  understand,  in  connection  with  after  events,  it  may  be 
here  stated,  that  the  State  of  New  York  ceded  to  Massachusetts, 
all  the  territory  west  of  a  line  to  be  drawn  due  north  and  south 
from  the  82nd  mile  stone  on  the  Pennsylvania  line.  Before  the 
running  this  line,  it  could  of  course  be  but  mere  conjecture  where 
it  would  fall,  as  far  north  from  the  starting  point  as  Seneca  Lake. 
Seth  Reed,  the  afterwards  founder  of  the  settlement  at  Presque 
Isle,  (Erie,)  Pa.,  the  grand-father  of  the  present  Charles  M.  Reed, 
and  Peter  Ryckman,  both  of  whom  had  been  Indian  traders,  ap 
plied  to  the  State  of  New  York,  for  a  remuneration  for  services 
rendered  in  some  previous  negotiations  with  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  Six  Nations,  and  proposed  to  take  a  patent  for  a  tract,  the  boun 
daries  of  which  should  "begin  at  a  tree  on  the  bank  of  the  Seneca 
Lake,  and  run  along  the  bank  of  the  Lake  to  the  south,  until  they 
should  have  16,000  acres  between  the  Lake  and  the  east  bounds  of 
the  land  ceded  to  Massachusetts."  Their  request  was  acceded  to, 
and  a  patent  issued.  Thus  situated,  they  proposed  to  Messrs.  Phelps 


246  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

and  Gorham,  to  join  them  in  running  the  Pre-emption  Line,  each 
party  furnishing  a  surveyor.  "  A  Captain  Allen,"  says  one  authority, 
"  Mr.  Jenkins  "  says  another,  was  selected  by  Reed  and  Ryckman, 
and  Colonel  Maxwell,  by  Phelps  and  Gorham.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  Lessees  assuming  that  their  transactions  were  valid,  took  an  in 
terest  in  the  matter,  and  as  Messrs.  Reed  and  Ryckman  were  both 
share  holders  in  their  company,  the  matter  was  mutually  accommo 
dated  between  them.  The  line  was  run,  which  is  known  as  the 
"  Old  Pre-emption  Line."  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Gorham,  were 
much  disappointed  in  the  result,  suspected  error,  or  fraud,  but  made 
no  movement  for  a  re-survey,  before  they  had  sold  to  the  English 
Association.'  Their  suspicions  had  been  at  first  excited  by  an  offer 
from  a  prominent  member  of  the  Lessee  Company,  for  "  all  the  lands 
they  owned  east  of  the  line  that  had  been  run."  They  were  so 
well  assured  of  the  fact,  that  in  their  deed  to  Mr.  Morris,  they 
specified  a  tract,  in  a  gore  between  the  line  then  run,  and  the  west 
bounds  of  the  counties  of  Montgomery  and  Tioga,  those  counties 
then  embracing  all  of  the  military  tract. 

Upon  a  superficial  examination  of  the  line,  Major  Hoops  wras 
convinced  of  its  inaccuracy.  Mr.  Morris  having  in  his  convey 
ance  to  the  English  purchasers,  stipulated  an  accurate  survey  of  all 
he  conveyed,  instructed  Major  Hoops  to  correct  the  line.*  Mr. 
Ellicott  with  his  two  brothers,  Joseph  and  Benjamin,  had  then  just 
finished  the  survey  of  Washington  city.  The  transit  instrument, 
for  surveying  by  means  of  astronomical  observations,  having  just 
been  invented  in  Germany,  Mr.  Ellicott  availed  himself  of  it,  his 
brother  Benjamin  superintending  its  construction.  Upon  arriving 
in  this  country,  Mr.  Ellicott  was  joined  by  the  late  Judge  Porter,  who 
was  then  a  surveyor  in  the  employ  of  Messrs.  Phelps  &  Gorham  ; 
a  corps  of  axe-men  were  employed,  and  a  vista  thirty  feet  wide 
opened  before  the  transit  instrument,  until  the  line  had  reached  the 
head  of  Seneca  Lake,  when  night  signals  were  employed  to  run 
down  and  over  the  Lake.  So  much  pains  were  taken  to  insure 
correctness,  that  the  survey  was  never  disputed,  and  thus  the  "  new 
Pre-emption  Line"  was  established  as  the  true  division  line  between 

*  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Colquhoun,  Mr.  Morris  says:.  "These  three  brothers,"  (An 
drew,  Joseph,  and  Benjamin  Ellicott,)  "are  of  the  number  of  beings  on  whom  nature 
sports  her  favors.  They  are  great  mathematicians  as  well  as  mechanical  geniuses,  to 
•which  they  have  added  much  practical  experience,  and  good  moral  characters." 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  247 

the  lands  of  the  State  of  New  York  and  those  that  had  been  ceded 
to  Massachusetts.  In  examining  the  old  survey,  Major  Hoops  had 
discovered  the  precise  points  of  deviation  to  the  westward.  It  had 
commenced  soon  after  leaving  the  Pennsylvania  line,  gradually 
bearing  off  until  it  crossed  the  out-let  of  the  Crooked  Lake,  where 
an  abrupt  offset  was  made,  and  then  an  inclination  for  a  few  miles, 
almost  in  a  north-west  course ;  then  as  if  fearful  that  it  was  running 
west  farther  than  was  necessary  to  secure  a  given  object,  the  line 
was  made  to  incline  to  the  east,  until  it  passed  the  foot  of  Seneca 
Lake,  when  it  was  run  nearly  north  and  south  to  Lake  Ontario.  All 
this  will  be  observed  upon  any  of  the  old  maps.  It  will  at  once  be 
perceived  that  the  site  of  Geneva,  the  16,000  acres  of  Reed  and 
Ryckman,  and  the  supposed  interests  of  the  Lessees,  had  caused  more 
than  a  usual  variation  of  the  surveyor's  compass.  Judge  Porter's 
explanation  is  as  follows :  "  Geneva  was  then  a  small  settlement, 
beautifully  situated  on  the  Seneca  Lake,  rendered  quite  attractive 
by  its  lying  beside  an  old  Indian  settlement,  in  which  there  was  an 
orchard."  * 

The  old  pre-emption  line",  terminated  on  Lake  Ontario,  three 
miles  west  of  Sodus  Bay,  and  the  new  line  very  nearly  the  center 
of  the  head  of  the  Bay.  With  the  exception  of  the  abrupt  varia 
tions  that  have  been  noticed,  the  old  line  parting  from  the  true  merid 
ian  about  five  miles  south  of  the  Chemung  river,  bears  off  gradually 
until  it  reaches  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario.  The  strip  of  land  between 
the  two  lines  was  called  "  The  Gore."  In  addition  to  the  patent 
granted  to  Reed  and  Ryckman,  the  State  had  presumed  the  origi 
nal  survey  to  be  correct,  and  made  other  grants,  and  allowed  the 
location  of  military  land  warrants  upon  what  had  been  made  dispu 
ted  territory.  We  shall  see  what  was  the  final  disposition  of  the 
matter. 

After  Mr.  Morris  had  made  the  purchase  of  Phelps  and  Gorham, 
he  had  once  endeavored  to  promote  the  settlement  of  the  Genesee 
lands,  entering  into  negotiations  with  individuals,  and  with  those 
who  proposed  founding  settlements  or  colonies,  but  he  had  perfected 
nothing ;  though  some  sales  he  had  in  progress,  were  consummated 

*  In  speaking  of  this  fraud,  to  the  author,  Judge  Porter  entirely  exonerated  Col. 
Maxwell,  for  whom,  in  common  with  all  who  knew  him,  he  entertained  a  high  res 
pect.  In  fact,  it  turned  out  that  CoL  Maxwell  was  sick  and  obliged  to  trust  the  line 
to  his  associate  at  the  time  the  fraud  was  committed. 


248       PEELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

by  his  successors.  His  plan  of  settlement  contemplated  principally 
emigration  from  Pennsylvania  ;  but  there  were  formidable  difficul 
ties  in  the  way.  A  wide  forest  separated  his  lands  from  the  most 
advanced  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  over  the  mountains  and 
across  the  streams,  of  which  no  avenue  had  been  opened  ;  and  the 
still  greater  difficulty  was  the  fear  of  Indian  wars.  The  Six  Na 
tions  were  looked  upon  as  but  in  a  state  of  armistice,  as  having  re 
luctantly  yielded  to  necesssity,  and  paused  in  their  stealthy  assaults  ; 
but  far  from  being  reconciled,  ready  to  again  take  up  the  tomahawk 
and  scalping  knife,  upon  their  own  account,  if  opportunity  was  of 
fered,  or  at  the  bidding  of  those  who  were  yet  brooding  over  their 
revenge  behind  the  walls  of  Forts  Oswego  and  Niagara,  and  in  their 
Canadian  retreats.  The  borderers  of  Pennsylvania  had  seen  and  felt 
too  much  of  the  horrors  of  Indian  wars,  to  feel  willing  to  place  them 
selves  again  in  a  position  to  be  harrassed  by  them.  News  had 
reached  them  of  Indian  murders  of  surveyors  and  emigrants  near 
Presque  Isle,  and  of  surveyors  in  this  region  ;  of  solitary  cases  of  a 
renewal  of  Indian  hostilities  upon  the  Susquehannah ;  and  rumor 
had  vastly  magnified  the  apprehended  danger.  A  society  of  Men- 
onists  in  Pennsylvania,  had  contracted  with  Phelps  and  Gorham 
for  a  township,  and  were  negotiating  with  Mr.  Morris  for  a  larger 
purchase,  to  enable  them  to  settle  their  sons  in  this  country,  but 
gave  up  the  project  in  consequence  of  the  fear  of  Indian  war.  Mr. 
Morris  writes  to  Mr.  Colquhoun  soon  after  he  had  sold  to  the  As 
sociation,  that  "  these  worthy  but  timid  people  had  grown  afraid 
since  the  Indian  wars  at  the  westward  had  become  so  general  as  it 
is,  to  let  their  sons  go  out  even  to  the  townships  they  have  bought, 
lest  the  Six  Nations  should  become  parties,  and  attack  the  Genesee 
settlements.  Now  as  there  is  not  the  least  danger  of  this  happening, 
the  Six  Nations  having  decided  already  for  peace,  yet  these  timid  peo 
ple  will  await  their  own  time.  I  will,  however,  announce  to  them  that 
[  can  supply  them  with  the  lands  they  wanted,  and  as  I  think  the 
Indian  war  will  be  of  short  duration,  there  is  little  doubt  but  they 
will  buy  it  when  it  is  over." 

In  a  letter  from  Mr.  Morris  to  Mr.  Colquhoun,  dated  in  June, 
1791,  he  gives  a  general  statement  of  wild  lands  in  the  United  States, 
then  in  market.  Speaking  of  his  own  operations  he  says,  he  has 
50,000  acres  in  Otsego  county,  that  he  had  bought  of  the  State  of 
<Yew  York ;  and  he  mentions  that  the  State  of  New  York  has  vet 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  249 

600,000  acres,  but  he  knows  of  a  "  company  who  intend  to  buy  it. 
The  State  asks  four  shillings  per  acre,  and  want  cash  down,  the  ap 
plicants  want  credit,  and  a  lower  price,  and  as  yet  the  land  remains 
unsold.  On  the  Mohawk  river,  lands  are  worth  from  £5  to  £15 
per  acre,  New  England  currency."  He  mentions  "  that  in  company 
with  Governeur  Morris,"  (who  was  then  in  Europe,  endeavoring  to 
sell  lands,)  "  and  his  brother-in-law,  I  have  a  190  thousand  acres  on 
the  river  St.  Lawrence."  "  In  Pennsylvania  the  lands  belonging  to 
the  State  are  reduced  by  sales  and  settlement  to  an  inconsiderable 
quantity."  "  The  vacant  lands  in  Virginia,  from  a  vicious  practice 
in  the  land  office,  and  a  more  vicious  practice  of  the  surveyors,  are 
rendered  so  precarious  in  title,  that  people  are  afraid  to  buy  them, 
and  therefore  they  are  offered  at  6d  per  acre,  and  no  buyers." 
"  Lands  west  of  the  Ohio  are  now  out  of  the  question,  until  the  In 
dian  war  is  over;  they  are  also  too  remote  from  any  market." 
"  Lands  in  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  may  be 
cheap,  but  the  climate  is  too  warm  for  rapid  settlement." 


CHARLES  WILLIAMSON. 


As  soon  as  the  London  Associates  had  completed  their  purchase 
of  Mr.  Franklin,  the  agent  of  Mr.  Morris,  they  entered  upon 
measures  for  the  sale  and  settlement  of  what  they  had  acquired. 
Sir  Wm.  Pultney,  in  the  earliest  years,  was  in  a  great  measure  a 
silent  partner ;  the  concerns  of  the  Genesee  lands  seem  to  have 
devolved  principally  upon  Mr.  Colquhoun.  He  devoted  himself 
earnestly  to  the  work ;  availed  himself  of  all  the  information  he 
could  acquire ;  projected  improvements  ;  and  made  himself,  by  an 
active  correspondence  with  Mr.  Morris  and  others,  in  this  country, 
familiar  with  this  region.  He  was  ambitious  to  make  it  a  lucrative 
operation  for  himself  and  associates,  arid  at  the  same  time  to  make 
himself  and  them  the  founders  of  prosperous  settlements.  His 
correspondence  are  perfect  specimens  of  .method,  and  high  business 

NOTE. — Almost  simultaneously  with  the  sale  to  the  English  Association,  Mr.  Morris 

had  purchased  of  Massachusetts  what  Messrs.  Phelps  &  Gorham  had  relinquished,  and, 

what  afterwards  constituted  the  Holland  purchase  and  "  Morris'  reserve."    ilis  interest, 

therefore,  in  this  region,  did  not  cease  with  his  sale  to  Sir  Wm.  Pultney  and  associates 

16 


250  PHELPS  AND   GOEHLtM's   PURCHASE. 

qualifications ;  exhibit  great  foresight  and  prudence  ;  and  touching 
the  interest  of  those  upon  whom  was  to  devolve  the  hard  task  of 
subduing  the  wilderness,  there  is  blended  in  all  of  it  a  spirit  of  phi 
lanthropy,  and  fair  and  honest  dealing,  which  would  well  justify 
much  that  has  been  said  of  him  on  the  tablet  that  has  been  raised 
to  his  memory  in  Canandaigua.  And  with  nothing  to  judge  from 
but  his  business  letters,  instructions  to  agents,  &c.,  it  is  impossible  to 
form  any  other  conclusion  with  regard  to  Sir  Wm.  Pultney,  but  such 
as  are  creditable  to  him,  as  one  whose  capital  had  made  his  own 
interests  and  those  of  new  settlers,  mutual. 

And  here,  with  a  knowledge  that  the  author  has  acquired  by  a 
perusal  of  masses  of  correspondence  that  have  passed  between  the 
foreign  land  holders  of  most  of  all  Western  New  York  and  their 
agents  —  letters  written  in  all  the  confidence  that  would  accrue  from 
such  a  relation — he  is  constrained  to  remark,  that  the  country 
could  hardly  have  fallen  into  better  hands.  Both  the  English  and 
the  Dutch  companies,  under  whose  auspices,  as  proprietors,  three 
fourths  of  the  whole  country  west  of  Seneca  Lake  was  settled, 
were  composed  of  capitalists  who  made  investments  of  large 
amounts  of  money,  in  the  infancy  of  this  republic,  when  its  stabil 
ity  was  by  no  means  a  settled  point ;  and  they  were  satisfied  with 
reasonable  returns  for  their  vast  outlays  ;  and  patient  under  the  de 
lays  of  payment,  as  all  must  concede.  With  reference  to  both 
companies,  in  all  their  correspondence  with  their  agents,  no  wish  or 
indication  escapes  them  of  a  disposition  to  have  the  new  settlers 
oppressed,  or  to  have  their  business  conducted  in  any  other  than  a  fair, 
honest,  and  liberal  manner.  If  any  wrong  policy  was  pursued  it 
was  a  fixing  of  too  high  prices  upon  land,  and  in  that  matter  they 
generally  were  guided  by  the  advice  of  their  agents ;  but  long,  in 
many  instances,  almost  interminable  credits  were  given ;  and  that 
enabled  men  to  possess,  and  finally  pay  for  land,  who  could  not  have 
done  so,  if  payment  at  a  very  low  rate  had  been  demanded  in  hand. 
There  is  not  in  the  history  of  the  world  a  better  example  of  the 
advantages  of  credit  than  is  furnished  in  the  settlement  of  all  this 
region.  It  has  conferred  homes  and  competence  upon  tens  of 
thousands  who  would  not  have  had  them  if  pay  down  had  been  the 
order  of  early  days.  There  was  no  considerable  class  of  actual 
settlers  \vhen  most  of  the  Genesee  country  was  brought  into 
market  that  could  pay  down  even  twenty  five  cents  per  acre.  The 


PHELPS  AND  GCRHAM'S  PURCHASE.  251 

present  system  of  selling  the  wild  lands  of  the  United  States  would 
not  have  answered  for  that  day,  for  there  is  now  twenty  settlers  who 
are  able  to  pay  before  working  it  out  of  the  soil,  where  there  was 
one  then. 

The  Association,  as  a  first  step  after  purchase,  looked  for  an  agent 
to  manage  it.  The  choice  fell  upon  Charles  Williamson ;  one  who 
was  destined  to  have  his  name  prominently  and  honorably  identified 
with  all  the  earliest  history  of  settlement  and  progress  in  Western 
New  York. 

Mr.  Williamson  was  a  native  of  Balgray,  in  the  county  of  Dum 
fries,  Scotland.     His  father,  Alexander  Williamson,  was  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Earl  of  Hopeton.     At  the  commencement  of  the  Revo 
lution,  he  held  a  captain's  commission  in  the  British  service,  and 
was  ordered  to  this  country  with  his  regiment,  though  as  it  hap 
pened  without  any  service.     The  ship  in  which  he  sailed,  when 
nearing  our  coast,  was  captured  by  a  French  privateer,  carried  into 
Newburyport,  and  transferred  to  the  depot  at  Boston,  where  he  re 
mained  a  prisoner  until  the  close  of  the  war,  was  married  and  re 
turned  to  Scotland.     He  improved  his  stay  i'n  the  country,  by  col 
lecting  much  information,  and  left  it  with  high  expectations  in  re 
ference  to  its  destinies,  which  wTere  fully  confirmed  by  the  success 
ful  termination  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution.     After  making  the 
tour  of  the  eastern  continent,  he  returned  to  London,  just  about  the 
period  when   the  attention  of  capitalists  in  Europe   was   drawn 
toward  the  wild  lands  of  the  United  States ;  his  opinion  and  infor 
mation  was  much  sought  after.     His  intelligence,  and  fine  social 
qualities  attracted  the  attention  of  Mr.  Pitt,  and  Mr.   Colquhoun, 
then  sheriff  of  Westminster,  and  with  them  he  became  very  inti 
mate,  which  was  only  ended  by  the  death  of  the  parties.     Mr. 
Williamson  had  a  strong  desire  to  return  to  this  country,  which  was 
gratified  by  his  appointment  as  agent  of  what  was  at  first  called 
"  The.  Association,  "  and  afterwards  the  Pultney  Estate.     Leaving 
London,  he  repaired  to  Scotland,  and  after  arranging  his  affairs  there, 
sailed  for  this  country,  accompanied  by  his  family,  and  two  well 
educated  and  intelligent  Scotchmen,  John  Johnstone  and  Charles 
Cameron,  who  came  out  as  his  assistants.     After  a  long  voyage,  the 
party  arrived  at  Norfolk,  and  going  to  Baltimore,  Mr.  Williamson 
provided  quarters  for  his  family  for  the  winter.     From  this  city  he 
wrote  to  his  principals  that  all  things  looked  well  in  the  new  coun- 


252  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

try;  that  .the  city  was  so  full  of  newly  arrived  emigrants  that  he 
found  it  difficult  to  get  accommodations.     Preceding  his  companions, 
he  went  to  Philadelphia,  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Morris,  and 
availed  himself  of  his  knowledge  of  the  Genesee  country,  and  his 
remaining  interest  in  it,  in  projecting  some  improvements,  the  open 
ing  of  a  direct  road  to  the  purchase,  and  a  genera]  plan  of  commen 
cing  the  settlements ;  at  the  same  time,  after  having  become  natural 
ized  he  took  from  Mr.  Morris  deeds  in  his  own  name,  his  principals 
being  aliens  and  non-residents.     In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Colquhoun  from 
Baltimore,  Mr.  Williamson  had  foreshadowed  some  of  his  ideas  of 
what  should  be  done.     He  states  that  he  had  just  met  with  a  gentle 
man  who  had  "traversed  the  Genesee  lands  in  several  directions ;" 
and  his  account  corresponded  with  their  most  favorable  anticipa 
tions  :  —  "  He  declares  that  even  the  worst  are  superior  to  any  he 
ever   saw."      Mr.  Williamson  adds:  —  "These   disinterested  ac 
counts,  from  different  people,  put  the  quality  of  the  land  in  the  fairest 
view.     The   next  object  then  is  to  take  some  liberal   and  decisive 
steps  to  bring  them  to  their  value.     Want  of    communications  is 
the  great  draw  back  on  back  settlements  distant  from  the  rivers 
that  run  into  the  Atlantic.     Remove  this  difficulty  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  gentlemen  of  the  Association  will  reap  an  advan 
tage  fifty  times  their  outlay  ;  and  come  to  their  purpose  many  years 
sooner.     Nothing  will  draw  the  attention  of  the  people  of  America 
more  readily  than  the  idea  of  their  settling  under  the  protection  of 
an  association  who  will  take  every  means  to  render  their  farms  con 
venient  and  profitable.  "     In  the  same  letter  he  proposes  a  plan  for 
advancing  £JO  to  "poor  settlers  to  induce  them   to  settle  down  on 
the  worst  part  of  the  tract  where  wealthier  people  might  hesitate  to 
make  a  beginning.. 

Mr.  Williamson  spent  the  most  of  the  winter  of  1791,  '2,  with 
his  party  in  Northumberland,  Penn.  In  February,  however,  he 
made  a  flying  visit  to  the  Genesee  country,  going  around  via  New 
York  and  Albany.  He  writes  to  Mr.  Colquhoun  that  he  passed 
through  "an  uninhabited  wilderness  of  more  than  100  miles  before 
reaching  Geneva,  which  consisted  of  a  few  straggling  huts." 
"  There  is  not  a  road  within  one  hundred  miles  of  the  Genesee 
country,  that  will  admit  of  any  sort  of  conveyance,  otherwise  than 
on  horseback,  or  on  a  sled,  when  the  ground  is  covered  with  snow." 
"  The  price  of  land  has,  in  a  few  instances,  exceeded  2s.  per  acre  \ 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.          253 

some  few  farms  of  first-rate  quality  have  been  sold  on  a  credit  for 
4s.  per  acre."  Returning  to  Baltimore,  he  decided  upon  opening  a 
communication  with  the  Genesee  country  from  the  southward.  It 
was  from  that  direction  he  expected  his  principal  emigration ;  and 
he  looked  to  the  Susquehannah  and  its  branches,  and  Chesapeake 
Bay,  as  the  prospective  avenues  of  trade  from  all  this  region ;  and 
to  Baltimore  as  its  great  emporium.  To  the  eastward  from  the 
Genesee  country,  every  thing  had  a  discouraging  look  —  a  woods 
road  through  the  wide  wilderness  that  separated  the  region  from 
the  old  settlement  on  the  Mohawk,  which  when  improved,  would 
furnish  but  a  long  and  expensive  land  carriage ;  and  the  imperfect 
and  expensive  water  communication  afforded  by  the  Mohawk, 
Wood  Creek,  Oneida  Lake,  Oswego,  and  Seneca  Rivers,  afforded 
the  best  prospects  that  existed  in  that  direction.  Taking  care  to 
excite  a  good  deal  of  interest  in  Baltimore,  by  holding  out  the  fine 
prospects  for  trade  with  the  Genesee  country,  he  returned  to  North 
umberland  and  organized  a  party  of  road  surveyors.  Proceeding 
via  Loyalsock,  the  party  went  up  the  Lycoming  to  the  "house 
of  one  Kyle,"  who  was  then  the  farthest  advanced  settler. — 
Sending  out  the  hunters  to  explore  ahead,  and  return  and  re 
port,  the  party  by  slow  progress,  camping  and  breaking  up  their 
camps,  proceeded  until  they  had  located  a  road  from  what 
was  then  "  Ross  Farm,"  now  Williamsport,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Canascraga  Creek,  on  the  Genesee  river,  a  distance  of  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  *  Application  was  made  to  th.e  State 
of  Pennsylvania  for  assistance  to  open  the  road ;  but  little  more  was 
obtained  than  authority  to  build  it  through  that  State.  Measures 
were  immediately  commenced  for  opening  the  road.  Before  it 
could  be  opened,  a  ship  with  merchant's  goods  that  Mr.  Colquhoun 
had  consigned  to  Mr.  Williamson,  arrived  at  Baltimore.  The  con 
signee  informed  the  consigner  that  there  was  no  other  way  to  get 
them  to  the  Genesee  country,  but  by  "  pack  horses  and  Indian 
paths,  except  in  freshets  ;"  but  finally  concluded  to  sell  off  the  heavy 
goods  at  Baltimore,  and  send  on  the  lighter  ones  via  New  York 
and  Albany.  Before  the  close  of  1792,  Mr.  Williamson  had  deter- 


*  The  route  of  this  primitive  road,  was  via  Blossburgh,  then  called  "Peter's  Camp," 
(from  the  name  of  a  German  whom  Mr.  Williamson  established  there,  with  a  depot 
of  provisions ;)  thence  down  the  Tioga  to  Painted  Post ;  up  the  Canisteo  to  Hornels- 
ville ;  then  to  Dansvillc,  and  down  the  Canascra^a  to  Genesee  river. 


254  PHELPS    AND    GORHAM?S   PURCHASE. 

mined  upon  commencing  his  first  settlement  at  the  termination  of 
his  road  on  the  Genesee  river,  and  in  pursuance  of  that  decision, 
had  laid  out  a  village,  which  he  called  Williamsburg,  ploughed  80 
acres  of  flats,  and  built  a  long  row  of  dwellings. 

The  dwellings  and  ploughed  ground  were  intended  for  the  use  of 
a  German  colony.  As  "  Williamsburg"  and  "  the  Germans/' 
formed  a  distinct  feature  of  all  this  region,  in  an  early  day,  some 
account  of  them,  their  advent,  and  after  hegira,  must  be  given 
here.  It  was  an  untoward  commencement  of  settlement,  or  rather, 
of  European  colonization  in  the  Genesee  country. 

Soon  after  the  Association  had  sent  out  Mr.  Williamson,  there 
appeared  in  London  an  itinerant  picture  merchant  from  Germany, 
by  the  name  of  Berezy.  With  a  good  deal  of  tact  and  gentlemanly 
address,  he  had  won  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Colquhoun,  and  prevail 
ed  upon  him  to  let  him  head  an  expedition  which  contemplated  the 
bringing  to  this  country  a  colony  of  poor,  industrious  Saxons — 
colonizing  them,  and  holding  them  here  as  redemptionists.*  In 
stead  of  following  his  instructions,  he  went  to  the  city  of  Ham 
burgh  and  picked  up  idlers,  indifferent  mechanics,  broken  down 
gamblers  and  players, — in  fact,  just  about  the  worst  materials  that 
were  ever  collected  for  the  practical  uses  of  a  new  settlement.! 
They  consisted  of  about  seventy  families.  From  their  very  start, 
they  began  to  be  the  source  of  enormous  expense.  Arriving  at 
London,  they  were,  after  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  put  on  board  two 
chartered  vessels  and  consigned  to  Robert  Morris.  They  finally 
arrived  at  Northumberland  just  about  the  time  that  Mr.  Williamson 
commenced  opening  the  road.  Axes,  spades  and  hoes  were  provi 
ded  for  them,  and  they  set  to  work :  and  bad  work  enough  they 
made  of  it.  They  had  to  be  first  taught  the  use  of  their  tools,  and 
were  far  from  learning  easily.  An  old  gentleman  who  came  over 
the  road  in  an  early  day,  says  the  trees  looked  as  if  they  had  been 
"gnawed  down  by  beavers."  Their  labor,  however,  made  the  road 

NOTR.— On  arriving  at  Genesee  river,  Mr.  Williamson  found  that  T.  8,  R.  7,  now 
Groveland,  had  been  sold  to  an  agent  o  t  a  Society  of  Menonists,  in  Pennsylvania,  by 
Phelps  and  Gorham.  He  purchased  the  townships  of  the  agent,  paying  the  then  high 
price  of  one  dollar  per  acre. 

*  Persons  held  to  service  to  pay  all  expenses  attending  their  emigration  and  settle 
ment. 

t  They  were,  says  the  French  Duke  Liancourt,  "  of  the  crowd  of  foreigners,  whom 
poverty,  idleness,  and  necessities  of  every  kind,  induce  to  resort  to  Hamburgh  with  a 
view  to  emigration." 


PHELPS    AKD    GORHAM7S   PURCHASE.  255 

principally,  to  where  Blossburgh  now  is.  They  were  then  taken 
down  to  Painted  Post,  and  remained  there  until  the  spring  of  '93, 
when  they  were  located  at  the  home  provided  for  them  at  Williams- 
burg.  Each  family  had  a  house  and  fifty  acres  of  land  appro 
priated  to  its  use  ;  necessary  farming  tools  ;  a  stock  of  provisions  ; 
and  there  were  distributed  among  the  whole,  27  yoke  of  oxen,  40 
cows,  80  hogs,  300  sheep.  Even  their  household  utensils  were 
provided  them.  Beside  all  this,  they  had  their  minister  and 
physician. 

The  city  training,  and  idle  habits  of  the  expensive  colonists,  soon 
began  to  be  exhibited.  They  were  both  idle  and  improvident,  the 
women  made  as  bad  use  of  the  provisions  that  had  been  furnished, 
as  the  men  of  the  farming  implements  that  were  put  into  their 
hands.  An  eye  witness  informed  the  author,  that  they  fried  their 
pork  and  then  threw  it  away,  supposing  the  grease  only  intended  for 
use ;  and  he  gave  other  similar  specimens  of  their  domestic  econo 
my.  The  whole  fiddled  and  danced,  and  drank  whiskey ;  even  the 
minister  proved  a  bad  specimen  of  his  cloth.  It  soon  turned  out 
that  most  of  them  had  been  deceived.  Berezy  to  swell  his  num 
bers,  and  gratify  his  ambition  to  be  the  head  of  a  colony,  had  prom 
ised  them  fine  times  in  America ;  had  assured  them  that  his  patrons 
being  rich,  they  should  want  for  nothing,  and  as  they  were  to  be 
the  founders  of  a  city,  they  could  each  choose  such  employment  as 
was  best  suited  to  their  tastes  and  habits.  That  they  were  to  dig 
and  delve  in  the  dirty  earth,  was  not  in  the  bond,  according  to  their 
understanding. 

Mr.  Williamson  soon  became  convinced,  that  he  had  at  least  one 
bad  job  upon  his  hands,  as  the  founder  of  new  settlements.  One 
stock  of  provisions  was  consumed,  and  another  had  to  be  supplied ; 
the  fallows  that  had  been  provided  for  them,  lay  undisturbed ;  the 
sheep  and  hogs  that  were  intended  as  breeders,  and  the  cows  that 
were  intended  to  furnish  milk  —  all  obtained  at  great  expense  and 
trouble  —  one  after  another  disappeared,  and  were  found  upon  the 
shambles ;  the  city  appetites  of  the  hopeful  colonists  craving  occa 
sional  alternations  between  salted  and  fresh  provisions.  The  very 
seeds  that  Mr.  Williamson  provided,  instead  of  going  into  the 
ground,  went  into  the  pot.  And  what  was  worse  perhaps  than  all, 
Berezy,  by  indulgence  and  other  artful  management,  had  obtain 
ed  complete  control  of  the  colonists,  and  set  himself  above  Mr. 


256  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Williamson,  claiming  to  have  brought  his  authority  directly  from 
head  quarters  in  London.  A  store  had  been  established  at  Wil- 
liamsburg,  which  was  under  the  care  of  Mr.  John  Johnstone,  and 
Berezy  and  the  Germans  had  used  its  goods  and  provisions  lavishly ; 
and  besides,  Berezy  had  contracted  debts  for  supplies,  especially 
with  the  Messrs.  Wadsworths,  assuming  that  he  was  acting  for  the 
Association,  and  not  under  the  authority  of  Mr.  Williamson. 

After  having  humored  the  whole  matter,  until  some  decisive 
measures  became  necessary,  Mr.  Williamson  visited  his  refractory 
colony,  taking  with  him  from  Canandaigua,  his  friend  Thomas  Morris, 
determined  to  have  some  reform.  He  had  a  house  at  Williams- 
burg,  then  occupied  by  James  Miller,  where  he  kept  a  desk  contain 
ing  all  his  papers  that  had  reference  to  that  locality ;  and  there  he  and 
his  friend  took  up  their  quarters.*  Sending  for  Berezy  he  had  an 
interview  with  him,  which  ended  by  displacing  him  as  an  agent, 
and  forbidding  him  to  exercise  any  authority  over  the  Germans. 
Calling  the  Germans  together,  he  informed  them  of  their  new  rela 
tions,  and  proposed  measures  of  further  assistance  to  them,  condi 
tioned  upon  their  going  to  work,  and  trying  to  help  themselves.  At 
first  they  were  disposed  to  listen  to  his  proposals,  but  the  superior 
influence  of  Berezy  soon  prevailed,  and  riot  and  mutiny  succeeded. 

Sunday  intervened,  and  Mr.  Williamson  says,  "  Berezy  and  the 
minister  were  all  day  pow- wowing  in  every  house  in  the  settlement." 
Monday  came,  and  Mr.  Williamson  found  the  quarters  of  himself 
and  friends  besieged.  The  Germans  had  collected  in  a  body,  and 
under  the  influence  of  Berezy  were  making  extravagant  demands 
as  the  terms  of  peace,  and  a  continuance  in  the  colony.  Mr.  Wil 
liamson  retreated  into  the  house  with  his  friends  Morris,  Johnstone, 
and  several  others,  in  all,  a  force  vastly  inferior  to  the  refractory 
colonists.  "  Driven  into  a  corner  between  two  writing  desks"  says 
Mr.  Williamson,  "  I  had  luckily  some  of  my  own  people  near  me, 
who  were  able  to  keep  the  most  savage  and  daring  of  the  Germans 
off,  though  the  cry  was  to  lay  hold  of  me.  Nothing  could  equal 
my  situation,  but  some  of  the  Parisian  scenes.  For  an  hour  and  a 
half  I  was  in  this  situation,  every  instant  expecting  to  be  torn  to 
pieces."  Berezy  finding  the  storm  he  had  raised,  raging  too  vio- 


*  The  reader  should  understand  that.  Williamsburg,  the  site  of  this  early  German 
colony,  is  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  "Hermitage; "  the  present  farm  and  res 
idence  of  the  Hon.  Charles  H.  Carroll. 


PHELP3  AND   GOKHAM's    PURCHASE.  25? 

lently,  quelled  it ;  but  rapine  took  the  place  of  personal  assault.  The 
cattle  upon  the  premises  were  driven  off,  or  killed  to  furnish  a  feast 
for  a  general  carousal.  The  mutiny  and  plunder  lasted  for  several 
days;  there-being  no  authority  or  superior  force  to  quell  it.  At 
one  time,  the  physician  of  the  colony,  who  had  taken  sides  with 
Mr.  Williamson  became  the  object  of  the  fiercest  resentment.  He 
was  seized,  and  in  attempting  to  rescue  him,  Messrs.  Morris  and 
Johnstone  were  assaulted  and  their  lives  placed  in  jeopardy ;  but 
finally  made  their  escape. 

Present  in  all  the  affray  was  Mr.  Richard  Cuyler,  then  acting  as 
Mr.  Williamson's  clerk.  He  was  dispatched  to  Albany  with  a 
requisition  upon  Gov.  George  Clinton,  for  a  force  sufficient  to  quell 
the  riot  and  apprehend  the  rioters.  Berezy  with  a  few  of  the  Ger 
mans,  departed  for  Philadelphia,  for  the  double  purpose  of  escaping 
arrest  and  enlisting  Mr.  Robert  Morris  on  their  side.  Gov.  Clinton 
issued  an  order  to  Judah  Colt,  who  had  been  appointed  Sheriff  of 
the  new  county  of  Ontario,  commanding  him  to  summon  a  posse 
for  the  arrest  of  the  rioters.  A  posse  equal  in  numbers  with  the 
German  colonists  was  no  easy  matter  at  that  early  period  of  settle 
ment.  But  fortunately  some  boat  crews  and  new  settlers,  had  just 
arrived  at  Bath.  They  made  a  forced  night  march  through  the 
woods,  and  joined  by  others,  succeeded  in  arresting  those  who  had 
been  foremost  in  the  riot.  They  were  taken  to  Canandaigua  and 
light  fines  imposed ;  the  principal  object  being  the  assertion  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  laws.  Unable  to  pay  the  fines,  they  were  hired 
out  to  new  settlers  in  Canandaigua  and  the  vicinity,  to  earn  the 
money.  Their  defence,  was  some  of  the  earliest  practice  of  the 
late  Gen.  Vincent  Matthews. 

Berezy,  goin-g  from  Philadelphia  to  New  York,  put  the  Germans 
and  himself  under  the  auspices  of  a  German  benevolent  association, 
who  had  made  arrangements  with  Gov.  Simcoe,  for  settling  emi 
grants  at  what  is  now  Toronto,  and  in  the  townships  of  Markham. 
They  went  down  and  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river, 
and  were  temporarily  the  early  neighbors  of  Wm.  Hencher.  When 
the  boats  came  from  Canada  to  take  them  away,  a  boatman  was 
drowned  in  the  river.  His  was  the  first  death  and  funeral,  after 
settlement  commenced,  in  all  of  what  is  now  Monroe  county. 

Another  formidable  attempt  at  colonization  from  Europe,  did  not 
progress  so  far,  or  rather  took  another  direction.  Donald  Stewart, 


258  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

an  enterprising  Scotchman,  of  "  Achnaun  by  Appin,  in  Argyleshire,'3 
soon  after  the  purchase  of  the  Association,  had  organized  a  colony 
in  his  neighborhood,  the  destination  of  which  was  Cumberland,  N. 
Carolina.  He  received  a  proposition  from  Mr.  Colquhoun  too  late 
to  change  their  direction,  the  colonists  having  embarked  and  sailed. 
But  following  them  soon,  Mr.  Stewart  came  to  explore  the  Genesee 
country,  with  the  intention,  if  suited  with  it,  to  bring  his  colony 
here.  He  spent  several  weeks  traveling  on  horseback,  with  Mr. 
Williamson,  got  a  small  specimen  of  the  ague  and  fever;  the  new- 
country  in  its  primitive  roughness,  had  to  him  a  forbidding  look ;  he 
turned  his  back  upon  it  rather  in  ill  humor.*  There  were  many 
other  schemes  of  the  proprietors  in  London,  and  Mr.  Williamson,  to 
colonize  this  region,  none  of  which  succeeded,  except  that  of  the 
persevering,  and  finally  eminently  successful  one,  at  Caledonia 
Springs.  And  here  it  may  well  be  observed,  that  in  reference  gen 
erally  to  founding  new  settlements  in  the  United  States,  the  Associ 
ates  in  London,  and  their  agent  here,  had  many  impracticable  views 
at  first,  of  which  they  became  finally  convinced,  by  a  pretty  ex 
pensive  experience. 

The  getting  the  Northumberland  road  through ;  the  commence 
ment  of  a  settlement  at  Williamsburg,  and  the  building  of  a  saw 
mill  on  the  Canascraga  creek,  near  the  present  town  of  Ossian,  oc 
cupied  the  business  season  of  1792.  Mr.  Williamson  himself  hav 
ing  settled  his  family  at  Northumberland,  was  upon  the  move ; 
visited  New  York,  Baltimore ;  travelled  in  the  interior  of  Mary 
land  and  Pennsylvania,  beating  up  for  emigrants ;  and  explored 
pretty  thoroughly  the  whole  region  over  which  his  agency  extended. 

In  the  spring  of   1793,  operations  were  commenced  at  Bath.f 


*  A  good  anecdote  came  of  it  however,  which  it  is  said  had  something  to  do  with 
his  dislike  of  the  country.  Threading  the  forest  on  horseback,  Mr.  Williamson  and 
his  companion  were  attracted  by  the  noise  of  falling  water.  Approaching  it,  the  water 
gushing  from  the  rock,  and  falling  over  a  precipice,  the  bed  of  the  stream,  the  rocks 
and  banks  covered  with  sulphur,  riveted  their  attention.  It  was  a  feast  for  the  eyes, 
but  not  exactly  agreeable  to  their  smell.  After  gazing  for  a  few  minutes,  Mr.  William 
son  broke  the  silence  by  observing,  that  they  had  found  just  the  place  for  a  Highland 
colony.  The  reader  will  observe,  as  the  keenly  sensitive  Highlander  did,  that  the 
harmless  joke  had  reference  to  a  certain  cutaneous  infirmity.  It  came  too  from  a 
Lowlander,  and  touched  a  tender  cord ;  called  up  reminiscences  of  ancient  feuds  in 
their  native  land ;  was  resented ;  and  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  reasons  why  a  largo 
Highland  colony,  was  not  early  introduced  into  this  region.  The  reader  "will  have 
surmized,  that  the  party  were  viewing  Clifton  Springs. 

tName  from  the  daughter  of  Sir  Wm.  Pultney,  who  was  Countess  of  Bath. 


PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE,  259 

Two  boats  with  workmen,  provisions  &c.,  came  up  the  Susquehan- 
nah  to  Tioga  Point,  where  they  left  one  boat  and  half  the  load  of 
the  other,  and  reached  Bath  April  15,  1793.  Mr.  Williamson  ar 
rived  via  Northumberland  road,  two  days  after.  Some  shantees 
were  thrown  up,  a  village  plat  surveyed,  a  log  land  office  was  built; 
and  during  the  season,  about  twenty  other  log  buildings  were  erect 
ed.  As  would  be  said  in  this  later  day  of  refinement  in  language, 
the  Pioneers  had  a  "distinct  view  of  the  elephant."  Provisions 
failed,  and  they  were  at  one  time  three  days  without  food ;  as  they 
cleared  away  the  forest,  the  fever  and  ague,  as  it  was  wont  to  do, 
walked  into  the  opening,  and  the  new  comers  were  soon  freezing, 
shaking,  and  then  burning  with  fever,  in  their  hastily  constructed 
cabins.  It  was  Mr.  Williamson's  introduction  into  the  hardships 
and  privations  of  the  wilderness.  "  He  would  lay  in  his  hut,  with 
his  feet  to  the  fire,  and  when  the  cold  chills  of  ague  came  on,  call 
for  some  one  to  lie  close  to  his  back,  to  keep  him  warm."  To  other 
improvements  during  the  year,  at  Bath,  Mr.  Williamson  added  a 
log  tavern,  which  was  opened  and  kept  by  John  Metcalf.  Bath 
having  been  fixed  upon  as  the  centre  of  all  the  southern  portion  of 
the  Associates'  purchase,  farther  improvements  were  commenced. 
Mr.  Williamson  built  a  saw  mill  and  a  grist  mill ;  emigrants  from 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  soon  began  to  be  attracted  there.  It 
became  the  permanent  residence  of  Mr.  Williamson.  The  Duke, 
Liancourt,  who  visited  him  in  the  summer  of  1795,  says:  —  "The 
habitation  of  the  Captain  consists  of  several  small  houses,  formed  of 
trunks  of  trees  and  joiners'  work,  which  at  present  forms  a  very  ir 
regular  whole,  but  which  he  intends  soon  to  improve.  His  way  of 
living  is  simple,  neat  and  good  ;  every  day  \ve  had  a  joint  of  fresh 
meat,  vegetables  and  wine.  We  met  with  no  circumstances  of 
pomp  or  luxury,  but  found  good  ease,  humor  and  plenty."  Perhaps 
it  is  the  fairest  eulogium  I  can  pass  upon  his  free  and  easy  urbanity 
to  say,  that  all  the  time  of  our  stay,  he  seemed  as  much  at  his  ease 
as  if  we  had  not  been  present.  He  transacted  all  his  business  in 
our  presence,  and  was  actively  employed  the  whole  day  long.  We 
were  present  at  his  receiving  persons  of  different  ranks  and  des 
criptions,  with  whom  the  appartment  he  allots  to  business  is  generally 
crowded.  He  received  them  all  with  the  same  attention,  civility 
and  good  nature.  They  came  to  him  prepossessed  with  a  certain 
confidence  in  him,  and  they  never  leave  him  dissatisfied.  He  is  at 


260  PIIELPS  AND  GOEIIAM'S  PURCHASE. 

all  times  ready  to  converse  with  any 'who  have  business  to  transact 
with  him.  He  will  break  off  a  conversation  with  his  friends,  or 
even  get  up  from  dinner  for  the  sake  of  dispatching  those  who  wish 
to  speak  to  him. 

In  the  spring  of  1794,  improvements  were  commenced  at  Geneva, 
the  first  and  principal  one  being  the  erection  of  the  Geneva  Hotel. 
It  was  completed  in  December,  and  opened  with  a  grand  ball,  which 
furnished  a  memorable  epoch  in  the  earfy  history  of  the  Genesee 
country.  The  Hotel  was  talked  of  far  and  wide  as  a  wonderful  en 
terprise  ;  and  such  it  really  was.  Even  now,  after  the  lapse  of  fifty- 
six  years,  when  fine  hotels  have  arisen  in  all  of  our  cities  and  prin 
cipal  villages,  the  old  Williamson  Hotel,  as  it  is  often  called,  in  its  fine 
location,  with  its  large  open  park  in  front,  is  ranked  as  one  of  the 
first  class.  Imagine  how  it  was  when  it  had  no  competitors  in  all 
the  region  west  of  Utica,  save  perhaps  three  or  four  moderate  sized 
framed  taverns  ;  when  log  taverns  were  generally  the  order  of  the 
day.  It  was  an  Astor  House  then ;  and  even  this  comparison  falls 
short  of  conveying  an  idea  of  its  then  comparative  magnitude.  Mr. 
Williamson  wrote  to  his  principals,  proposing  such  a  house,  and 
urged  that  as  it  would  stand  in  the  doorway  or  entrance  to  the 
Genesee  country,  it  should  be  respectable  ;  so  designed  as  to  make 
a  favorable  impression ;  and  urged  beside,  that  such  a  house,  where 
all  the  comforts  of  a  good  English  inn  could  be  realized,  would 
invite  respectable  people  to  the  country.  And  so  perhaps  it  did. 
How  many  readers  of  these  early  reminiscences,  will  remember 
the  house,  the  landlord,  and  all  belonging  to  that  early  halting  place, 
in  the  long  and  dreary  journies  that  used  to  be  made.  Blended  with  it 
in  memory,  is  the  old  stage  coach  ;  chilled  and  drowsy  with  long  night 
rides,  over  hubs  or  poached  clay  roads,  there  would  be  the  smart 
crack  of  the  driver's  whip,  the  trundling  of  the  wheels  upon  a  stone 
pavement,  the  squaring  up  to  the  door,  the  getting  out  and  stretching 
of  almost  torpid  limbs ;  the  ushering  in  to  well  warmed  and  com 
fortable  apartments,  the  smell  and  the  taste  of  smoking  steak  and 
hot  coffee,  and  other  "  creature  comforts,"  that  it  will  not  do  to 
speak  of  now.  Your  modern  travellers  know  nothing  of  the  ex 
tremes  of  pain  and  pleasure  of  the  old  fashioned  way  of  traveling 
from  Albany  to  Buffalo.  For  landlord  to  his  new  Hotel,  Mr.  Wil 
liamson  selected  Thomas  Powell,  whom  he  had  known  in  London, 
connected  with  the  celebrated  "  Thatched  Cottage,  the  resort  of 


PHELPS  AND  GOUHAM'S  PURCHASE.  261 

• 

statesmen,  politicians  and  wits."  *  He  had  previously  emigrated  to 
this  country,  and  opened  a  house  at  Lansingburg. 

Although  Mr.  Williamson's  house  was  at  Bath,  a  large  proportion 
of  his  time  was  spent  at  Geneva,  attending  to  matters  connected 
with  the  northern  division  of  the  purchase.  The  company  that  he 
drew  around  him,  made  a  very  considerable  business  for  the  new 
hotel ;  and  it  was  the  early  home  of  the  young  men  without  fami 
lies,  who  located  at  Geneva;  the  principal  stopping  place  for  emi 
grants,  who  could  afford  the  comforts  of  a  good  inn.  Under  the 
auspices  of  Reed  and  Ryckman,  Joseph  Annin  and  Benjamin  Bar 
ton  had  surveyed  a  small  village  plat,  which  was  superseded  under 
Mr.  Williamson's  auspices  by  a  new,  enlarged  survey,  generally 
as  now  indicated,  except  that  the  new  survey,  Mr.  Williamson's 
plan,  contemplated  that  the  whole  town  should  be  built  up  fronting 
the  Lake ;  the  space  between  the  mam  street  and  the  Lake,  was 
intended  for  terraced  parks  and  gardens.  In  a  few  words,  Geneva 
is  now,  though  beautiful  in  all  its  appointments,  more  upon  the  utili 
tarian  order,  than  Mr.  Williamson  intended.  He  had  seen  the 
original  in  his  travels  upon  the  continent,  and  associating  Seneca 
Lake  with  "  Lake  Leman,"  had  in  view  an  imitation,  in  a  wilder 
ness  of  the  new  world.  In  reference  to  this  as  well  as  other  of  his 
projections,  his  ardent  and  sanguine  temperament  led  him  to  sup 
pose  that  villages  and  village  improvements,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
could  precede  a  general  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Experience  has 
shown  that  they  must  follow  by  slow  steps  after  it. 

The  Hotel  was  but  a  part  of  Mr.  Williamson's  enterprises  at 
Geneva. 

Before  the  State  had  acknowledged  the  correctness  of  the  new 
pre-emption  line,  as  in  the  case  of  the  site  of  Geneva,  and  Reed 
and  Ryckman,  patents  had  been  issued,  covering  nearly  the  whole 
of  "  the  Gore,"  Mr.  Williamson,  through  the  agency  of  Mr.  John 
Johnstone,  having  purchased  all  the  patents,  had  so  fortified 
the  claim  of  his  principals,  that  he  had  ventured  upon  exercising 
ownership;  though  title  was  yet  an  open  question.  In  March, 
1795,  while  a  bill  was  pending  in  the  legislature,  providing  for  run 
ning  a  third  line,  by  the  Surveyor  General,  and  if  the  one  run  by 
Mr.  Ellicott  should  prove  correct,  to  give  the  associates  other  lands 

*Mr.  Powell  became  an  early  stage  proprietor.  After  keeping  the  Hotel  for  many 
years,  he  removed  to  Scheuectady,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  Wm.  Powell. 


262  PHELPS   AND    GOEIIAJl's    PUKOIIASE. 

in  lieu  of  those  that  had  been  patented  upon  the  Gore ;  Phillip 
Schuyler  introduced  amendments,  which  prevailed,  making  it  dis 
cretionary  with  the  Surveyor  General,  allowing  him  to  waive  the 
running  of  a  new  line,  if  he  satisfied  himself  that  Mr.  Ellicott's 
line  was  correct;  and  leave  it  to  the  commissioners  of  the  land 
office  to  arrange  matters  between  the  holders  of  patents  and  the  as 
sociates,  or  Mr.  Williamson,  holding  as  he  did,  by  purchase,  most 
of  the  patents,  to  perfect  the  title  to  "  the  Gore,"  nearly  84,000 
acres.  As  an  equivolent  for  what  he  had  paid  in  the  purchase  of 
patents,  the  commissioners  of  the  land  office  conveyed  to  him  about 
the  same  quantity  of  land  embraced  in  the  patents,  off'  from  the 
military  tract,  in  what  is  now  Wolcott  and  Galen,  in  Wayne 
county. 

The  reader  will  have  seen  that  the  first  location  of  "  The  Friend'' 
and  her  followers,  was  upon  "  The  Gore."  Their  titles  were  all 
confirmed  by  Mr.  Williamson,  upon  terms  generally  satisfactory. 

Sodus  was  the  next  site  chosen  for  the  foundation  of  a  settle 
ment —  or  in  fact,  for  the  founding  of  a  commercial  village,  —  not 
to  say  city.  In  all  Mr.  Williamson's  plans  for  settling  the  coun- 

NOTE. —  It  would  seem  that,  as  between  the  State,  the  Lessees  and  Mr.  Williamson, 
the  early  colonists,  for  a  time,  hardly  knew  whose  hands  they  were  to  fall  into.  In 
January  '94,  however,  they  had  concluded  whose  title  was  to  be  preferred.  They  ad 
dressed  to  Mr.  Williamson  the  following  letter,  or  petition  : — 

"JERUSALEM,  13th  of  1st  mo.,  1794. 

"FRIEND  WILLIAMSON,  —  "We  take  this  opportunity  to  let  thee  know  our  wishes, 
who  are  now  on  thy  land,  at  The  Friend's  settlement  in  Jerusalem,  in  the  county  of 
Ontario,  and  in  the  State  of  New  York.  We,  the  subscribers,  wish  to  take  deeds  from 
friend  Williamson  for  the  land  our  improvements  is  on,  rather  than  any  other  person. 
Our  desires  is,  that  thee  would  not  dispose  of  the  lands  to  any  other  person  but  to  us, 
who  are  on  the  land. 

Benajah  Botsford  Elnathan  Botsford,  Philo  Ingraham, 

Eleazor  Ingraham,  Daniel  Ingraham,  Elisha  Ingraham, 

Solomon  Ingraham,  Richard  Matthews,  Samuel  Parsons, 

Richard  S.initli,  Elnathan  Botsford,  jr.,  Jonathan  Davis, 

Abel  Botsford,  Asahcl  Stone,  Elijah  Malin, 

Enoch  Malin,  Samuel  Doolittle,  Thos.  Hathaway, 

William  Davis,  John  Davis,  Mary  Aldrich." 

John  Briggs,  Benedict  Robinson, 

There  are  other  letters  from  Benedict  Robinson  and  others  of  the  Friends,  to  the  same 
purport.  "  Friend  Parker"  lets  "Captain  Williamson"  into  his  family  affairs,  with 
out  reserve:  — "It  is  my  desire  to  settle  the  several  branches  of  my  family  near  me: 
for  that  reason,  I  began  where  we  now  are;  with  the  intention  to  buy  of  the  right 
owner  when  I  could  see  him.  The  1,000  acres  may  seem  too  much  for  one  man  ,  but 
when  it  is  divided  between  myself,  a  son,  and  three  sons-in-laws,  it,  I  think,  will  not 
be  deemed  extravagant ;  especially,  considering  1  know  not  how  soon  I  may  have  two 
more  sons-in-laws.  A  man  like  myself,  who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  the  coun 
try,  and  began  onr  settlement,  which  would  have  been  elsewhere  had  it  not  have  been 
for  me;  and  also  encouraged  many  emigrants  into  this  country,  may  claim  to  be  in 
dulged  in  having  the  several  branches  of  Ms  family  settled  near  him." 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  263 

try,  and  his  projections  of  internal  improvements,  laid  from  time  to 
time  before  his  principals,  he  had  looked  to  the  Conhocton,  the 
Caniste,  Tioga  and  Susquehannah  rivers,  as  the  avenues  to  market 
from  the  southern  district  of  the  Genesee  purchase  ;  and  to  Balti 
more  as  its  commercial  mart.  With  these  views,  he  had  founded 
Bath.  *  Looking  to  Lake  Ontario,  the  Oswego  river,  Oneida  Lake. 
Wood  Creek,  the  Mohawk  and  the  Hudson  river,  and  the  St.  Law 
rence,  as  avenues  to  the  New  York  and  Montreal  markets,  for  the 
northern  district  of  the  purchase,  he  selected  Sodus  Bay  as  the 
commercial  depot. 

Early  in  the  winter  of  1793,  he  determined  upon  improvements 
there,  and  in  the  spring  of  '94,  he  had  roads  cut  out  from  Palmyra 
and  Phelpstown,  to  get  access  to  the  spot  from  those  points.  It 
was  his  first  appearance  in  the  Lake  Ontario  region,  and  his  pre 
sence  there,  with  his  surveyors,  road  makers,  builders,  and  all  the 
retinue  necessary  to  carry  out  his  plans,  created  a  new  era  —  in 
spired  new  hopes  with  the  scattered  backwoods  settlers.  It  had 
looked  before  he  came,  as  if  for  long  years,  no  one  would  be  bold 
enough  to  penetrate  the  dark,  heavy  forests,  that  in  a  wide  belt,  were 
stretched  along  the  shores  of  the  Lake.  They  entertained  before 
no  hopes  of  realizing  for  years,  any  better  facilities  for  trans 
portation  to  market,  than  was  afforded  by  Ganargwa  Creek,  f  the 
outlet  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  and  Clyde  river.  He  had  preceded 
the  enterprise  by  a  written  announcement  of  the  plan  of  oper 
ations  :  —  It  contemplated  the  survey  of  "  a  town  between  Salmon 
Creek  and  Great  Sodus  Bay,  and  a  spacious  street,  with  a  large 
square  in  the  centre,  between  the  Falls  on  Salmon  Creek  and  the 
anchorage  in  the  Bay,  and  mills  are  to  be  built  at  the  Falls  on  Sal 
mon  Creek."  He  adds  :  —  "As  the  harbor  of  Great  Sodus  is  ac 
knowledged  to  be  the  finest  on  Lake  Ontario,  this  town,  in  the  con 
venience  of  the  mills  and  extensive  fisheries,  will  command  advan 
tages  unknown  to  the  country,  independent  of  the  navigation  of 


*  It  should  be  observed,  that  he  contemplated  the  improvement  of  the  navigation 
of  those  rivers,  and  projected  a  canal  to  connect  the  Tioga  and  Delaware  rivers,  in 
order  to  reach  Philadelphia. 

t  Mud  Creek,  until  recently.  The  old  name  was  blended  with  the  recollection  of 
stagnant  waters,  bogs,  chills  and  fevers.  When  its  whole  aspect  had  been  changed  by 
the  hand  of  improvement,  and  it  became  even  picturesque  and  beautiful  in  its  mean- 
derings  through  cultivated  fields,  and  a  rural  scenery  seldom  equalled,  the  dwellers  in 
its  valley  were  enabled,  with  the  help  of  Lewis  Morgan,  Esq  ,  of  Rochester,  to  come 
at  its  ancient  Seneca  name,  which  they  adopted. 


264  PHELPS  AND  GOKIIAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  Great  Lake,  and  the  St.  Lawrence,"  The  town  was  surveyed 
by  Joseph  Colt.  The  plan  was  as  indicated  above.  The  in-lots 
contained  a  quarter  of  an  acre,  and  the  out-lots  ten  acres.  The 
whole  was  upon  a  scale  of  magnificence  illy  suited  to  that  primitive 
period;  and  yet,  perhaps,  justified  by  then  prospective  events; 
and  more  than  all,  by  the  capacious  and  beautiful  Bay,  the  best 
natural  harbor  upon  our  whole  chain  of  Lakes,  a  view  of  which, 
even  now,  excites  surprise  that  it  has  not,  ere  this,  more  than  reali 
zed  the  always  sanguine  expectations  of  Mr.  Williamson. 

The  in-lots  in  the  new  town,  were  offered  for  one  hundred  dol 
lars  ;  the  out-lots,  for  four  dollars  per  acre  ;  the  farming  lands  in 
all  the  neighborhood,  at  one  dollar  fifty  cents  per  acre.  Thomas 

Little  and Moffat,  were  the  local  agents.  A  tavern  house  was 

erected  at  a  cost  of  over  $5000,  and  opened  by  Moses  and  Jabez 
Sill.  *  Mills  were  erected  at  the  Falls  on  Salmon  Creek  ;  a  plea 
sure  boat  was  placed  upon  the  Bay  ;  and  several  other  improve 
ments  made.  Inroads,  surveys,  buildings,  &c.5  over  $20,000  was 
expended  in  the  first  two  years. 

The  first  difficulty  encountered  was  the  ague  and  fever,  that  early 
incubus  that  brooded  over  all  of  Pioneer  enterprise,  upon  the  Lake 
shore.  When  the  sickly  season  came,  agents,  mechanics  and  labor 
ers,  could  only  work  upon  "  well  days.  "  Mr.  Williamson  soon  be 
gan  to  realize  that  there  was  something  beside  the  "  romantic  and 
beautiful,  "  about  the  "  Bay  of  Naples  "  he  had  found  hid  away  in 
the  forests  of  the  Genesee  country.  And  another  trouble  came. 
OU3  See  British  invasion  of  the  Genesee  country,  at  Sodus. 

Soon  after  Mr.  Williamson  had  perfected  his  title  to  the  Gore, 
the  junction  of  the  Canandaigua  out-let  and  Ganargwa  creek,  the 
fine  flats,  hemmed  in  by  hills  and  gentle  swells  of  upland  —  the 
facilities  afforded  for  navigation  with  light  craft,  —  attracted  his  at 
tention.  Fancying  the  outlet  and  the  creek  to  be  miniature  repre 
sentations  of  the  Rhone  and  the  Sayone,  and  struck  with  a  coinci 
dence  of  landscapes,  he  bestowed  upon  the  location  the  name  of 
Lyons.  He  had  been  preceded  here  by  some  of  the  earliest  Pioneers 
of  the  Genesee  country.  In  May,  1789,  a  small  colony  consisting 

*  Moses  Sill  died  in  Dansville,  in  1849.  Jabez  Sill  died  at  Wilkesbarre,  in  1844, 
The  latter  was  an  early  proprietor  at  Prideaux,  "Braddock's  Bay."  His  son,  Daniel 
Sill,  is  the  fortunate  California  adventurer  from  Dansville. 

g5JT  For  some  acconnt  of  the  Sill  family,  see  History  of  Wyoming,  and  Mrs.  EUett's 
"Women  of  the  Revolution." 


PHELPS  AND  GORIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  265 

of  twelve  persons,  were  piloted  up  the  Mohawk,  and  by  the  usual 
water  route,  by  Wemple.  the  Indian  trader  who  has  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland.  Arriving  at  what  was 
then  the  principal  head  of  navigation,  especially  for  batteaux  of  any 
considerable  size,  they  located  and  erected  log  huts  half  a  mile  south 
of  the  present  village  of  Lyons,  where  James  Dunn  lately  resided. 
The  heads  of  families,  were  :  —  Nicholas  Stansell,  William  Stansell, 
and  a  brother  in-law,  John  Featherly.  They  had  been  inured  to 
hardships,  toil  and  danger,  as  border  settlers  upon  the  Mohawk,  and 
in  Otsego  county  ;  Wm.  Stansell  had  been  to  this  region  in  Sulli 
van's  expedition.  Their  nearest  neighbors  were  Decker  Robinson 
and  the  Oaks  family ;  the  same  season,  a  few  families,  located  at 
Palmyra.  The  Stansell?  and  Featherly  may  be  regarded  as  the 
Pioneers  of  all  the  northern  part  of  Wayne  county.  They  ground 
their  corn  in  a  small  hand  mill  "until  a  German  named  Baer  put  up 
a  log  mill  where  Waterloo  now  is.  "  Jointly  with  the  Pioneers  of 
Phelps,  they  opened  a  woods  road  to  that  neighborhood  and  in  the 
direction  of  the  mill  at  Waterloo.  The  father  of  the  Stansells  died 
in  the  earliest  years,  and  was  buried  in  the  absence  of  any  funeral 
rites  ;  there  being  no  one  to  conduct  them.  A  few  weeks  previous 
to  Wayne's  victory,  the  early  Pioneers  became  alarmed ;  made  up 
their  minds  they  must  flee,  or  see  a  second  edition  of  the  scenes 
that  they  had  passed  through  upon  the  Mohawk ;  the  old  batteaux 
that  brought  them  into  the  wilderness  was  re-corked  and  pitched  to 
take  them  out  of  it ;  they  were  upon  the  point  of  starting,  when  news 
came  that  "  Mad  Anthony  "  had  humbled  the  western  nations,  and 
smothered  the  flame  that  had  threatened  to  break  out  in  the  Gene- 
see  country.  These  early  adventurers  depended  much  upon  the 
"  products  of  the  forest ;  "  not  such  as  comes  under  that  head  in 
our  modern  canal  statistics ;  but  upon  wild  game ;  deer  principally. 
Nicholas  Stansell  was  a  hunter,  and  would  go  out  and  kill  from 
eight  to  ten  deer  in  a  day.  Nicholas  Stansell,  a  surviving  son  of 


NOTE.  —  This  early  colony  brought  in  with  them  some  hogs;  and  the  result,  with 
other  similar  ones  that  will  be  noted,  confirms  the  fact  that  our  domesticated  hog  will 
if  turned  into  the  forest,  to  share  it  with  wild  animals  alone,  go  back  to  his  primitive 
condition  in  one,  or  two  years,  at  farthest.  A  boar,  of  this  primitive  stock  changed 
in  form,  became  a  wild  racer,  his  tusks  grew  to  a  frightful  length  ;  he  became  more 
than  a  match  for  bears  and  wolves  ;  and  finally  a  terror  to  the  new  settlers,  until  he 
was  hunted  and  shot.  The  first  progeny  of  this  primitive  stock  when  caught  could 
not  be  tamed,  and  generally  had  to  be  hunted  like  other  game 
17 


266  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

one  of  the  two  Pioneer  brothers,  who  now  resides  in  Arcadia 
Wayne  county,  says  :  —  "  After  our  first  stock  of  provisions  was 
exhausted,  we  saw  hard  times;  got  out  of  corn  once;  went  and 
bought  of  Onondaga  Indians.  For  days  we  were  without  any  pro 
visions  other  than  what  the  forest,  the  streams,  and  our  cows  affor 
ded.  We  eat  milk  and  greens.  Venison  and  fish  we  could  always 
have  in  plenty.  My  father  hardly  ever  missed  when  he  went  out 
after  a  deer.  Salmon,  bass,  pickerel,  speckled  trout,  ducks  and 
pigeons,  were  in  abundance.  " 

A  small  patch  of  corn  and  potatoes,  raised  by  the  Stansells  and 
Featherly,  on  the  old  Dorsey  farm,  in  1789,  were  the  first  crops 
raised  in  Wayne  county. 

Nicholas  Stansell  died  in  1817  ;  his  surviving  sons  are,  William 
Stansell,  of  Arcadia,  and  George  Stansell,  who  lives  a  mile  south 
of  Newark.  John  Featherly  died  a  few  years  since  in  the  town 
of  Rose,  aged  80  years.  Nicholas  Stansell,  changing  his  residence 
in  1809,  became  the  proprietor  of  lands  upon  which  the  village  of 
Lockville  has  grown  up. 

Mr.  Williamson  commenced  operations  at  Lyons,  in  the  summer 
of  1794.  He  made  Charles  Cameron  his  principal  local  agent. 
Reserving  nearly  a  thousand  acres,  which  was  afterwards  sold  to 
Judge  Dorsey,  a  house  and  barn  were  built  for  Mr.  Cameron ;  the  first 
framed  house  in  that  region.*  Mr.  Cameron  had  the  village  surveyed, 
and  built  a  store  house  and  distillery.  Before  the  close  of  1796, 
Henry  Tower,  as  Mr.  Williamson's  agent,  had  erected  and  com 
pleted  what  was  long  known  as  "  Tower's  Mills,"  at  Alloway. 

The  mills  must  have  been  of  more  than  ordinary  magnitude,  for 
that  early  period,  as  the  author  observes  that  the  cost  was  over 
twelve  thousand  dollars.  In  addition  to  other  improvements,  Mr. 
Cameron  cleared  land,  and  commenced  making  a  farm. 

Next  to  Sodus  Bay,  Mr.  Williamson  had  regarded  Prideaux 
(Braddock's)  Bay  as  a  favorable  position  upon  the  Lake.  He  made 
some  surveys  there  for  a  town,  but  did  little  towards  starting  it. 
In  his  correspondence  with  his  principals  in  London,  he  often  men 
tioned  the  mouth  of  Genesee  River,  but  not  in  a  way  to  indicate  a 
high  opinion  of  its  locality.  His  aim  was  to  improve  only  such  spots 
as  were  surrounded  by  the  lands  he  held  in  charge.  Those  nearest 

*  It  is  now  standing  in  a  tolerable  state  of  preservation,  on  the  bank  of  the  outlet. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUE CHASE.  267 

the  mouth  of  the  River  and  the  Falls,  had  been  sold  by  Phelps  and 
Gorham,  before  their  sale  to  the  London  Associates.  In  1794  he 
visited  the  Falls,  Prideaux  Bay,  and  spent  a  day  or  two  with  Wm. 
Hencher.  He  soon  after  purchased  of  Samuel  B.  Ogden,  the  Allan 
Mill,  and  the  Hundred  Acres,  with  a  view  to  commencing  some 
improvements  upon  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Rochester.  Al 
lan  had  sold  the  property  to  Benjamin  Barton,  senior ;  and  Barton  to 
Ogden.  CCP*  See  deed,  or  title  paper,  in  Library  of  Rochester 
Athenaeum  and  Mechanic's  Association.  At  the  time  of  William 
son's  purchase,  the  mill,  a  frail  structure  originally,  with  no  cus 
tomers  to  keep  it  in  motion,  had  got  much  out  of  repair.  He 
expended  upon  it  some  five  or  six  hundred  dollars — put  it  in  tolera 
ble  repair — but  unfortunately  there  were  no  customers.  It  was 
difficult  of  access  from  the  older  settlements,  and  mills  more  con 
venient  for  them,  were  soon  erected.  The  purchase,  repair,  and 
sale  of  the  mill  and  mill  tract,  was  about  the  extent  of  Mr.  Wil 
liamson's  enterprises  at  the  "  Falls  of  the  Genesee  River,"  where 
the  aspect  of  things  in  that  early  day,  was  any  thing  but  encouraging. 
In  1798,  a  party  of  emigrants  from  Perthshire,  Scotland,  emigra 
ted  to  America,  landing  at  New  York,  and  coming  west  as  far  as 
Johnstown,  Montgomery  county,  halted  there  to  determine  on  some 
permanent  location.  Mr.  Williamson  hearing  of  the  arrival  of  his 
countrymen,  made  a  journey  to  see  them.  He  found  them  poor 
in  purse  —  with  nothing  to  pay  for  lands  —  and  but  little  even  for 
present  subsistence ;  but  they  came  from  the 

Land  of  the  forest  and  the  rock, 

Of  dark  blue  lake  and  mighty  river, 
Of  mountains  reared  aloft,  to  mock 

The  storm's  career,  the  lightning's  shock ;  — - 

NOTE.—- The  following  may  be  presumed  to  be  the  first  business  letter  that  "was  ever 
written  from  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Rochester.  Christopher  Dugan  married  a 
sister  of  Ebenczer  Allan,  and  was  put  in  charge  of  the  mill  by  him  : 

FALLS  OF  GEXESEE,  Aug.  9,  1794. 

The  mill  erected  by  Ebenezer  Allan,  which  I  am  informed  you  have  purchased,  is 
in  a  bad  situation,  much  out  of  repair,  and  unless  attention  is  paid  to  it,  it  will  soon 
take  its  voyage  to  the  Lake.  I  have  resided  here  for  several  years,  and  kept  watch  and 
ward,  without  fee  or  recompense;  and  am  pleased  to  hear  that  it  has  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  a  gentleman  who  is  able  to  repair  it,  and  whose  character  is  such  that  I  firmly 
believe  he  will  not  allow  an  old  man  to  suffer  without  reward  for  his  exertions.  I  wish 
to  have  you  come,  or  send  some  one  to  take  care  of  the  mill,  as  my  situation  is  such 
as  makes  it  necessary  soon  to  remove.  I  am  sir,  with  respect,  your  most 

obedient  humble  servant, 

CHARLES  WILLIAMSON,  Esq.  CHRISTOPHER  DUGAN. 


268  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

they  were  rich  in  courage,  in  a  spirit  of  perseverence,  in  habits  of 
industry ;  in  all  the  elements  that  life  in  the  wilderness,  and  success 
in  it,  required.  Mr.  Williamson  became  to  them  not  only  a  patroon, 
but  a  benefactor.  "  A  Scot  had  met  a  brither  Scot."  He  offered 
them  a  favorite  location,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  "  Big  Springs," 
(Caledonia)  ;  —  land  at  three  dollars  per  acre,  payable  in  wheat  at 
six  shillings  per  bushel ;  a  reasonable  pay  day ;  and  besides,  to  fur 
nish  them  with  provisions  until  they  could  help  themselves.  Four 
of  their  number  were  sent  out  to  view  the  lands ;  were  pleased 
with  the  allotment  that  Mr.  Williamson  had  made ;  on  their  return, 
met  him  on  his  way  from  Geneva  to  Canandaigua ;  he  drew  up  a 
writing  on  the  road,  and  the  bargain  was  thus  closed.  In  March, 
1799,  while  there  was  yet  sleighing,  the  Scotch  adventurers  came 
from  Johnstown  to  the  "  Big  Springs."*  Those  who  first  came 
were: — Peter  Campbell  and  wife,  Malcolm  M'Laren  and  wife, 
John  M'Naughton  and  wife;  and  Donald  M'Vean  and  Hugh 
M'Dermid,  single  men.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  they  were 
joined  by  their  countrymen,  John  M'Vean,  John  M'Pherson, 
John  Anderson,  Duncan  Anderson,  all  single  men  "but  M'Vean. 
During  the  next  year  they  were  joined  by  Donald  M'Pherson, 
Donald  Anderson,  Alexander  Thompson,  and  their  families.  Those 
whose  names  have  been  given,  except  Thompson  and  M'Vean, 
had  crossed  the  ocean  in  the  same  ship.  They  are  to  be  regarded 
as  constituting  the  primitive  settlers  at  Caledonia,  though  for  several 
years  after,  other  of  their  countrymen  joined  them. 

The  Springs,  being  on  the  great  trail  from  Tioga  point  to  Fort 
Niagara,  had  long  been  a  favorite  camping  ground. f  Previous  to 
the  Scotch  advent,  Fuller  and  Peterson,  had  become  squatters  there, 
built  log  houses,  and  entertained  travelers.  This  furnished  the 
Scotch  settlers  a  temporary  shelter.  John  Smith,  one  of  Mr.  Will 
iamson's  surveyors,  soon  arrived  and  surveyed  their  lands,  so  plan 
ning  the  surveys  that  each  allotment  would  have  a  front  upon  the 
streams.  Log  houses  were  soon  erected  in  the  primitive  manner, 
small  patches  of  summer  crops  planted ;  and  the  Scotch  settlers 


'  *  This  had  been  the  name  of  the  locality,  even  as  far  back  as  the  first  English  occu 
pancy  of  Niagara.  Mr.  Williamson  gave  it  the  new  name  of  Caledonia. 

:  t  An  old  Canadian  emigrant,  and  a  frequent  traveler  upon  the  trail  about  the  close 
of  the  Revolution,  says  that  camping  there  was  so  frequent,  that  the  fires  of  one  party 
would  be  burning  wheii  another  arrived. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  269 

were  soon  under  way,  though  struggling  with  stinted  means  against 
all  the  hardships  and  privations  of  backwoods  life.  On  their  ar 
rival  Mr.  Williamson  had  promptly  given  orders  to  Alexander 
McDonald,  who  was  then  his  agent  and  clerk  at  Williamsburg, 
for  supplying  some  provisions.  Wheat  was  procured  at  Dans- 
ville  and  ground  in  the  Messrs.  Wadsworths'  mill  at  Conesus  ;  and 
pork  was  drawn  from  the  store  at  Williamsburg.  Mr.  Wil 
liamson  also  furnished  them  with  some  cows.  And  how  did  you 
manage  for  your  early  team  work  ?  was  the  author's  enquiry  of  the 
venerable  John  McNaughton,  now  in  his  80th  year,*"  surrounded 
by  his  hundreds  of  improved  acres,  his  garners  filled  to  overflowing, 
and  broad  fields,  green  and  luxuriant,  promising  future  abundance. 
"  We  sold  some  of  our  clothes  that  we  could  spare,  to  settlers  on  the 
river,  for  the  occasional  use  of  their  oxen  ;  "  was  the  answer.  In 
addition  to  other  encouragements,  Mr.  Williamson  donated  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres  for  a  "glebe,"  and  fifty  acres  for  school 
purposes.  He  erected  at  the  Springs  a  grist  and  saw  mill,  which 
were  completed  in  about  three  years ;  as  soon  in  fact,  as  there  was 
much  need  of  a  grist  mill. 

This  is  so  far  as  Mr.  Williamson  was  directly  connected  with  the 
Pioneer  settlers  at  Caledonia.  Their  after  progress  will  be  mingled 
with  events  narrated  in  succeeding  portions  of  the  work. 

The  reader  of  the  present  day  will  smile  at  the  idea  of  "  Fairs  " 
and  "Race  grounds  "  in  back  woods  settlements,  at  a  time  when 
settlers  generally  had  but  just  made  small  openings  in  the  forest,  and 
stood  more  in  need  of  log  causeways  over  streams,  boards  for  their 
floors,  and  glass  for  their  windows,  than  of  racehorses  or  improved 
breeds  of  cattle.  But  the  sanguine  adventurous  Scotchman  had 
seen  these  things  in  England  and  Scotland,  and  supposed  them 
neccessary  accompaniments  of  rural  enterprise,  even  in  new  settle 
ments  ;  and  as  it  will  be  observed  he  had  ulterior  objects  in  view. 
Impressed  with  the  idea  that  the  region,  the  settlement  of  which  he 
was  endeavoring  to  promote,  was  nearly  all  it  had  proved  to  be  ; 
enthusiastic  even  in  his  efforts ;  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  the 

*The  survivors  of  the  original  Scotch  settlers  are:  —  John  M'Naughton,  Hugh 
M'Dermid,  Donald  Anderson,  Mrs.  M'Vean  and  Mrs.  McLaren,  now  the  widow  of 
the  late  Deacon  Hinds  Chamberlin,  of  Le  Roy.  M'Dermid  and  Anderson,  emigrated 
to  Canada  some  twenty  years  since. 

NOTE.— For  all  that  Mr.  Williamson  Burnished  of  provisions  and  cows,  the  settlers 
gave  their  notes,  and  paid  them  when  due. 


270       PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Genesee  country  need  only  be  seen  to  be  appreciated.  In  travelling 
through  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Pennsylvania,  he  had  endeavored 
to  bring  men  of  wealth  and  enterprise  to  view  the  country,  but  had 
generally  failed.  It  was  too  secluded,  too  far  off  from  civilization. 
too  much  threatened  with  Indian  wars  ;  had  in  it  too  much  of  the 
elements  of  chills  and  fevers,  to  be  attractive,  to  men  who  were  not 
under  the  necessity  of  encountering  such  formidable  difficulties. 
But  he  had  discovered  that  those  he  wranted  to  come  and  see  the 
country  were  fond  of  races  and  holiday  sports,  and  he  resolved  upon 
instituting  them  in  addition  to  the  attractions  he  had  held  out.  In 
1794  he  had  laid  out  a  race  course  and  fair  grounds,  near  the  pres 
ent  residence  of  the  Hon.  Charles  Carroll,  on  the  forks  of  the  Can- 
ascraga  creek  and  Genesee  river,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  was 
had  there  a  fair  and  races.  Extensive  preparations  were  made 
for  the  event.  Mr.  Williamson's  anxiety  to  have  all  things  in  read 
iness  is  manifested  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wadsworth.  He  says  ;  —  "As 
you  have  manifested  much  interest  in  the  exhibition  at  Williams- 
burg,  do,  my  friend,  attend  to  it,  and  push  the  getting  a  bridge  from 
Starr's  or  thereabouts,  to  the  flats,  in  time ;  Mr.  Morris  will  give 
£10  and  I  will  give  £10.  The  appointed  day  came,  and  there  was 
a  gathering  from  all  the  new  settlements  of  the  Genesee  country  ; 
from  as  far  east  as  Utica ;  and  of  sportsmen  and  land  explorers  from 
Virginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  The  two  small  taverns  of 
Starr  and  Fowler,  at  Williamsburg,  and  the  deserted  log  houses  of 
the  Germans,  were  vastly  inadequate  to  the  accommodation  of  the 
crowd.  The  few  buildings  at  Geneseo.  and  all  the  log  tenements  of 
the  neighborhood  were  put  in  requsition,  and  yet  the  Fair  ground 
had  to  be  an  encampment.  In  the  language  of  an  informant  of  the 
author,  who  was  present :  —  "  Here  met  for  business  and  pleasure, 
men  from  all  parts  of  the  purchase ;  stock  was  exhibited  and  pur 
chases  made.  Here  also  were  seen-  for  the  first  time,  the  holiday 
sports  of  "  merry  England, "  such  as  greasing  a  pigs  tail ;  climbing 
a  greased  pole,  &c.  "  Care  had  been  taken  for  the  gratification  of 
visitors,  to  have  a  general  attendance  of  the  Indians ;  and  as  it  was 
just  after  Wayne's  victory,  it  was  perhaps  very  wisely  considered 
that  it  would  help  them  in  their  then  growing  inclinations  to  be  at 
peace  and  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  their  new  neighbors.  They 
were  present  in  great  numbers,  and  joined  in  the  sports  with  great 
relish.  Their  own  foot  races  and  ball  plays,  were  added  to  the 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUKCIIASE.  271 

amusements.  It  all  went  off  well ;  all  were  pleased ;  the  southern 
ers  and  Pennsylvanians  were  delighted  with  the  entertainment  and 
with  the  country ;  made  favorable  reports  when  they  returned  home  ; 
and  with  many  of  them  it  led  finally  to  emigration.  The  Fair  and 
Races  were  held  next  year  at  Williamsburg,  and  at  Bath  and  Dans- 
ville,  in  a  few  successive  years ;  Mr.  Williamson  had  himself  some 
fine  race  horses  ;  and  in  the  way  of  oxen,  such  was  the  magnitude 
of  his  operations  in  different  portions  of  the  purchase,  that  at  one 
time  he  had  eighty  yoke  wintering  on  the  Genesee  flats. 

In  addition  to  the  enterprises  of  Mr.  Williamson,  that  have  been 
named,  he  was  active  in  procuring  the  passage  of  the  act  for  laying 
out  the  old  State  Road  from  Fort  Schuyler  to  Geneva,  and  was 
one  of  the  commissioners  for  locating  it.  In  1798,  when  Mr.  Elli- 
cott  had  commenced  the  survey  of  the  Holland  Purchase,  he  joined 
him  in  making  \vhat  was  at  first  called  the  "  Niagara  Road,"  west 
of  Genesee  river.  He  made  the  road  from  the  river  to  Col.  Gan- 
son's,  within  a  mile  of  Le  Roy,  expending  upon  it  82,000.  *  He 
assisted  in  making  the  road  from  Lyons  to  Palmyra ;  from  "  Hope- 
ton  to  Townsends ;"  from  "  Seneca  Falls  to  Lyon's  Mills  ;"  from 
"  Cashong  to  Hopeton."  There  are  few  of  the  primitive  roads  in 
Yates,  Steuben,  and  the  south  part  of  Livingston,  that  he  did  not 
either  make  or  assist  in  making.  He  built  mills  at  Hopeton,  on 
the  Hemlock  Lake,  and  at  Williamsburgh.  He  added  to  the  hotel 
at  Geneva,  the  "  Mile  Point  House  and  Farm,"  on  the  bank  of 
Seneca  Lake,  which  he  intended  for  a  brother,  the  "Hopkins'  House 
and  Farm,"  and  the  "  Mullender  House  and  Farm,"  at  the  Old  Castle. 
His  enterprises  at  Williamsburg  embraced  an  extensive  farm  which 

NOTE  —  The  "Williamson  Fair  and  Races,"  are  among  the  cherished  reminiscences 

of  the  "  oldest  inhabitants,  "  and  in  fact,  it  is  only  the  oldest  who  survive  to  remem 
ber  them.  Frolic,  sports,  recreation,  with  the  meii  of  that  period,  were  things  done  in 
earnest  like  everything  else  they  undertook.  Gen.  George  M'Clure,  an  early  Pioneer 
at  Ball),  now  residing  at  Elgin,  Illinois,  writing  to  his  old  friend  Charles  Cameron, 
now  of  Greene,  Chenango  co.,  during  the  present  year,  says  in  allusion  to  some  histor 
ical  reminiscences  he  is  gathering  up :  —  "  It  wont  do  to  tell  of  all  of  our  doings  in  those 
days  of  '  Lang  Syne. '  I  presume  vou  have  not  forgotten  the  night  we  spent  in  Dunn's 
hotel  when  we  roasted  th°.  quarterof  beef."  "  Give  me  your  age  and  any  thing  else 
you  crm  think  of.  This  is  a  flourishing  town.  The  Chicago  and  Galena  rail  road 
passes  through  it.  Why  cant  you  come  and  make  us  a  visit.  You  can  come  all  the 
way  by  steam.  I  am  now  in  my  80th  year,  and  enjoy  good  health. 

*  In  connection  with  this  enterprise,  the  author  has  some  items  of  account,  showing 
the  cost  of  things  at  that  primitive  period:  —  It  cost $18  to  take  a  common  waggon 
load  from  Geneva  to  Le  Boy.  2  bbls.  of  pork  and  2  bbls.  of  whiskey  cost,  delivered, 
(at  Ganson's)  $120.  The  only  grind-stone  in  all  the  region,  was  one  owned  by  the 
Indians  at  Canawagus,  and  the  use  of  it  cost  $1,50. 


2*72  PHELPS  AND    GORHAM?S    PUKCIIASE. 

he  called  the  "  Hermitage  Farm."  Beside  this,  he  had  a  large  farrr 
on  the  Canascraga,  a  few  miles  below  Dansville,  and  several  farms 
in  Steuben. 

Connected  with  all  these  improvements  in  the  way  of  agencies, 
clerkships,  mechanics,  surveyors,  road  makers,  &c.,  are  many  fami 
liar  Pioneer  names  :  —  Among  them,  those  of  William  White,  John 
Swift,  Jonathan  Baker,  "Capt.  Follett,"  Reed,  Buskirk,  Fitzsim- 
mons,  Woodward,  Griswold,-  Henry  Brown,  Ralph  T,  Woods,  Peter 
ShaefFer,  Francis  Dana,  Solomon  Earl,  Williams  and  Frazee, 
Gordon  and  Evans,  James  Bardin,  Jonathan  Woods,  Francis  Dana, 
Jonathan  Mathews,  B.  Lazelere,  David  Milner,  William  Mulhallen, 
Jacob  Hartgate,  Elisha  Brown,  Leonard  Beaty,  Daniel  Nicholson, 
Woods  and  Pratt,  Thomas  Wilbur,  Nathaniel  Williams,  Judah 
Colt,  Caleb  Seely,  Thomas  W.  Williams,  E.  Hawkes,  David  Abbey, 
King  and  Howe,  Joseph  Merrill,  Charles  Dutcher,  Jonathan  Bur 
nett,  Robert  Burnett,  Peter  Lander,  David  Fish,  Daniel  Britain, 
E.  Van  Winkle,  Gideon  Dudley,  Norman  Merry,  David  Abbey, 
Obadiah  Osburn,  George  Humphrey,  Annanias  Platt,  Wm.  Angus, 
John  Davis,  Grieve  and  MofFatt,  John  Carey,  James  Beaumont, 
Joshua  Laig,  George  Goundry,  Elisha  Pratt,  Pierce  Chamberlain, 
Joseph  Roberts,  Thomas  Howe,  David  Dennett,  Jeremiah  Gregory, 
Darling  Havens,  Daniel  P.  Faulkner,  Jonathan  Harker,  Henry 
Brown,  Asa  Simmons,  Peter  Rice,  W.  M'Cartney,  James  Hender 
son,  Rufus  Boyd.  These  are  but  a  moiety ;  for  a  considerable 
period,  in  one  way  and  another,  a  large  proportion  of  the  new 
settlers  were  connected  with  his  enterprises. 

He  was  a  large  subscriber  to  the  Canandaigua  Academy,  to  the 
first  library  established  at  Geneva,  and  aided  in  some  of  the  first 
movements  made  in  the  Genesee  country,  in  the  cause  of  educa 
tion.  After  he  had  extended  his  road  from  Northumberland,  Penn., 
to  Williamsburg,  on  the  Genesee  river,  he  soon  established  a  mail, 
on  foot  sometimes,  and  sometimes  on  horseback,  between  the  two 
points,  thus  opening  a  communication  with  Philadelphia  and  Balti 
more.  A  branch  mail  went  to  Canandaiima,  Geneva  and  Sodus. 

O  7 

NOTE.  — About  the  time  of  the  projection  of  the  State  Road  west  of  Rome,  Mr. 
Williamson  was  riding  upon  Long  Island,  in  company  with  De  Witt  Clinton,  who  re 
marking  upon  the  smoothness  of  the  road,  said  to  Mr.  W.:  —  "If  you  had  such  roads 
to  your  country  I  would  make  you  a  visit."  —  "It  can  be  done  with  proper  exertions." 
Mr.  Clinton  promised  him  his  co-operation,  and  afterwards  assisted  in  procuring 
the  incorporation  of  the  Seneca  Turnpike  Company,  in  which  the  State  Road  was 
merged.  Mr.  Clinton's  first  visit  to  this  region,  was  in  1810. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  273 

For  several  years  after,  a  better  understanding  was  had  with  Gov. 
Simcoe  and  his  successors  by  means  of  these  mail  facilities ;  they 
received  their  letters  and  papers  from  Europe  and  the  Atlantic 
cities,  through  this  primitive  medium.  It  is  presumed  that  he  had 
something  to  do  with  putting  on  the  first  mail  and  passenger  wagon 
from  Albany  to  Canandaigua,  as  the  agent  at  Albany  procured  and 
charged  to  him  a  wagon  and  harness  for  that  purpose. 

Mr.  Williamson  was  elected  to  the  legislature  from  Ontario 
county,  in  179G  ;  and  for  three  successive  years,  while  in  that  capa 
city,  he  contributed  with  great  energy  and  perseverance  to  dif 
ferent  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  region  he  represented,  which 
was  all  of  Western  New  York.  He  was  a  Judge  of  Onlario  county ; 
in  the  early  military  organizations  in  what  is  nowSteuben,  equipped 
an  independent  company  at  his  own  expense ;  and  rose  from  the 
rank  of  Captain  in  his  Britannic  Majesty's  service,  to  that  of  Col. 
of  a  regiment  of  backwoods  militia  in  the  Genesee  country. 

The  manufacture  of  pot  and  pearl-ash  was  prominent  in  his  view, 
as  one  of  the  resources  of  the  new  country ;  he  gave  some  en 
couragement  to  it ;  but  the  means  of  transportation  to  market  at 
that  early  day,  was  a  great  drawback  upon  the  enterprise.  *  The 
manufacture  of  maple  sugar  was  also  an  object  of  interest  with 
him ;  and  in  fact,  was  an  anticipated  source  of  great  revenue  to 
the  country,  by  many  of  the  earliest  adventurers.  They  failed  to 
appreciate  the  competition  it  had  to  encounter  in  the  sugar-cane  and 
cheap  labor.  One  of  the  earliest  enterprises  of  Mr.  Williamson, 
was  the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  the  Conhocton  and 
Canisteo,  the  manufacture  of  lumber,  and  the  carrying  of  it  to  Bal 
timore,  in  periods  of  high  water. 

In  all  this  career  of  Pioneer  enterprise  that  has  been  passed  over, 
it  may  well  be  anticipated  that  much  money  was  required.  There 
was  little  money  in  the  country  —  hardly  enough  for  the  purchase 
of  the  common  necessaries  of  life  —  of  course,  not  enough  to  make 
any  considerable  land  payments.  Lands  had  to  be  sold  upon  credit, 
payments  of  instalments  postponed  ;  most  of  his  enterprises  were 

*  Writing  to  Mr.  Colquhoun  soon  after  his  arrival  in  this  country,  he  stated  that 
Judge  Cooper,  father  of  J.  Fennimore  Cooper,  who  was  then  just  founding  a  settle 
ment  on  the  Otsego  Lake,  was  greatly  promoting  sales  of  land  and  settlement,  by 
furnishing  the  new  settlers  with  pot-ash  kettles  to  a  large  amount.  He  speaks  of  the 
after  hero  of  backwoods'  romance  —  "  Judge  Temple,"  — as  a  prominent  co-worker  in 
promoting  settlements. 


2T4  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

ahead  of  the  time  and  the  condition  of  the  country,  and  made  slow 
returns.  The  resources  were  mainly  the  capital  of  his  principals, 
the  London  associates.  Seldom,  if  ever,  have  property  holders  ad 
vanced  larger  amounts  for  improvements,  or  more  freely  at  first, 
though  they  began  to  be  impatient  after  years  had  gone  by,  and  the 
returns  of  their  immense  outlays  \vere  coming  in  but  slowly  to  re 
plenish  their  coffers.  In  1800,  the  balance  sheets  did  not  look  well 
for  their  Genesee  country  enterprise.  "There  had  been  expended 
for  purchase  money  of  lands,  agencies,  and  improvements,  such  as 
have  been  indicated,  $1,374,470  10.  There  had  been  received  for 
lands  sold,  but  8147,974  83.  In  addition  to  this  balance  against 
them,  they  owed  of  principal  and  interest  upon  lands  purchased,  over 
$300,000.  To  make  all  this  look  better,  however,  they  had  an  im 
mense  amount  of  unsold  lands,  farms  and  mills,  and  an  immense 
debt  due  for  lands  sold.  While  all  Mr.  -Williamson's  enterprises 
had  been  putting  the  country  ahead  in  the  way  of  settlement  and 
improvement,  (even  from  ten  to  fifteen  years,  as  many  estimate,) 
another  direct  effect  must  have  been,  the  adding  vastly  to  the  prin 
cipals,  the  care  of  which  he  turned  over  to  his  successors.  He 
found  the  wild  lands  of  the  Genesee  country  selling  at  from  1  to  4s. 
per  acre;  he  left  them  selling  at  from  $1,50  to  $4. 

He  had  at  first  formidable  difficulties  to  overcome,  other  than 
such  as  have  been  named  and  indicated,  as  consequent  upon  the 
task  of  settling  a  country  so  isolated  from  the  older  settlements, 
possessing  so  many  harsh  features  to  keep  back  emigration.  He 
was  a  foreigner,  and  had  held  a  commission  in  the  ranks  of  the 
British  army,  with  whom  a  large  portion  of  the  new  settlers  had 
just  been  contending  upon  battle  fields.  Arms  had  been  grounded, 
but  feelings  of  resentment,  prejudice,  were  rife.  The  possession  of 
Fort  Niagara  and  Oswego,  the  British  claims  upon  the  territory  of 
Western  New  York,  their  tampering  with  the  western  Indians,  and 
even  those  that  were  unreconciled  here,  served  to  keep  alive  this 
feeling.  Although  Mr.  Williamson  had  from  the  time  he  landed  in 
America,  given  the  strongest  evidence  that  he  intended  to  merge 
himself  with  the  disenthralled  colonies,  and  throw  off  all  allegiance 
to  Great  Britain,  still  he  encountered  jealousy  and  distrust.  In  re 
capitulating  to  Sir  Wm.  Pulteney,  toward  the  close  of  his  agency, 
the  difficulties  he  had  encountered,  he  makes  the  following  remarks  : 
'  Even  previous  to  1794,  there  was  a  strong  predisposition  against 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  275 

every  thing  that  was  British.  But  this  was  more  particularly  the 
case  in  those  parts  of  the  back  country  adjacent  to  the  British  set 
tlements  ;  and  where,  from  the  influence  of  the  British  govern 
ment  with  the  Indians,  there  was  too  much  reason  to  fear  that  hos 
tilities  from  that  quarter  would  be  directed  against  these  infant  set 
tlements.  These  jealousies  met  me  in  an  hundred  mortifying  in 
stances  ;  and  they  were  with  difficulty  prevented  from  having  the 
most  disagreeable  effects,  both  to  me  and  every  old  countryman  in 
the  settlements.  To  such  an  extent  was  this  carried,  that  every 
road  I  talked  of  was  said  to  be  for  the  purpose  of  admitting  the  In 
dians  and  British ;  every  set  of  arms  I  procured  —  though  really  to 
enable  the  settlers  to  defend  themselves  againt  the  Indians  —  was 
said  to  be  for  supplying  the  expected  enemy  ;  and  the  very  grass 
seed  I  brought  into  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  the 
farmers,  was  seized  as  gun  powder  going  to  the  enemies  of  the 
country."  He  also  alleges  that  these  distrusts  —  opposition  to  his 
movements  —  were  enhanced  by  influential  individuals,  who  were 
interested  in  the  sale  of  wild  lands  in  other  localities. 

All  this,  however,  wore  off,  as  we  may  well  conclude,  for  he  was 
elected  to  represent  the  county  in  the  legislature,  with  but  little  op 
position,  in  1796,  and  the  mark  of  favor  was  repeated.  Well  educated, 
possessing  more  than  ordinary  social  qualities,  with  a  mind  im 
proved  by  travel  and  association  with  the  best  classes  in  Europe, 
his  society  was  sought  after  by  the  many  educated  and  intelligent 
men  who  came  to  this  region  in  the  earliest  years  of  settlement ; 
and  he  knew  well  how  to  adapt  himself  to  circumstances,  and  to 
all  classes  that  went  to  make  up  the  aggregate  of  the  early  adven 
turers.  Changing  his  habits  of  life  with  great  ease  and  facility,  he 
was  at  home  in  every  primitive  log  cabin ;  a  welcome,  cheerful,  and 
contented  guest,  with  words  of  encouragement  for  those  who  were 
sinking  under  the  hardships  of  Pioneer  life ;  and  often  with  sub 
stantial  aid,  to  relieve  their  necessities  ;  away  off*  in  some  isolated 
opening  of  the  forest  would  be  those  prostrated  by  disease,  to  whom 
he  would  be  the  good  Samaritan,  and  send  them  the  bracing  tonic 
or  restoring  cordial.  These  acts  of  kindness,  his  benevolence  of 
heart,  are  well  remembered  by  surviving  Pioneers ;  and  repeatedly 
has  the  author  been  importuned  by  them  to  speak  well  of  their 
friend,  in  those  local  annals. 

From  the  day  that  Mr.  Williamson  arrived  in  this  country,  until 


PHELPS  ATTO  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

he  returned  to  Europe,  his  correspondence  was  extensive  and  em 
braced  a  large  number  of  prominent  men  in  the  northern  States 
and  in  Europe.  The  interests  of  all  this  region  were  deeply  in 
volved  in  the  success  of  Mr.  Jay's  mission  to  England  in  1794.  Mr. 
Williamson's  acquaintance  with  the  statesmen  of  England,  were 
with  those  principally  of  the  conservative  class,  and  with  them  he 
urged  a  reconciliation  of  all  existing  difficulties.  He  made  the  Eng 
lish  government  acquainted  with  the  conduct  of  their  agents  in 
Canada  :  with  their  machinations  with  the  Indians  to  bring  on  an 
other  series  of  border  wars  ;  and  with  the  conduct  of  British  officers 
at  the  western  posts,  in  stimulating  the  Indians  to  stealthy  assaults 
upon  settlers,  surveyors  and  explorers.  OZF3  See  account  of  murder 
of  Major  Trueman,  Appendix,  No.  10.  The  treaty  of  Mr.  Jay  con 
cluded,  he  urged  upon  the  Colonial  department  of  the  English  gov 
ernment,  the  substitution  of  better  disposed  neighbors  in  the  Cana- 
das,  than  Lord  Dorchester,  and  Gov.  Simcoe  ;  and  the  hastening  of 
the  fulfilment  of  treaty  stipulations  by  the  surrender  of  Oswego  and 
Niagara.  Trouble,  an  open  rupture  with  England,  was  to  be  sure, 
but  postponed ;  but  the  author  can  hardly  forego  the  conclusion,  that 
in  the  infancy  of  settlement  in  the  Genesee  country,  it  was  fortunate 
that  English  statesmen  were  extensive  land  holders — deeply  inter 
ested  in  the  securing  of  peace  and  prosperity  to  the  country — and 
that  they  had  for  their  local  agent,  such  a  man  as  Charles  Williamson. 
There  had  accompanied  Mr.  Williamson  on  his  first  advent  to 
the  country,  from  Scotland,  Charles  Cameron,  John  Johnstone, 
James  Tower,  Henry  Tower,  Andrew  Smith  and  Hugh  McCartney. 
Mr.  Cameron  came  over  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Williamson,  pen 
etrated  the  wildernes  with  him,  assisted  in  planning  and  executing 
improvements,  kept  the  books  and  accounts,  was  his  travelling  com 
panion  in  many  forest  journeys  ;  and  in  fact,  was  closely  connected 
with  him  during  his  whole  residence  in  the  country.  He  was  the 
local  agent  as  has  been  seen,  at  Lyons,  and  from  that  point  it  is 
supposed,  shipped  the  first  produce  of  the  Genesee  country  to  an 
eastern  market ;  the  flour  from  the  mills  that  had  been  erected  un 
der  his  agency.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  merchants  at  Canan- 
daigua ;  at  a  primitive  period,  when  the  mercantile  business  of 
almost  the  entire  Genesee  country,  was  transacted  in  that  village. 
In  this  relation  he  was  widely  and  favorably  known  to  the  Pioneers. 
Either  upon  his  own  account,  or  as  agent  for  Mr.  Williamson,  he 


PIIELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

was  a  merchant  at  Bath  before  he  removed  to  Lyons,  as  is  inferred 
from  a  store  bill,  which  the  author  has  in  his  possession  :  — 

BATH,  October,  1793. 

John  Dolson, 

Bought  of  Charles  Cameron  : 

Oct.  26,  1  Ib.  chocolate,  2s.  6d ;  1-3  gal.  whiskey  5s.  £0  7s.  6d. 

Nov.  5.  1  gallon  whiskey,  10s.  10     0 

Mr.  Cameron  is  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  that  early  period. 
He  is  now  in  his  78th  year  ;  a  resident  of  Greene,  Chenango  county. 
Mr.  Johnstone  was  also  in  Mr.  Williamson's  employ. 

When  the  division  of  lands  took  place  between  Sir  Wm.  Pulteney 
and  Gov.  Hornby,  Mr.  Johnstone  became  the  agent  of  the  Hornby 
lands,  in  which  agency  he  continued  until  his  death  in  1806.  He 
married  a  step-daughter  of  Nicholas  Lowe,  of  New  York.  He 
was  the  father  of  James  Johnstone,  of  Canandaigua,  and  Mrs 
Leavenworth,  of  New  York. 

Henry  Tower,  was  an  agent  in  the  erection  of  the  mills  at  Lyons, 
(or  "  Alloway,")  became  the  purchaser  ot  them  ;  and  resided  there 
for  many  years.  Hugh  McCartney  settled  in  Sparta.  Of  the  other 
two  who  came  with  Mr.  Williamson,  the  author  has  no  account. 

Mr.  Williamson's  first  engagement  with  the  London  Associates, 
was  for  the  term  of  seven  years ;  though  he  continued  in  the  agen 
cy  beyond  the  expiration  of  that  period.  It  has  already  been  in 
dicated,  that  his  principals  were  somewhat  impatient  at  the  slow 
return  of  his  large  outlays;  and  the  sanguine,  impulsive  agent,  may 
have  ventured  to  deplete  their  purses  too  rapidly;  but  there  could 
have  been  no  serious  misunderstanding  between  them,  as  the  cor 
respondence  that  took  place,  in  reference  to  the  final  settlement  of 
the  affairs  of  the  agency  in  1800  and  1801,  exhibit  a  continuance 
of  mutual  esteem  and  friendship.  A  paragraph  in  a  letter  from  Sir 
Wm.  Pultney  to  the  successor  in  the  agency,  indicates  a  wish  that 
Mr.  Williamson  should  be  dealt  honorably  with  in  the  settlement. 

In  the  final  adjustment  of  his  affairs  with  his  principals,  what 
would  then  have  been  considered  a  very  large  estate,  was  left  him 
in  farms,  village  property  in  Geneva  and  Bath,  wild  lands,  bonds 
and  mortgages,  and  personal  property.  James  Rees3,  Esq.,  of  Geneva, 

*Mr.  Dolson  lived  near  Elmira.  In  one  of  Mr.  Williamson's  backwoods  excursions 
in  1792,  he  had  an  attack  of  fever  at  Mr.  Dolson's  house,  where  ho  was  nursed  until 
he  recovered.  He  presented  the  family  with  twenty  guineas,  and  a  farm  wherever 
they  might  choose  it  upon  the  purchase. 


278  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM-8  PURCHASE. 

was  his  agent,  until  he  finally  returned  to  Scotland,  in  1803,  or  '4, 
when  he  left  all  his  affairs  in  America,  with  his  friend  Col.  Benja* 
min  Walker,  of  Utica.  The  successor  of  Col.  Walker  in  the  care 
of  the  Williamson  estate,  was  John  H.  Woods  Esq.,  of  Geneva, 
with  whom  it  now  remains. 

Aaron  Burr  was  identified,  as  has  already  been  observed,  with 
some  of  the  earliest  movements  in  the  direction  of  the  Genesee 
country.  Soon  after  Mr.  Williamson's  arrival,  he  made  his  acquain 
tance,  and  retained  him  as  counsel  in  his  business  ;  and  the  farther 
relation  of  strong  personal  friendship  soon  succeeded.  In  1795, 
Mr.  Burr  made  a  visit  to  this  region,  continuing  his  journey  as  far 
west  as  Niagara  Falls.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  daughter  The- 
odosia,  and  her  then,  or  afterwards,  husband,  Mr.  Allston.  The 
party  were  on  horseback.*  Upon  this  occasion,  Mr.  Williamson 
had  interviews  with  him,  if  he  was  not  in  fact,  his  travelling  com 
panion  in  a  part  of  the  trip ;  and  when  Mr.  Williamson  became  a 
member  of  the  legislature  in  '96,  and  in  succeeding  years,  business 
and  social  relations,  made  them  frequent  companions  in  Albany. 
In  whatever  project  Mr.  Burr  had  at  the  south,  Mr.  Williamson 
was  blended,  and  would  have  taken  a  conspicuous  part  in  it,  if  it  had 
not  been  so  summarily  arrested. 

After  Mr.  Williamson  left  this  country,  he  resided  at  the  home  of 
his  family  in  Balgray,  and  in  London.  He  died  in  1808.  The 
only  record  of  the  event,  that  the  author  has  been  able  to  obtain,  is 
the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  Col.  Walker,  to  "  Mr.  Wm.  Ellis, 

NOTE. — Col.  Benjamin  Walker,  was  an  early  and  prominent  citizen  of  Utica,  In 
the  early  part  of  the  Revolution  he  had  been  in  the  staff  of  Gen.  Washington,  and  was 
afterwards  the  aid  of  Baron  Steuben.  He  is  connected  with  a  good  anecdote  of  the 
Baron  :  —  Reviewing  some  raw  troops,  he  ordered  them  with  his  imperfect  English 
pronunciation,  to  fall  back,  which  they  mistook  for  "advance,"  and  came  rushing  di 
rectly  upon  him.  Irritated,  and  fearing  they  would  understand  him  no  better  in  his 
reprimands,  he  ordered  Col.  Walker  to  d — n  them  in  English. 

In  1792  he  was  surveyor  of  the  port  of  New  York,  and  was  employed  by  Messrs. 
Pulteney  and  Hornby  to  settle  with  an  agent  in  this  country,  who  had  invested  some 
money  for  them  in  lands,  (other  than  the  Genesee  purchase,)  which  led  to  his  early 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  Williamson.  His  correspondence  with  Mr.  Williamson  after  he 
returned  to  Europe,  would  indicate  superior  talents;  and  there  could  be  gleaned  from 
them  many  interesting  early  reminiscences  of  events  in  this  country.  Col.  Walker 
died  in  Utica,  in  1818.  An  only  daughter  married  D'Villiers,  a  French  gentleman, 
who  was  in  this  region  in  '94,  or  '5.  She  died  in  France.  The  only  representative  of 
the  family  in  this  country,  is  an  adopted  daughter,  Mrs.  Bours  of  Geneva. 

*  In  this  western  visit  Mr.  Burr  parted  from  his  travelling  companions  at  Avon, 
and  went  down  and  visited  the  falls  of  the  Genesee,  taking  their  height,  and  a  landscape 
view  of  them.  He  shared  the  log  cabin  of  Mr.  Shaeffer,  over  night,  on  his  return,  and 
;he  old  gentleman  well  remembers  his  praises  of  the  new  country,  and  his  "pleasant, 
sociable  turn." 


PHELPS  AISD  GOKIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  279 

Nicholson  street,  Edingburg  :" — "  An  extract  sent  me  from  an 
English  newspaper,  announces  the  death  of  my  friend,  Col.  Will 
iamson,  as  having  happened  on  his  passage  from  Havanna  to 
England ;  an  event  which  will  be  most  sincerely  lamented  by  a 
numerous  acquaintance  in  this  country,  who  esteemed  and  loved 
him." 

There  is  now  no  descendants  of  Mr.  Williamson  in  this  country. 
He  lost  a  son  and  a  daughter  in  Bath ;  and  a  son  and  daughter  went 
soon  after  him  to  Scotland.  The  daughter  survives.  Charles  A. 
Williamson,  the  son,  married  a  Miss  Clark  of  New  York,  and  resi 
ded  in  Geneva.  Enticed  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  — 
although  he  would  seem  to  have  had  enough  of  wealth  to  satisfy  a 
reasonable  ambition  —  he  took  the  overland  route  in  the  summer 
of  1818,  died  of  cholera  at  Fort  Laramie ;  and  about  the  same 
period  his  wife  died  in  Scotland. 

Sir  William  Pulteney  died  in  May,  1805,  leaving  an  only  heir,  his 
daughter,  Henrietta  Laura  Pulteney,  Countess  of  Bath.  She  died 
in  July,  1808.  DCPFor  historical,  and  legal  deduction  of  title  to 
lands,  other  than  what  is  contained  in  the  body  of  the  work,  see 
Appendix  No.  11. 


ROBERT  TROUP. 


The  successor  of  Mr.  Williamson,  in  the  general  agency  ot  tne 
London  Association,  was  Col.  Robert  Troup.  He  was  a  native  of 
New  Jersey  ;  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  he  was  the  aid  of  Gen 


.  _  There  are  contradictory  accounts  of  Mr.  Williamson's  position  at  the  period 
of  his  death.  One  is,  that  he  had  been  appointed  by  the  British  goveernment,  Govern 
or  of  one  of  "the  West  India  Islands;  and  another  is,  that  his  adventurous  and  enter 
prising  spirit,  had  connected  him  with  some  of  the  earliest  movements  in  relation  to 
South  American  Independence,  in  which  he  was  to  have  borne  a  conspicuous  part  ; 
and  in  pursuance  of  which,  he  was  at  sea,  at  the  period  of  his  death. 

]S[OTE  _  jn  a  letter  from  James  Waclsworth  to  Col.  Troup,  dated  in  September,  1805, 
he  says  •  _  "  I  have  just  heard  of  the  death  of  Sir  William  Pultney.  My  mind  is  strong 
ly  impressed  with  the  disasters  that  may  befal  this  section  of  the  State,  from  the 
event  Sir  William  was  a  man  of  business  ;  he  was  capable  of  deciding  for  himself, 
what  was  and  what  was  not  proper.  What  may  be  the  character  of  his  successor  we 


with  Sir 
the 
but  of 


Duke  of  York ;  and  I  think  1  have  been  informed,  quite  regardless  of  property  ; 
of  his  honorable  views,  and  perfect  soundness  of  inind,  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt" 


280  PHELPS   AND    GOPJIAM'S    PURCHASE. 

Gates ;  his  father  was  an  officer  of  the  navy  in  the  preceding  French 
war.  Previous  to  the  Revolution,  Col.  Troup  had  been  a  student 
at  law  in  the  office  of  Thomas  Smith,  of  Havestraw,  New  Jersey, 
and  subsequently  in  the  office  of  Gov.  Jay.  After  obtaining  license, 
he  opened  an  office  in  the  city  of  Albany,  and  soon  after  returned 
to  New  York,  where  he  practipetf  law  until  1801.  He  was  a  few 
years  a  Judge  of  the  U.  S.  District  Court.  In  1801  he  was  appoin 
ted  a  general  agent  of  the  Pulteney  estate.  Residing  in  New  York 
and  Albany,  he  frequently  visited  this  region,  until  1814,  when  he 
became  a  permanent  resident  of  Geneva.  Under  his  auspices  a 
large  portion  of  the  original  purchase  of  the  London  Associates, 
(such  as  had  not  been  settled  during  Mr.  Williamson's  administra 
tion,)  was  sold  and  settled.  Liberal  in  his  views,  public  spirited, 
and  possessed  of  much  practical  knowledge,  he  was  a  valuable 
helper  in  speeding  on  the  prosperity  of  the  Genesee  country.  Al 
though  the  "Mill  Tract,"  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  was  settled 
tinder  the  immediate  auspices  of  Mr.  Wadsworth,  Col.  Troup  as 
the  general  agent,  had  much  to  do  in  all  that  relates  to  its  pioneer 
history ;  and  for  over  thirty  years,  his  name  was  conspicuously 
blended  with  the  history  of  all  this  local  region.  He  was  one  of 
the  early  promoters  of  the  Erie  Canal,  and  wielding  a  ready  and 
able  pen,  he  did  much  to  forward  that  great  measure  in  its  early 
projection  and  progress.  He  was  the  intimate  friend  of  Alexander 
Hamilton,  and  in  fact  few  enjoyed  more  of  the  intimate  acquaint 
ance  and  friendship,  of  the  most  of  prominent  men  of  the  Revolution, 
and  early  statesmen  of  New  York.  He  died  in  New  York  in  1832. 
aged  74  years.  He  had  two  sons,  one  of  whom  died  in  Charleston, 
and  the  other  in  N.  York.  A  daughter  of  his  is  Mrs.  James  L. 
Brinkerhoof,  of  N.  York;  and  another  unmarried  daughter  resides 
in  New  York. 

Before  Col.  Troup's  removal  to  Geneva,  the  immediate  duties  of 
the  agency  devolved  successively  upon  John  Johnstone,  John  Hes- 
lop  and  Robert.  Scott.  Heslop  was  first  a  clerk  of  Mr.  Wads- 
worth,  and  entered  the  Geneva  office  a  short  time  before  the  close 
of  Mr.  Williamson's  agency.  He  died  on  a  visit  to  his  native 
country,  England.  Mrs.  Greshom,  of  Brooklyn,  is  a  daughter 
of  his. 


PHELPS  AISTD  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  281 

JOSEPH  FELLOWS. 


Jaseph  Fellows  is  a  native  of  Warwickshire,  England;  from 
which  place  his  father  emigrated  in  1795  to  Luzerne  county,  Penn., 
17  miles  from  Wilkesbarre.  At  the  age  of  fourteen,  soon  after  the 
arrival  of  the  family  in  this  country,  he  entered  the  office  of  Isaac 
L.  Kip,  Esq.,  as  a  student  at  law  ;  was  admitted  to  practice,  but 
soon  after  entered  the  office  of  Col.  Troup.  He  came  to  Geneva 
in  1810,  as  a  sub-agent  in  the  Pultney  land  office  ;  the  details  of  the 
agency  principally  devolved  upon  him,  until  the  death  of  Colonel 
Troup,  when  he  became  his  successor  in  the  general  agency,  which 
position  he  still  retains.  Mr.  Fellows  is  a  bachelor  ;  a  sister  of  his 
was  the  wife  of  Dr.  Eli  Hill,  the  early  physician  of  Conesus  and 
Geneseo.  Dr.  Hill  removed  to  Berrien,  Michigan,  where  he  died 
in  1838.  His  three  sons,  Edward,  Joseph  and  Henry,  are  residents 
of  Buffalo.  Mrs.  Hill  survives,  and  resides  at  Geneva,  with  her 
brother. 

The  purchasers  of  the  Pultney  lands,  have  found  in  Mr.  Fellows 
an  agent  disposed  to  conduct  the  business  with  strict  integrity,  and 
in  the  same  spirit  of  liberality  and  indulgence  that  had  actuated  his 
predecessors.  "I  went  to  him,"  said  a  farmer  upon  the  Lake  shore, 
in  Wayne  county,  to  the  author,  "  and  told  him  my  house  was  old 
and  uncomfortable,  and  I  could  build  if  he  would  give  me  an  exten 
sion  of  payment.  He  granted  me  even  more  than  I  asked."  "  My 
payments  were  due,"  said  another,  "  sickness  had  been  added  to 
unpropitious  seasons ;  he  made  a  liberal  deduction  of  interest,  and 
gave  me  an  extension  of  payment,  which  enabled  me  finally  to  pos 
sess  an  uninc umbered  farm." 


The  clerks  in  the  Geneva  office,  in  successsion,  have  been  Thos. 
Goundry,  George  Goundry,  William  Van  Wort,  David  H.  Vance. 
The  present  clerks  are  Wm.  Young  and  John  Wride. 

When  Mr.  Williamson  left  Bath,  James  Reese  removed  there 
from  Geneva,  and  took  the  temporary  charge  of  the  Land  Office. 
Resigning  the  post  in  1803,  he  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  L.  Haight. 

Gen.  Haight  was  a  student  at  law,  with  the  late  Gen.  Matthews, 
at  Newtowu  -/entering  his  office  in  1796.  In  1801  he  was  admitted 
18 


282  PHELP3  AND   GORHAM's    P  DECEASE. 

to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court,  and  in  the  following  year  opened 
an  office  in  Bath.  Assuming  the  duties  of  the  Land  Office  soon 
after,  he  continued  to  discharge  them  until  1814.  He  was  sub 
sequently  the  law  partner  of  General  Matthews  at  Bath,  and  re 
mained  so  until  Gen.  M.  removed  to  Rochester  in  1821.  He  now 
resides  at  Cuba,  Allegany  county.  Besides  holding  important  civil 
stations,  in  1819  he  received  the  appointment  of  Major  General  of 
the  25th  military  division,  then  comprising  the  counties  of  Steuben, 
Allegany,  Cattaraugus  and  Chautauque.* 

The  subsequent  agents  in  the  Bath  office  have  been,  Dugald 
Cameron,  and  William  M'Kay ;  the  latter  of  whom  is  the  present 
agent.  He  is  the  son  of  John  S.  M'Kay,  who  emigrated  to  Geneva 
in  1800,  and  died  in  Pittsford,  in  1819. 


JOHtf  GREIG. 


Mr.  Greig  was  a  native  of  MofFat,  in  Dumfrieshire,  Scotland.  His 
father  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  the  factor  or  agent  of  the  Earl 
of  Hopeton;  and  besides,  a  landholder,  ranking  among  the  better 
class  of  Scotch  farmers.  After  having  acquired  in  his  native 
parish,  and  in  a  High  School  in  Edinburg,  a  substantial  education, 
while  undetermined  as  to  his  pursuits  in  life,  Mr.  Johnstone,  who,  it 
will  have  been  seen,  had  been  in  this  region,  connected  with  Mr. 
Williamson,  revisited  his  native  country,  and  meeting  Mr.  Greig. 
induced  him  to  be  his  companion  on  his  return  to  the  new  world. 
They  arrived  at  New  York,  in  the  winter  of  1799  and  18GO,  after 
a  tedious  passage  of  eleven  weeks.  Mr.  Greig,  after  spending  some 
time  in  New  York  and  Albany,  came  to  Canandaigua,  in  April, 
1800.  He  became  a  student  at  law,  in  the  office  of  Nathaniel  W. 
Howell,  and  in  1804  was  admitted  to  practice.  In  1806,  on  the 
occurrence  of  the  death  of  his  friend,  John  Johnstone,  he  succeeded 
him  in  the  agency  of  the  Hornby  and  Colquhoun  estate  ;  in  which  he 
has  continued  up  to  the  present,  period. 

In  an  early  period  of  his  professional  career,  he  became  the  part 
ner  of  Judge  Howell ;  the  partnership  continued  until  1820.  Ming 
ling  with  his  professional  duties,  the  arduous  ones  consequent  upon 


*In  1819  all  that  territory  contained  but  3,100  men,  subject  to  military  duty, 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE.       283 

the  sale  and  settlement  of  large  tracts  of  wild  lands,  professional 
eminence  could  hardly  be  expected ;  yet  in  early  days,  when  there 
were  "giants  in  the  land" — when  the  bar  of  western  New  York 
had  in  its  front  rank,  a  class  of  men,  whose  places  can  now  harldy 
be  said  to  be  filled  —  they  found  in  the  young  foreigner  a  professional 
cotemporary,  possessed  of  sound  legal  acquirements  ;  and  especially 
recommending  himself  to  their  esteem,  by  a  high  sense  of  honor; 
and  a  courtesy,  which  ruled  his  conduct  at  the  bar,  as  well  as  in 
the  business  and  social  relations  of  life. 

As  a  patroon  of  new  settlements — which  his  agency  of  a  foreign 
and  absent  principal,  made  him  —  in  that  position,  in  which  so  im 
portant  an  influence  is  wielded  over  the  destinies  of  a  new  coun 
try — his  best  eulogy  is  found  in  the  frequent  expressions  of  gratitude, 
which  a  gatherer  of  historical  reminiscences  may  hear,  from  the 
lips  of  surviving  Pioneers,  for  indulgence  and  kindness  received 
at  his  hands.. 

Mr.  Greig  succeeded  Mr.  Gorham,  in  the  Presidency  of  the  On 
tario  Bank,  soon  after  1820,  which  place  he  continues  to  fill.  He 
became  one  of  the  Regents  of  the  University  in  1825,  and  is  now 
the  Vice  Chancellor  of  the  Board.  In  1841,  '2,  he  was  the  Repre 
sentative  in  Congress,  from  Ontario  and  Livingston  ;  and  is  now 
one  of  the  managers  of  the  Western  House  of  Refuge. 

He  is  now  72  years  of  age  ;  his  general  health  and  constitution 
not  seriously  impaired  ;  his  mental  faculties  retaining  much  of  the 
vigor  of  middle  age  ;  having  the  general  supervision  of  his  estate, 
and  discharging  the  public  duties  which  his  several  offices  impose. 

One  of  the  largest  estates  of  western  New  York,  is  the  fruit  of 
his  youthful  advent  to  a  region  he  has  seen  converted  from  a  wil 
derness,  to  one  of  fruitful  fields  and  unsurpassed  prosperity;  —  of  a 
long  life  of  professional  and  business  enterprise  and  judicious  man 
agement.  Leaving  his  young  countrymen  and  school  fellows  to 
inherit  estates  ;  with  a  self-reliance,  which  can  only  give  substantial 
success  in  life,  he  boldly  and  manfully  struck  out  into  a  new  field  of 
enterprise  —  a  then  fresh  and  new  world  —  and  became  the  founder 
of  one.  Liberal  in  its  management  and  disposition,  with  a  sensible 
estimate  of  what  constitutes  the  legitimate  value  and  use  of  wealth; 
he  is  the  promoter  of  public  enterprises,  the  liberal  patron  of  public, 
and  the  dispenser  of  private  charities ;  in  all  of  which  he  finds  a 
willing  co-operator  in  his  excellent  wife,  who  is  a  worthy  descend- 


284  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

ant  of  one  who  occupied  a  front  rank  among  the  earliest  Pio 
neers  of  the  Genesee  country.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Captain 
Israel  Chapin,  the  grand-daughter  of  Gen.  Israel  Chapin ;  was  mar 
ried  to  Mr.  Greig  in  1806. 


CHAPTER  III. 


INDIAN     DIFFICULTIES BRITISH     INTERFERENCE INDIAN     COUNCILS 

GEN.    ISRAEL    CHAPIN. 


IN  preceding  pages,  the  reader  has  observed  some  indications  o-f 
unsettled  relations  between  the  Indians,  and  the  early  adventurers 
of  our  own  race,  in  the  Genesee  country ;  and  the  mischievous 
influence  of  those  to  whom  they  had  been  allies  in  the  Revolution, 
All  this  will  be  farther  exhibited  in  connection  with  the  early  settle 
ment  of  Sodus.  In  this  chapter  it  is  proposed  to  treat  the  subject 
generally,  avoiding  as  far  as  possible  a  repetition  of  what  has  been 
and  will  be,  in  the  other  connections,  but  incidental. 

The  reader  of  American  general  history,  need  hardly  be  told? 
that  what  was  called  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  in  1783, 
war  rather  an  armistice  —  a  cessation  of  hostilities  —  and  that  but 
little  of  real  peace,  or  amicable  relations,  was  immediately  conse 
quent  upon  it.  On  the  one  hand,  a  proud  arrogant  nation,  worsted 
in  a  contest  with  a  few  feeble  colonies,  its  invading  armies  defeated 
and  routed,  grudgingly  and  reluctantly  yielded  to  a  stern  necessity, 
and  allowed  only  enough  of  concession  to  be  wrung  from  her,  to 
secure  the  grounding  of  arms.  And  on  the  other  hand,  success, 
victory,  had  been  won  by  a  last,  and  almost  desperate  effort,  —  the 
wearied  colonies  gladly  embracing  an  opportunity  to  rest.  Thus 
conditioned,  the  terms  of  peace  were  illy  defined,  and  left  open 
questions,  to  irritate  and  furnish  grounds  for  a  renewal  of  hostilities. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.       285 

British  armies  re-crossed  the  ocean,  and  British  navies  left  our 
coasts,  but  British  resentment  was  still  rife.  In  the  palace  at 
Windsor,  England's  King  was  mourning  with  almost  the  weakness 
of  childhood,  or  dotage,  over  his  lost  colonies ;  yielding  to  the 
sacrifice  with  a  had  grace,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  kingly  digni 
ty.  Rich  jewels  had  dropped  from  his  crown,  and  he  refused  to  be 
reconciled  to  their  loss ;  and  his  ministers,  with  more  of  philosophy, 
but  little  less  of  chagrin  and  discomfiture,  in  peace  negotiations, 
seem  almost  to  have  made  mental  reservations,  that  contemplated 
a  renewal  of  the  contest.  The  homely  adage,  "  like  master  like 
man,"  was  never  better  illustrated,  than  it  was  in  the  persons  and 
official  acts  of  those  who  came  out  as  government  officers  and 
agents,  to  look  to  the  little  that  was  saved  to  England,  after  the 
wreck  of  the  Revolution.  But  one  spirit,  and  one  feeling  pervaded 
in  the  home  and  colonial  governments.  It  was  that  the  treaty  had 
been  an  act  of  present  necessity,  that  had  not  contemplated  an 
ultimate  sacrifice  of  such  magnitude  as  was  the  final  loss  of  the 
American  colonies.  The  statesmen  of  England,  were  not  unmind 
ful  that  the  site  of  an  Empire  lay  spread  out  around  our  western 
lakes  and  rivers,  and  in  all  of  what  is  now  western  New  York,  over 
which  the  Indians  held  absolute  and  undisputed  sovereignty.  Those 
Indians  were  their  allies,  ready  to  take  the  tomahawk  from  its  belt, 
and  the  knife  from  its  sheath  at  their  bidding. 

The  first,  and  principal  hope  and  reliance  of  England,  touching 
the  reversion  of  her  lost  empire,  was  that  the  experiment  of  free 
government  would  be  a  failure.  Astonished  that  resistance  to  their 
rule  had  been  attempted  by  a  few  feeble  colonies,  and  more  aston 
ished  that  it  had  been  successful  —  almost  prepared  to  believe  in 
the  decrees  of  fate,  or  the  enactment  of  miracles  —  they  were  yet 
unprepared  to  believe  that  discordant  materials  could  be  so  blended 
together  as  to  insure  a  permanent  separation ;  that  here  in  the 
backwoods  of  America,  statesmen  would  be  created  by  exigency, 
with  a  firmness,  an  intuitive  wisdom,  to  mould  together  a  perma 
nent  confederacy,  that  would  be  the  wonder  of  the  old  world  ;  a 
political  phenomena  —  and  thus  secure  all  that  had  been  so  dearly 
won.  After  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  every  movement  upon 
this  side  of  the  water,  was  watched  with  intense  anxiety.  Unpro- 
pitious  as  were  the  first  few  years  of  the  experiment,  the  events  in 
creased  their  confidence.  The  difficulties  growing  out  of  disputed 


286  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

boundaries  between  the  States ;  the  Shay  rebellion  in  Massachu 
setts ;  the  internal  commotions  in  Pennsylvania;  and  finally  the 
discordant  views  of  those  who  came  together  to  form  a  Union,  and 
a  permanent  government ;  all  helped  to  increase  their  hopes,  that 
divided  and  distracted,  the  colonies  would  either  fall  back  into  their 
embraces,  or  be  an  easy  conquest  when  they  chose  to  renew  the 
war. 

In  the  final  success  in  the  formation  of  a  confederacy  of  States, 
—  the  Union  —  the  interested  croakers  lost  some  confidence  in  their 
predictions,  but  they  still  hoped  for  the  worst.  If  they  admitted 
for  a  moment  that  there  might  be  a  confederacy  of  eastern  States, 
they  thought  they  saw  enough  of  the  elements  of  trouble  in  geo 
graphical  divisions,  in  conflicting  interests  of  soils  and  climate  ;  in  a 
curse  they  had  entailed  upon  the  colonies  in  the  form  of  African 
slavery,  to  insure  the  failure  of  the  experiment  to  embrace  the 
whole  in  one  political  fabric. 

Disappointed  in  their  earliest  hopes,  they  fell  back  upon  another 
reliance ;  that  by  means  of  a  continued  alliance  with  the  Six  Na 
tions,  and  with  the  western  Indians,  they  should  be  enabled  to  re 
tain  all  of  what  had  been  French  Canada  ;  western  New  York,  the 
vallies  of  the  western  lakes  and  the  Mississippi.  With  this  end  in 
view,  by  means  of  pretences  so  flimsy,  that  they  never  rose  to  the 
dignity  of  being  sufficiently  defined  to  be  understood,  they  disre 
garded  the  plainest  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  withheld  the 
posts  upon  Lake  Ontario  and  the  western  lakes,  and  steadily  pur 
sued  the  policy  of  commercial  outrages  and  annoyances,  dogged 
and  irritating  diplomacy,  and  bringing  to  bear  upon  the  Indians  an 
influence  that  was  intended  to  embarrass  all  our  negotiations  with 
them,  and  ultimately  to  make  them  allies  in  a  renewed  contest  for 
dominion  over  them  and  their  territory. 

The  settlement  of  the  Genesee  country,  commenced  under  the 
untoward  circumstances  of  a  continued  British  occupancy ;  the 
native  owners  of  the  soil,  but  illy  reconciled  to  the  treaties  of  cer- 
sions,  and  thus  in  a  condition  to  be  easily  incited  to  mischief;  while 
off  upon  the  borders  of  the  western  lakes,  were  numerous  nations 
and  tribes  ready  to  join  them,  to  redress  their  fancied  wrongs,  at 
the  instigation  of  the  malign  influences  that  lingered  among  them. 
For  six  years  after  feeble  settlements  were  scattered  in  backwood's 
localities,  the  British  retained  Fort  Oswego  and  Niagara,  and  the 


PHELPS  AND   GOEHAMJ3   PURCHASE.  287 

western  posts  ;  no  American  commerce  was  allowed  on  Lake  Onta 
rio,  or  if  allowed,  it  was  a  mere  sufferance,  attended  with  all  the 
annoyance  and  insolence  of  an  armed  police  at  the  two  important 
•points,  Oswego  and  Niagara. 

In  the  person  of  Lord  Dorchester,  the  Gov.  General  of  Canada, 
was  an  implacable  enemy  of  the  disenthralled  colonies,  an  embodi 
ment  and  fit  representative  of  the  spirit  that  ruled  his  home  gov 
ernment,  and  his  deputy,  General  Simcoe,  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
of  the  Upper  Province,  located  at  Niagara,  was  well  fitted  to  take 
the  lead  in  that  then  retreat  of  mischief  makers  and  irreconciled 
refugees.  Sir  John  Johnstone,  after  his  retreat  from  the  Mohawk, 
had  continued  to  reside  at  Montreal,  and  after  the  war,  retained  a 
large  share  of  the  influence  he  had  inherited,  over  the  Six  Nations. 
He  may  well  be  supposed  to  have  had  no  very  kind  feelings  toward  his 
old  neighbors.  He  was  in  fact  the  ready  helper  in  the  persevering 
attempts  that  were  made  to  keep  the  Indians  irreconciled  and  trouble 
some.  The  position  of  Joseph  Brant  was  equivocal;  keen  scrutiny 
and  watchfulness,  failed  to  determine  what  were  his  real  inclina 
tions.  Even  his  partial  biographer,  has  left  his  conduct  in  the  crisis 
we  are  considering,  an  enigma.  At  times  he  would  seem  to  have 
been  for  peace ;  in  his  correspondence  with  Messrs.  Kirkland, 
Phelps,  Thomas  Morris,  General  Chapin,  and  with  the  Secretary 
of  War,  General  Knox,  there  were  professions  of  peaceful  inclina 
tions  ;  while  at  the  same  period,  he  would  be  heard  of  in  war  coun 
cils  of  the  western  Indians,  stirring  up  with  a  potent  influence,  side 
by  side  with  his  British  allies,  their  worst  passions ;  or  organizing 


. —  As  late  as  the  summer  of  1795,  even  after  the  Jay  treaty  and  Wayne's  treaty 
of  Grenville,  Col.  Simcoe  was  irreconciled,  and  to  all  appearances  looking  forward  to 
a  renewal  of  tlie  contest  between  Great  Britain  and  her  lost  colonies,  or  States  as  they 
had  then  become.  The  Duke  Liancourt,  was  then  his  guest,  at  Niagara,  who  says  of 

him  : "War  seems  to  be  the  object  of  his  leading  passions ; "  he  is  acquainted  with 

the  military  history  of  all  countries ;  no  hillock  catches  his  eye  without  exciting  in 
liis  mind  the  idea  of  a  fort,  which  might  be  constructed  on  the  spot,  and  with  the 
construction  of  this  fort  he  associates  the  plan  of  operations  for  a  campaign,  especially 
of  that  which  is  to  lead  him  to  Philadelphia."  At  the  Indian  village  of  Tuscarora, 
near  Lewisto^i,  where  the  Duke  accompanied  him,  he  told  the  Indians  that  the  "Yan 
kees  were  brooding  over  some  evil  designs  against  them ;  that  they  had  no  other  object 
in  view  but  to  rob  them  of  their  lands ;  and  that  their  good  father,  King  George,  was 
the  true  friend  of  their  nation.  He  also  repeated,  that  the  maize  thief,  Timothy 
Pickering,  was  a  rogue  and  a  liar."  When  the  Governor  and  the  Duke  were  on  their 
way  to  Tuscarora,  they  met  an  American  family  on  their  way  to  Canada.  On  learn 
ing  their  destination,  the  Governor  said  to  them :  — "Aye,  aye,  you  are  tired  of  the 
Federal  government ;  you  like  not  any  longer  to  have  so  many  kings ;  you  wish  again 
for  your^)ld  father,  come  along  and  I  will  give  you  lands," 


288  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCIIASE. 

armed  bands  of  Canada  Indians,  as  allies  of  the  western  confeder 
ates.  Red  Jacket  was  a  backwoods  Talleyrand,  and  Cornplanter, 
an  unschooled  Metternich. 

Col.  John  Butler,  living  at  Niagara  in  affluence,  richly  pensioned, 
and  himself  and  family  connections  richly  endowed  with  lands  by 
the  king,  repaid  the  bounties  of  his  sovereign  with  all  the  zeal  that 
he  had  shewn  in  the  war,  by  seconding  the  views  of  Lord  Dorches 
ter  and  Col.  Simcoe.  As  Superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  he  had 
the  keys  of  the  king's  store  house  at  Niagara,  and  dispensed  his 
presents  profusely  among  the  Indians,  telling  them  that  the  "king, 
their  good  father,  would  soon  want  their  services  again,  against  the 
rebels."  The  early  settlers  of  the  Genesee  country,  saw  on  more 
than  one  occasion,  the  Indians  in  possession  of  new  broadcloths, 
blankets,  and  silver  ornaments,  that  came  from  the  king's  store  house, 
the  fearful  purport  of  which  they  well  understood.  Some  of  the 
influences  and  agencies  that  have  been  named,  had  assisted  in  land 
treaties,  but  it  had  been  for  pay,  and  with  the  hope  ultimately  of  the 
partition  of  New  York,  and  the  non-fulfilment  of  the  treaty  stipu 
lation  for  the  surrender  of  its  western  territory.  Lingering  yet 
upon  the  Genesee  river,  and  in  several  other  localities,  were  refu 
gees  from  the  Mohawk,  with  feelings  rankling  in  their  bosoms  akin 
to  those  of  Milton's  fallen  angels  after  they  had  been  driven  out  of 
Paradise. 

Added  to  all  thesft  elements  of  trouble,  was  an  irreconciled  feel 
ing  against  the  Indians,  on  the  part  of  those  who  had  been  border 
settlers  upon  the  Mohawk  and  the  Susquehannah,  and  could  not  so 
soon  forget  their  horrid  barbarities.  In  the  absence  of  courts  and 
any  efficient  civil  police,  this  feeling  would  occasionally  break  out 
in  outrages,  and  on  several  occasions  resulted  in  the  murder  of  In 
dians  ;  it  required  all  the  wisdom  of  the  general  and  State  govern 
ments  and  their  local  agents  to  prevent  retaliation  upon  the  scatter 
ed  settlements  of  the  Pioneers. 

While  a  storm  was  gathering  at  the  west,  and  the  Senecas,  un 
der  the  influences  that  have  been  named,  were  half  inclined  to  act 
in  concert  with  hostile  nations  in  that  quarter,  the  murder  of  two 
Senecas,  by  whites,  occurred  on  Pine  creek,  in  Pennsylvania.  It 
highly  exasperated  the  Senecas,  and  they  made  an  immediate  de 
mand  upon  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  for  redress.  It  was  in 
the  form  of  a  message,  signed  by  Little  Beard,  Red  Jacket,  Gisse- 


PHELP3  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  289 

hakie,  Caunhesongo,  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Seneca  nation,  and 
dated  at  "Geneseo  River  Flats,"  August  1790.  After  saying  they 
are  glad  that  a  reward  of  eight  hundred  dollars  has  been  offered  for 
the  murderers,  they  add:  —  "Brothers  the  two  men  you  have  killed 
were  very  great  men,  and  were  of  the  great  Turtle  tribe ;  one  of 
them  was  a  chief,  and  the  other  was  to  be  put  in  the  great  king 
Garoughta's  place,  who  is  dead  also.  Brothers,  you  must  not  think 
hard  of  us  if  we  speak  rash,  as  it  comes  from  a  wounded  heart,  as 
you  have  struck  the  hatchet  in  our  head,  and  we  can't  be  reconciled 
until  you  come  and  pull  it  out.  We  are  sorry  to  tell  you,  you  have 
killed  eleven  of  us  since  peace."  "  And  now  we  take  you  by  the 
hand  and  lead  you  to  the  Painted  Post,  as  far  as  your  canoes  can 
come  up  the  creek,  where  you  will  meet  the  whole  tribe  of  the  de 
ceased,  and  all  the  chiefs  and  a  number  of  warriors  of  our  nation, 
where  we  expect  you  will  wash  away  the  blood  of  your  brothers, 
and  bury  the  hatchet,  and  put  it  out  of  memory,  as  it  is  yet  sticking 
in  our  heads. 

Mr.  Pickering,  who  was  then  residing  at  Wyoming,  was  either 
sent  by  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  or  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
hold  the  proposed  treaty,  at  Tioga  Point,  on  the  16th  day  of  No 
vember.  He  met  there,  Red  Jacket,  Farmer's  Brother,  Col.  Butler, 
Little  Billy,  Fish  Carrier,  and  other  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  and 
the  Chippevva  and  Stockbridge  Indians.  They  came  to  the  coun 
cil  much  enraged,  and  a  speech  of  Red  Jacket  was  well  calculated 
to  increase  their  resentments.  The  black  cloud  that  hung  over 
their  deliberations  for  days,  was  finally  driven  away  by  the  prudent 
course  of  Col.  Pickering,  and  the  war  spirit  that  was  kindled  in 
many  a  savage  bosom,  finally  quelled.  This  was  the  first  time  that 
the  Six  Nations  were  met  in  council  by  the  general  government 
after  the  adoption  of  the  constitution.  Col.  Pickering  informed 
them  that  the  Thirteen  Fires  was  now  but  one  Fire,  that  they  were 
now  all  under  the  care  of  the  great  chief,  General  Washington,  who 
would  redress  their  wrongs,  and  correct  any  abuses  the  whites  had 

NOTE. — Money  and  presents  of  goods,  it  is  presumed,  were  the  principal  agents  of 
reconciliation.  The  wily  chiefs  who  demanded  the  council,  while  they  assumed  that 
their  young  warrriors  could  hardly  be  restrained  from  taking  summary  vengeance  upon 
the  whites,  intimated  what  they  were  expecting ;  and  they  especially  requested  that 
the  Governor  should  send  to  the  council  "all  the  property  of  the  murderers,"  as  it 
would  "  be  a  great  satisfaction  to  the  families  of  the  deceased."  The  result  of  the 
council  amounted  to  little  more  than  a  compromising  of  the  murders,  and  professions 
of  friendship,  that  were  destined  to  remain  equivocal 


290  PHELPS  AND  GOEIIAM'S  PURCHASE. 

practiced  upon  them  ;  and  that  especially  traders  among  them 
would  be  prohibited  from  selling  spirituous  liquors.  To  all  this 
Red  Jacket  and  Farmer's  Brother  made  replies,  expressing  much 
gratification  that  the  "great  chief  of  the  Thirteen  Fires,  had  opened 
his  moulh  to  them."  They  made  formal  complaints  of  the  manner 
in  which  their  lands  had  been  obtained  from  them,  to  which  Col. 
Pickering  replied,  that  their  lands  were  their  own  to  dispose  of  as 
they  pleased,  that  the  United  States  would  only  see  that  no  frauds 
were  practiced  in  the  land  treaties. 

The  Six  Nations  called  their  councils  with  the  whites,  measures 
for  "brightening  the  chain  of  friendship,  "and  never  did  chains  get 
rusty  so  quick  after  brightening  as  they  did  along  during  this  critical 
period.  One  treaty  or  council  was  hardly  over  before  another  was 
demanded  by  one  party  or  the  other.  In  the  spring  of  1791,  when 
the  Little  Turtle  as  the  successor  of  Pontiac — as  a  leader,  almost 
his  equal — had  perfected  an  alliance  of  the  principal  western  na 
tions  against  the  United  States  :  when  expedients  for  reconciliation 
with  them  had  been  exhausted,  and  General  Harmar  was  about  to 
march  against  them ;  it  was  deemed  of  the  utmost  importance  to 
confirm  the  wavering  purposes  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  divert  them 
from' an  alliance  with  the  legions  that  threatened  to  break  up  the 
border  settlements  west  of  the  Ohio,  and  if  successful  there,  to  in 
volve  the  new  settlements  of  the  Genesee  country  in  the  contest  for 
dominion.  For  this  purpose,  Colonel  Pickering  was  again  commis 
sioned  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  hold  a  treaty.  It  was  held  at 
Newtown,  (now  Elmira,)  in  the  month  of  June.  With  a  good  deal 
of  difficulty,  a  pretty  general  attendance  of  the  Indians  was  secured. 
Fortunately  Col.  Proctor  who  had  turned  back  in  a  peace  embassy 
to  the  western  nations,  in  consequence  of  intimations  which  induced 
a  conclusion  that  it  would  not  only  be  fruitless  but  dangerous,  had 
spent  some  weeks  among  the  Senecas  at  Buffalo,  and  his  visit  had 
been  favorable  to  the  drawing  off  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors  from 
Canada  influence  and  western  alliance,  in  the  direction  .of  Colonel 
Pickering  and  his  treaty  ground. 

The  treaty  was  mainly  successful.  With  all  the  bad  inclinations 
of  the  Senecas  at  this  period,  and  bad  influences  that  was  bearing 
upon  them,  there  was  a  strong  conservative  influence  which  had  a 
powerful  auxiliary  in  the,  "  Governesses,  "  or  influential  women.* 

*  The  very  common  impression  tuat  the  women  had  no  influence  in  the  councils  of 


PHELPS  AND  GCRHAM'S  PURCHASE.  291 

The  principal  speakers  were,  Red  Jacket  and  Farmer's  Brother. 
Thomas  Morris  was  present  at  this  treaty  ;*  the  author  extracts  from 
his  manuscripts,  spoken  of  in  the  preface  to  this  work:  —  "Red 
Jacket  was  I  suppose,  at  that  time,  about  30  or  35  years  of  age,  of 
middle  height,  well  formed,  with  an  intelligent  countenance,  and  a 
fine  eye ;  and  was  in  all  respects  a  fine  looking  man.  He  was  the 
most  graceful  public  speaker  I  have  ever  known ;  his  manner  was 
most  dignified  and  easy.  He  was  fluent,  and  at  times  witty  and  sar 
castic.  He  was  quick  and  ready  at  reply.  He  pitted  himself  against 
Col.  Pickering,  whom  he  sometimes  foiled  in  argument.  The 
Colonel  would  sometimes  become  irritated  and  lose  his  temper;  then 
Red  Jacket  would  be  delighted  and  shew  his  dexterity  in  taking 
advantage  of  any  unguarded  assertion  of  the  Colonel's.  He  felt  a 
conscious  pride  in  the  conviction  that  nature  had  done  more  for 
him  than  for  his  antagonist.  A  year  or  two  after  this  treaty,  when 
Col.  Pickering  from  Post  Master  General  became  Secretary  of  War, 
I  informed  Red  Jacket  of  his  promotion.  '  Ah, '  said  he, '  we  began 
our  public  career  about  the  same  time ;  he"  knew  how  to  read  and 
write,  I  did  not,  and  he  has  got  ahead  of  me ;  but  if  I  had  known 
how  to  read  and  write  I  should  have  got  ahead  of  him.' " 

The  name  of  an  early  Pioneer  has  already  been  incidentally  men 
tioned,  who  became  prominently  blended  in  all  the  relations  of  the 
general  government,  and  consequently  in  all  the  relations  of  this 
local  region,  with  our  Indian  predecessors.  General  Israel  Chapin 
was  from  Hatfield,  Massachusetts.  He  was  commissioned  as  a  Cap 
tain  in  the  earliest  military  organizations  of  Massachusetts,  after 
the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  in  the  campaign 
against  Quebec ;  soon  after  which  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of 
Colonel,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  he  had  attained  to  the 


the  Six  Nations  —  that  their  whole  sex  was  regarded  as  mere  drudges  —  is  refuted  by 
the  recorded  facts,  that  in  treaties  with  Gov.  George  Clinton,  and  in  the  treaty  at  "  Big 
Tree,"  they  turned  the  scale  in  councils. 

*  Mr.  Morris,  then  just  from  his  law  studies,  with  a  younger  brother,  set  out  from  Phil 
adelphia,  and  coming  via  "Wilkesbarre  and  what  was  called  "  Sullivan's  path,  "  attended 
the  treaty,  visited  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  and  returning,  made  up  his  mind  to  fix  his  res 
idence  at  Canandaigua.  j^gpSee  sketches  of  early  times  at  Canandaigua,  and  see  also 
some  further  reminiscences  of  Mr.  Morris  in  connection  with  the  treaty  at  Newtown, 
Appendix  No.  12. 

NOTE. —  Among  the  Revolutionary  papers  of  General  Chapin,  are  many  interesting 
relics.  Ephraim  Patch,  a  soldier  of  his  company,  charges  in  his  memorandum,  for 
"  one  pair  of  bulled  trowsers,  one  pewter  basin,  one  pair  shoes,  one  tomahawk  and 


292  PHELPS  AKD  GOKIIAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

rank  of  Brigadier  General.  In  addition  to  his  services  in  the  field, 
he  was  occasionally  a  sub -contractor,  or  agent  of  Oliver  Phelps,  in 
procuring  army  supplies.  Upon  one  occasion,  as  the  author  observes 
by  his  correspondence,  he  was  requested  by  Mr.  Phelps  to  obtain  a 
"  fine  yoke  of  fat  cattle  for  Gen.  Washington's  table."  Gen.  Chapin 
was  in  active  military  service  during  the  Shay  rebellion  :  DCP  See 
"general  orders,'  transmitted  to  him  by  Major  General  Shepherd, 
Appendix,  No.  13.  After  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  he  was  a 
prominent  managing  member  of  an  association,  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  dealing  in  wild  lands  in  Vermont.  He  was  one  of  the 
original  associates  with  Mr.  Phelps,  in  the  purchase  of  the  Genesee 
country,  and  was  chosen  to  come  out  and  explore  it  in  1789,  which 
resulted  in  his  removal  with  his  family  to  Canandaigua,  in  1790. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  general  government,  the  Sec 
retary  of  War,  General  Knox,  saw  the  necessity  of  a  local  agent 
among  the  Six  Nations,  and  the  well  earned  reputation  of  General 
Chapin,  in  the  Revolution,  and  in  the  important  civil  crisis  that  fol 
lowed  after  it  in  Massachusetts,  fortunately  for  the  region  with 
which  he  had  become  identified,  pointed  him  out  as  a  safe  de 
pository  of  the  important  trust.  From  his  earliest  residence  in  the 
country,  he  had  been  entrusted  with  commissions,  in  connection 
with  Indian  relations,  by  Gen.  Knox  and  Col.  Pickering.  Soon  after 
the  treaty  at  Newtown,  he  was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Deputy 
Superintendent  of  the  Six  Nations,  though  the  duties  of  his  office 
ultimately,  in  many  instances,  embraced  the  whole  northern  de 
partment. 

The  letter  of  appointment  from  Gen.  Knox,  enjoined  upon  him 
the  impressing  upon  the  Indians,  that  it  was  the  "  firm  determination 
of  the  President  that  the  utmost  fairness  and  kindness  should  be 
exhibited  to  the  Indian  tribes  by  the  United  States."  That  it  was 
"  not  only  his  desire  to  be  at  peace  with  all  the  Indian  tribes,  but  to 
be  their  guardian  and  protector,  against  all  injustice."  He  was 
informed  by  the  Secretary,  that  Joseph  Brant  had  promised  a  visit 
to  the  seat  of  government,  and  instructed  either  to  accompany  him, 
"  or  otherwise  provide  for  his  journey  in  a  manner  perfectly  agree 
able  to  him." 


on- 


belt,  one  bayonet  and  belt,  lost  by  me  in  the  retreat  from  Quebec,  May  6.  1776."  J 
athan  Clark  charges  that  he  was  equally  unfortunate  in  the  hasty  flight;  he  lost 
his  woolen  shirts,  stockings,  shoes,  a  bayonet  and  belt,  a  tomahawk,  and  a  "pair  of  In 
dian  stockings. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.       293 

This  attempt  to  get  Brant  to  Philadelphia,  together  with  a  large 
representation  of  other  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Six  Nations,  and 
others  not  actually  merged  with  the  hostile  Indians  of  the  west,  had 
been  commenced  in  the  previous  winter.  It  succeeded  very  well, 
with  the  exception  of  Brant ;  a  large  Seneca  delegation,  with  a  few 
Onondagas  and  Oneidas,  nearly  forty  in  all,  were  conducted  to  Phil 
adelphia,  across  the  country,  via  Wilkesbarre,  by  Horatio  Jones 
and  Joseph  Smith.  It  was  upon  this  occasion  that  the  Indian  chief, 
Big  Tree,  was  a  victim  to  the  excessive  hospitality  that  was  extended 
to  the  delegation,  at  the  seat  of  government,  dying  there  from  the 
effects  of  surfeit.  British  hospitality  and  liberality  was  outdone ; 
President  Washington  won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the  Indi 
ans,  and  they  departed  with  promises  of  continued  friendship,  and 
that  they  would  undertake  a  friendly  mission  to  the  hostile  Indians 
of  the  west. 

Brant  was  invited  to  the  conference  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland 
and  Col.  Pickering,  but  he  stood  out  somewhat  upon  his  dignity, 
and  intimated  that  if  he  went,  it  was  to  be  in  a  manner  more  con 
sistent  with  his  character  and  position,  than  would  be  a  journey 
through  the  country,  with  a  drove  of  Indians,  under  the  lead  of  in 
terpreters.  This  being  communicated  to  Gen.  Knox,  he  took  the 
hint,  and  thence  his  instructions  to  Gen.  Chapin.  Apprehensive, 
too,  that  Brant  wanted  the  invitation  to  come  directly  from  the  seat 
of  government,  he  addressed  him  an  official  letter,  respectful  and 
conciliatory,  appealing  to  him  upon  the  score  of  humanity,  to  lend 
his  great  influence  toward  reconciling  the  existing  Indian  difficul 
ties,  preventing  the  further  shedding  of  blood,  and  to  assist  the 
government  in  devising  measures  for  bettering  the  condition  of  his 
race.  This  drew  from  the  chief  an  answer  that  he  would  start  for 
Philadelphia  in  about  thirty  days,  and  in  the  meantime  would  con 
sult  the  western  nations,  and  be  enabled  to  speak  by  authority  from 
them.  No  statesman  of  the  new  or  old  world,  ever  penned  a  more 
guarded,  non-committal  answer  in  diplomacy,  than  was  this  from 
the  retired  chief,  in  the  backwoods  of  Canada. 

The  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  was  sent  to  Mr.  Kirkland, 
at  Oneida,  and  forwarded  by  him  by  the  hands  of  Dr.  Deodat  Al 
len,  to  the  care  of  Col.  Gordon,  the  British  commanding  officer  at 
Fort  Niagara,  with  a  request  to  have  it  sent  by  private  express  to 
Captain  Brant,  at  Grand  River.  This  manner  of  forwarding  the 


294  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

letter  proved  unfortunate.  Dr.  Allen,  knowing  its  contents  designed 
ly  or  imprudently  communicated  them  to  Col.  Gordon,  who  acsompa- 
nied  it  with  suggestions  well  calculated  to  promote  an  unfavorable 
answer.  Hs  also  informed  Captain  Chew,*  a  deputy  Indian 
agent  under  Sir  John  Johnstone,  residing  at  Niagara,  of  the 
contents  of  the  letter,  who  brought  all  his  influence  to  bear  upon 
Brant,  to  prevent  the  journey. 

As  the  time  of  departure  drew  near,  Gen.  Chapin  had  Brant  at 
tended  from  the  Grand  River  to  Canandaigua,  and  from  there, 
via  Albany  and  New  York  to  Philadelphia.  The  chief  was  at 
tended  by  Israel  Chapin,  jr.,  Dr.  Allen,  Samuel  Street,  a  servant  of 
his  own,  and  another  provided  for  the  party  by  Gen.  Chapin.  It 
was  Brant's  first  appearance  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mohawk  after 
his  flight  from  there,  and  well  knowing  that  upon  his  journey  he 
must  often  encounter  those  of  his  old  neighbors  against  whom  he  had 
carried  on  a  sanguinary  warfare,  he  feared  retribution,  and  only 
proceeded  upon  the  pledges  of  Gen.  Chapin  that  no  insult  or  indig 
nity  should  be  offered  him.  It  was  only  upon  one  occasion  that  fears 
were  entertained  for  his  safety  on  the  route  by  his  attendants,  who 
enabled  him  to  avoid  the  threatened  danger.  Arrived  at  New 
York,  it  would  seem  the  whole  party,  about  to  appear  at  court  —  or 
rather,  at  the  seat  of  government  —  doffed  their  backwoods  ward 
robe,  and  patronized  a  fashionable  tailor.  Pretty  round  bills  were 
presented  to  Gen.  Chapin  for  payment ;  that  for  a  full  suit  for  Brant, 
would  show  that  he  at  least  did  not  appear  in  any  less  mean  attire 
than  was  befitting  an  ambassador. 

The  result  of  this  visit  of  Brant  to  the  seat  of  government,  in 
detail,  is  already  incorporated  in  history.  Although  in  a  measure 
satisfactory  and  productive  of  good,  his  position  was  by  no  means 
fixed,  or  changed  by  it.  In  the  midst  of  feasting  and  civilities,  tho 
recipient  of  presents  and  flatteries,  he  was  reserved  and  guarded ; 
put  on  an  air  of  mystery  ;  so  much  so,  that  Gen.  Knox  in  a  letter 
to  Gen.  Chapin,  expresses  fears  that  some  thing  was  said  or  done  at 


*  Captain  Chew  had  conventionally,  for  a  wife,  a  half  blood  Tuscarora,  the  daughter 
of  Capt.  Mountpleasant,  of  the  British  Army,  and  sister  of  the  venerable  John  Mount- 
pleasnt,  of  Tuscarora,  a  woman  who  is  well  remembered  by  the  Pioneers  of  that  re 
gion.  One  of  them,  not  a  bad  judge  in  such  matters,  told  the  author  that  she  was 
the  handsomest  woman  he  had  ever  seen.  Her  first  espousal  was  with  a  Captain  El 
mer,  of  the  British  army.  Her  descendants  are  a/nong  the  many  respectable  natives 
tf  Tuscarora  village. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  295 

Philadelphia  that  had  displeased  him.  The  truth  was,  that  he  had 
a  difficult  part  to  perform :  —  In  the  first  place,  he  was  sincerely 
tired  of  war,  and  wanted  psace  ;  but  he  was  bound  to  the  British 
interests  by  gratitude,  by  present  and  prospective  interests ;  exist 
ing  upon  their  bounty,  and  apprehensive  that  his  large  landed  pos 
sessions  were  held  by  the  tenure  of  a  continued  loyalty.  He  knew 
that  every  step  he  took,  and  every  word  he  uttered  in  favor  of  the 
United  States,  or  peace,  would  be  used  against  him,  not  only  to 
weaken  his  influence  with  the  British,  but  also  with  what  he  proba 
bly  valued  still  higher,  his  influence  with  his  own  race.  Gen.  Knox 
drew  from  him  a  promise  that  he  would  visit  the  western  nations  ; 
but  the  promise  was  attended  with  conditions  and  mental  reserva 
tions,  which  were  calculated  to  render  the  mission  of  little  avail.  . 

There  followed  this  movement,  a  series  of  fruitless  embassies  to 
the  hostile  Indians,  a  protracted  period  of  alarm  and  apprehension. 
Repeated  conferences  and  councils  were  held  by  Gen.  Chapin  with 
the  Six  Nations,  mostly  with  the  Senecas,  as  they  were  most  in 
clined  to  be  allies  of  the  western. Indian  confederacy.  Hend ricks, 
a  Stockbridge  chief,  Red  Jacket,  and  Cornplanter,  were  successively 
sent  on  missions  to  the  west,  under  the  auspices  of  Gen.  Chapin ; 
but  neither  they,  nor  white  ambassadors,  succeeded  in  getting  any 
overture  better  than  the  ultimatum  that  the  Ohio  should  be  the 
boundary  line  of  respective  dominion. 

There  was  a  long  period  of  dismay  and  alarm,  in  which  the  new 
settlers  of  the  Genesee  country  deeply  and  painfully  participated  ; 
eveiV  movement  in  the  west  was  regarded  with  anxiety  ;  and  the 
Senecas  in  their  midst,  were  watched  with  jealousy  and  distrust. 
In  addition  to  the  fruitless  missions  from  this  quarter,  others  were 
undertaken  from  the  seat  of  government,  and  our  military  posts 
upon  the  Allegany,  equally  abortive;  in  two  instances,  peace  am 
bassadors  \\'ere  treacherously  murdered  before  reaching  treaty 
grounds.  The  hindrances  to  peace  negotiations  with  the  Indians, 
were  vastly  augmented  by  British  interference.  Not  content  with 
encouraging  the  Indians  to  hold  out,  and  actually  supplying  them 
with  the  means  of  carrying  on  the  war,  on  one  occasion,  they  refused 
to  let  a  peace  embassy  proceed  by  water  via  Oswego  and  Niagara  ; 
and  on  another  occasion,  with  a  military  police,  prevented  commis 
sioners  of  the  United  States  from  proceeding  to  their  destination, 
a  treaty  ground.  And  these  were  the  acts  of  a  nation  with  whom 


296  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

we  had  just  made  a  treaty  of  peace  ;  a  nation  who,  in  a  recent 
colonial  crisis  of  their  own,  demanded  the  most  stringent  observance 
of  the  duties  of  neutral  nations.  They  set  up  the  specious  and 
false  pretence,  that  the  supplying  the  Indians  with  the  means  of 
warring  upon  us,  was  the  work  of  individuals,  for  which  the  gov- 
ment  was  not  accountable.  In  the  case  of  the  Navy  Island  war, 
they  insisted  that  our  government  should  be  responsible  for  individ- 
al  acts. 

The  office  of  Gen.  Chapin,  it  may  well  be  concluded,  was  no  sin 
ecure.  At  the  head  of  the  war  department  was  a  faithful  public 
officer,  and  he  required  promptness  and  energy  from  all  his  subor 
dinates.  Upon  Gen.  Chapin,  devolved  the  procuring  of  embassa- 
dors  to  the  hostile  Indians,  fitting  out  them  and  their  retinues,  and 
holding  council  after  council  to  keep  the  faces  of  the  Six  Nations 
turned  from  the  west.  In  these  troublesome  times,  the  government 
was  of  course  liberal  with  the  Senecas,  and  Gen.  Chapin  was  its  al 
moner.  They,  shrewd  enough  to  understand  the  value  of  their  con 
tinued  friendship  to  the  United  States  at  that  critical  period,  were 
most  of  them  sturdy  beggars.  Often  they  would  propose  councils 
with  the  ulterior  motive  of  a  feast  and  carousal  and  a  "  staff"*  to 
support  them  on  their  return  to  their  villages.  At  his  home  in  Can- 
andaigua  he  was  obliged  to  hold  almost  perpetual  audience  with  self 
constituted  delegations  who  would  profess  that  they  were  decided 
conservatives  and  peace  makers,  as  long  as  he  dispensed  his  bread, 
meat  and  whiskey  freely.  Lingering  sometimes  quite  too  long  to 
be  agreeable  or  essential  to  the  purposes  of  diplomacy,  he  would  fit 
them  out  with  a  liberal  "  staff"  and  persuade  the  squaws  to  go  back 
to  their  cornfields,  and  the  Indians  to  their  hunting  camps  in  the 
forest.  Mr.  Berry  at  Canawagus,  and  Winney,  the  then  almost 

NOTE.  —  It  is  not  the  author's  purpose  to  give  the  general  history  of  Indian  diffi 
culties  at  the  west,  at  this  period  ;  though  it  should  be  mentioned,  for  the  information 
of  those  not  conversant  with  what  was  then  transpiring  in  that  quarter,  that  the  In 
dian  confederacy,  which  had  been  revived,  and  the  wars  they  waged,  was  to  recover 
all  of  their  country  they  had  ceded  to  the  United  States  south  of  the  Ohio,  which 
then  contained  about  thirty-five  thousand  inhabitants.  They  insisted  upon  the  Ohio 
as  the  boundary  line,  and  in  this,  they  were  sustained  and  encouraged  by  the  British. 
The  expeditions  of  St.  Clair  and  Wayne,  were  for  enforcing  previous  treaties  and 
punishing  the  Indians  for  their  depredations  committed  upon  those  who  had  settled  on 
ceded  territory. 

*  A  bottle,  and  sometimes  a  teg  of  whiskey  to  which  they  gave  this  name.  What 
a  misnomer !  The  emblem  of  strength  and  support  was  weakness,  as  has  since  beeu 
lamentably  demonstrated. 


PHELPS  AND  GOPJIAM'S  PURCHASE.  297 

solitary  resident  upon  the  present  site  of  Buffalo,  were  Indian 
traders,  and  acted  as  local  sub-agents,  the'  two  first  named  es 
pecially.  Upon  the  General's  orders,  and  sometimes  at  their  own 
discretion,  they  would  dispense  meats  and  drinks,  and  formidable 
accounts  thereof  would  be  presented.  Winney  occupying  an  im 
portant  position  with  reference  to  Indian  relations,  kept  the  General 
apprised  of  all  that  was  going  on  in  that  quarter.  The  United 
States  having  passed  a  stringent  law  prohibiting  wholly  the  selling 
of  liquor  to  the  Indians  and  trading  among  them  without  license,  an 
onerous  task  was  imposed  upon  the  superintendent  to  prevent  its 
infraction.  School  masters,  missionaries  and  blacksmiths,  among  the 
Indians  had  to  be  cared  for,  and  their  various  wants  supplied.  In 
all  difficulties  that  arose  between  the  white  settlers  and  the  Indians, 
the  superintendent  was  usually  called  upon  to  be  the  arbitrator.  If 
the  Indians  stole  from  the  white  settlers,  complaints  were  made  to  the 
superintendant  and  it  seemed  to  have  been  a  matter  of  inference 
that  his  office  "imposed  upon  him  the  duty  of  seeing  all  such  wrongs 
redressed.  It  will  surprise  those  who  are  not  conversant  with  the 
scale  of  economy  upon  which  our  national  affairs  commenced,  that 
the  pay  for  all  this,  which  was  attended  with  large  disbursement  of 
public  money,  for  which  the  most  rigid  accountability  was  deman 
ded,  was  but  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum. 

The  season  of  1791  opened  with  gloomy  prospects: — Negotia 
tions  with  the  western  Indians  had  signally  failed ;  one  army  had 
been  routed,  and  another  defeated  ;  Indian  murders  of  border  settlers 
at  the  west  continued  ;  a  war  with  England  was  not  improbable  ;* 
and  among  the  fearfully  anticipated  results  in  this  region,  was  a 
renewal  of  the  border  wars,  with  the  active  participation  of  the 
legions  of  savage  warriors  at  the  west,  added  to  increase  its  hor- 

NOTE. — The  following  is  a  specimen  of  Mr.  Winney's  correspondence.  Prince  Ed 
ward  was  the  afterwards  Duke  of  Kent,  the  father  of  the  present  Queen  of  England. 
He  had  then  a  commission  in  the  British  army  : — 

BUFFALO  CREEK,     e  23d  Aug.,  1792. 

"  I  inform  General  Chapin  that  about  79  of  the  Canada  Indians  is  gone  to  Detroit, 
they  seem  to  be  for  Warr  and  a  number  of  Indians  more  are  expected  to  go  up,  I  further 
inform   you  that  the  Indians  of  this  place  are  to  go  up  in  the  first  Kings  vessel  tha 
comes  down.     Prince  Edward  is  arrived  at  niagara  should  I  hear  anything  worth  while 
to  write  I  shall  let  you  know.     I  am  your  most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant. 

C.  WiNNEY. 

*  The  reader  is  reminded  that  a  war  between  England  and  France  had  commenced 
England  had  prostrated  American  commerce  by  her  arbitrary  orders  in  council ;  and 
impressment  of  American  seamen,  (of  itself  a  sufficient  cause  of  war,)  was  going  on. 
19 


298  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

rors.  In  the  month  of  February,  Lord  Dorchester  had  returned 
from  England,  and  meeting  a  deputation  from  the  western  Indians, 
had  delivered  to  them  an  inflammatory  speech,  asserting  among 
other  things,  that  he  should  regard  as  invalid,  any  acquisition  of  the 
United  States,  of  Indian  lands  since  the  peace  of  1783.  [Appen 
dix,  No.  14.]  This  of  course  included  all  of  the  Genesee  country. 
Following  up  the  hostile  demonstration,  Gov.  Simcoe,  early  in  April, 
with  a  body  of  troops  had  proceeded  to  the  west,  and  erected  a 
Fort,  at  the  foot  of  the  Rapids  of  the  Miami,  far  within  the  boun 
daries  of  the  United  States,  as  acknowleged  in  the  treaty  of  1783. 
Although  General  Chapin,  as  many  of  the  old  Pioneers  well  re 
member,  endeavored  to  quiet  alarm,  and  prevent  the  desertion  of 
the  country,  he  was  far  from  feeling  all  the  security  and  freedom  from 
apprehension  of  danger,  that  he  with  good  motives  professed.  All 
eyes  were  turned  to  him;  from  all  the  backwoods  settlements,  mes 
sengers  would  go  to  Canandaigua,  to  learn  from  him  all  that  was 
going  on  —  to  consult  him  as  to  anticipated  danger; — if  he  had 
shown  misgivings,  or  favored  alarm,  a  desertion  of  the  country  would 
have  ensued,  the  necessity  of  which  he  was  laboring  to  obviate. 
During  the  previous  winter  he  had  been  to  Philadelphia,  and  deliv 
ered  to  the  President  a  message  from  a  council  of  the  Six  Nations, 
and  brought  back  an  answer.  In  February  he  had  convened  a  coun 
cil  at  Buffalo  and  delivered  it.  It  had  proved  satisfactory  except  in 
one  particular  —  it  had  failed  to  give  an  explicit  answer  upon  the 
vexed  question  of  the  disputed  western  boundary.  He  however 
distributed  presents  among  them  —  of  which  was  a  large  supply  of 
warm  winter  clothing  —  and  left  them  with  renewed  professions  of 
peaceful  intentions.*  In  April  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War  that 
he  had  entertained  confidence  that  the  Six  Nations  intended  to  hold  a 
council  with  the  U.  States,  in  order  to  bring  "  about  a  general  peace," 
but  that  he  feared  that  the  "  inflammatory  speech  of  Lord  Dorches 
ter,"  (which  had  been  interpreted  to  the  Indians  at  Buffalo  Creek, 
by  Col,  Butler.)  "  with  what  passed  between  the  British  and  Indi 
ans  on  that  occasion,  had  changed  their  intentions."  "Captain 
Bomberry  attended  the  council  in  behalf  of  the  British  government, 
and  took  pains  on  all  occasions  to  inform  the  Indians  that  war  between 

*  At  this  period  the  Senecas  were  almost  wholly  clothed  and  fed  by  him.  It  was 
the  only  policy  which  could  prevent  them  from  resorting  to  the  king's  store  house  at 
Niagara. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKIIAM'S  PUKCIIASE.  299 

their  government  and  ours,  was  inevitable.  When  I  was  at  Buf 
falo  Creek,  Gov.  Simcoe  had  gone  to  Detroit.  He  started  for  that 
place  immediately  on  receiving  Lord  Dorchester's  speech  to  the 
Indians."  "  The  expenses  of  the  Indians  increase  with  the  im 
portance  they  suppose  their  friendship  to  be  to  us ;  however,  you 
may  be  persuaded  that  I  endeavor  to  make  use  of  all  the  economy  I 
can."  The  letter  closes  as  follows :  — "  This  part  of  the  country,  be 
ing  the  frontier  of  the  State  of  New  York,  is  very  much  alarmed  at  the 
present  appearance  of  war.  Destitute  of  arms  and  ammunition,  the 
scattered  inhabitants  of  this  remote  wilderness  would  fall  an  easy  prey 
to  their  savage  neighbors,  should  they  think  proper  to  attack  them." 

On  the  5th  of  May,  General  Chapin  informed  the  Secretary,  that 
the  British  had  commenced  the  erection  of  a  Fort  at  Sandusky. 
"  If,"  says  he,  "  it  is  consistent  with  the  views  of  the  United  States, 
to  put  any  part  of  this  country  in  a  state  of  defence,  this  part  of 
it  calls  aloud  for  it  as  much  as  any.  We  are  totally  unprovided 
with  arms  and  ammunition,  and  our  enemy  is  within  a  few  miles 
of  us.  If  12  or  1500  stand  of  arms  could  be  spared  from  the  arse 
nals  of  the  United  States,  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  frontier,  together 
with  some  ammunition,  it  would  contribute  much  to  their  security."* 

The  apprehension  of  danger  extended  over  all  the  region  west 
of  Utica.  In  the  small  settlements  that  had  been  commenced  in 
Onondaga,  it  had  been  enhanced  by  an  unfortunate  local  occurrence: 
Early  in  the  spring,  Sir  John  Johnson,  through  an  agent,  had  at 
tempted  to  take  from  Albany  to  Canada,  a  boat  load  of  groceries 
and  fruit  trees.  A  party  of  men  waylaid  the  boat  at  Three  River 
Point,  and  plundered  the  entire  cargo.  It  was  a  lawless  attempt  of 
individuals  to  take  the  power  into  their  own  hands,  and  redress  na 
tional  wrongs ;  gratify  an  ill  feeling  against  Johnson,  and  retaliate 
for  British  offences  upon  the  Ocean/and  the  annoyances  of  Ameri 
can  Lake  commerce  at  Oswego.  An  invading  force  from  Canada 
to  land  at  Oswego,  and  march  upon  the  settlements  in  Onondaga, 
was  threatened  and  anticipated.  Rumors  came  that  Johnson  and 
Brant  were  organizing  for  that  purpose. 

In  reference  to  the  whole  complexion  of  things  at  the  west,  and 
in  Canada,  the  legislature  of  New  York  had  resolved  upon  erecting 
fortifications  upon  the  western  borders,  and  had  appropriated 

*  Some  f.rms  and  ammunition  were  shortly  afterwards  sent  to  Gen.  Chapin,  either 
by  the  general  or  state  government. 


300      PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

£12,000  for  that  purpose.     The  commissioners  under  the  act,  were 

Generals  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  and  William  North,  Adjt.  Gen, 

David  Van  Home  and  Baron  Steuben,  who  was  then  a  resident 

of  Oneida  county.     Soon  after  their  appointment,  they  had  enlisted 

ue  co-operation  of  General  Chap'm,  Charles  Williamson  and  Robert 

'arris,   as   to   the  location   of   the   defences.      Although   Baron 

teuben  came  west,  and  corresponded  with  the  last  named  gentle- 

lan  in  reference  to  the  matter,  the  author  can  not  learn  that  any 

hing  was  finally  consummated  west  of  Onondaga.     Before  any 

thing  coufd  have  been  matured,  the  clouds  of  war  had  began  to  dis 

perse.     In  the  hour  of  alarm,  the  State  commissioners  came  west 

as  far  as  Salt  Point,  and  ordered  the  erection  of  a  block   house, 

which  was  soon  completed.     The   Baron   mustered   together  the 

backwoodsmen   of   Onondaga,   officered   and   inspected   them  ;    a 

committee  of  public  safety  was  organized.     Before  the  block  house 

was  completed  and  garrisoned,  on  several  occasions,  the  inhabitants 

fled  to  the  woods  with  their  most  valuable  effects.     At  this  time, 

there  was  an  unusual  number  of  Indians  at  the  British  posts  of  Os- 

wego  and  Niagara  ;  it  was  inferred  that  they  were  only  waiting  for 

Wayne's   defeat  at  the  west,   as  a  signal  for  a    movement  in  this 

quarter. 

A  new  element  of  trouble  was  interposed  to  embarrass  the  rela 
tions  of  the  Six  Nations  with  the  United  States.  Cornplanter, 
with  a  few  other  chiefs,  had  sold  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  a 
district  of  country  along  on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  which 
included  Presque  Isle.  The  act  was  strongly  remonstrated  against, 
and  Pennsylvania  was  early  informed  that  it  had  not  the  sanction 
of  competant  authority,  and  would  be  regarded  by  the  Indians  as  a 
nullity  ;  but  at  a  critical  period,  the  authorities  of  Pennsylvania 
very  inddiscreetly  commenced  an  armed  occupancy  and  surveys. 
This  threatened  to  undo  all  that  had  been  done  by  General  Chapin 


.  —  The  author  of  the  excellent  History  of  Onondaga,,  from  which  a  portion  of 
the  account  of  movements  in  that  quarter  are  derived,  says:  —  "Frederick  William 
Augustus  Baron  de  Steuben,  once  an  aid-de-camp  to  Frederick  the  Great,  King  of 
Prussia,  Quartermaster  General,  Chevalier  of  the  Order  of  Merit,  Grand  Master  of  the 
Court  of  Hohenzollen,  Colonel  in  the  Circle  of  Suabia,  Knight  of  the  Order  of  Fideli 
ty,  Commander-in-chief  of  the  armies  of  the  Prince  of  Baden,  Major  General  of  the 
armies  of  the  United  States,  and  Inspector  General  of  the  same  —  the  fortunate 
eoldier  of  fifty  battles,  an  admirer  of  freedom,  the  friend  of  Washington,  the  man  of 
virtue,  fidelity  and  honor  —  performed  his  last  military  service  in  reviewing  a  score  of 
unarmed,  half-clad  militia,  and  in  selecting  a  site  for  a  block-house  for  the  defence  of 
the  frontier  of  New  York,  in  the  county  of  Onondaga,  at  Salt  Point,  in  1794." 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  301 

to  keep  the  Six  nations  quiet.  He  took  the  advantage  of  a  visit  of 
Capt.  Williamson  to  the  seat  of  government,  to  represent  the  con 
sequences,  and  induce  the  President  to  interfere  and  persuade  the 
authorities  of  Pennsylvania  to  abandon  the  enterprise.  In  a  letter 
to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  on  the  7th  of  June,  he  had  fore 
shadowed  the  difficulty  that  was  springing  up  in  a  new  quarter  — 
"  The  Cornplanter,  whose  steadiness  and  fidelity  has  been,  until 
lately,  unshaken,  has,  I  am  apprehensive,  been  induced  to  join 
their  interests.  He  has  lately  returned  from  Niagara,  loaded  with 
presents.  Shortly  after  his  return  to  his  home,  he  despatched  run 
ners  to  the  different  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations,  requesting  them  to 
meet  in  a  general  council  at  his  castle,  to  proceed  from  thence  to 
Venango ;  informing  them  that  an  Indian  had  been  killed  by  our 
people,  and  that  it  would  be  necessary  for  them  to  inquire  into  the 
circumstances."  "  I  am  afraid  that  the  murder  of  the  Indian  is  not 
the  real  cause  of  calling  this  council.  The  lands  at  Presque  Isle, 
were  sold  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  by  Cornplanter,  and  a  small 
party,  without  the  consent  of  the  nation.  No  division  of  the 
money  was  ever  made.  The  Cornplanter  has  always  denied  h;  ving 
made  the  sale,  and  they  have  never  considered  it  as  a  valid  one. 
The  troops  sent  on  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  prove  to  the  In- 
dians  that  the  property  is  considered  by  the  State  as  belonging  ot 
them ;  and  the  Cornplanter,  in  order  to  extricate  himself  from  the 
unpleasant  situation  he  is  placed  in,  is  perhaps  desirous  of  inflaming 
the  Six  Nations  against  the  United  States."  General  Chapin  sig 
nified  his  intention  of  attending  the  council  at  Venango,  as  he  had 
been  invited,  to  thwart  any  mischief  that  might  be  engendered 
there.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  changing  the  council  to  Buffalo 
Creek,  to  be  held  there  on  the  15th  of  June. 

Cornplanter  was  present  at  this  council,  and  the  principal  speak 
er.  He  led  off  with  a  speech  to  be  transmitted  to  the  President,  in 
which  he  nearly  threw  off  all  disguise,  and  from  a  conservative,  be 
came  an  ultraist.  He  opened  smoothly  and  artfully,  however;  ad 
dressing  the  President  through  Gen.  Chapin,  he  said: — "Brother, 
I  have  for  a  long  time  aimed  at  the  good  of  both  parties.  I  have 
paid  you  different  compliments,  as  that  of  brother,  and  father,  and 
now  I  shall  call  you  friend.  We  were  pleased  when  we  heard  that 
you  was  appointed  to  have  chief  command  of  the  United  States." 
He  closed  a  long  speech,  and  one  of  a  good  deal  of  ability,  by  join- 


302  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

ing  the  western  Indians  in  their  ultimatum,  in  reference  to  making 
the  Ohio  the  boundary  line;  thus,  in  fact,  nullifying  his  own  acts. 
He  demanded  redress  for  two  of  their  people  killed  by  the  whites ; 
and^even  had  the  effrontery  to  complain  of  the  occupation  of 
Presque  Isle,  adding  very  significantly  that  it  might  "occasion 
many  accidents,"  and  presented  the  Gen.  with  ten  strings  of  black 
wampum.  General  Chapin  made  a  judicious  reply  ;  and  in  answer 
to  a  request  that  Cornplanter  had  made  in  behalf  of  the  Six 
Nations,  for  him  to  go  to  Presque  Isle,  disclaimed  any  right  he  had 
to  interfere  with  the  acts  of  Pennsylvania ;  but  said  he  would  ac 
cept  the  invitation,  and  go  there  and  give  his  advice. 

Accompanied  by  William  Johnson,  *  two  Seneca  chiefs  and  ten 
Indians  as  a  guard  and  as  oars-men,  General  Chapin  left  Buffalo 
Creek  on  the  19th  of  July  for  Presque  Isle,  where  he  arrived  on  the 
24th.  Their  slow  progress  had  been  owing  to  head  winds  that 
frequently  obliged  them  to  camp  on  shore  and  await  their  subsiding. 
There  were  then  no  Indian  or  white  occupants  at  Presque  Isle.  A 
company  of  troops  and  a  corps  of  surveyors  were  stationed  at  Le 
Boeuf,  on  French  Creek,  16  miles  distant,  to  which  place  the  em 
bassy  plodded  their  way  through  the  woods  on  foot.  A  Captain 
Denny  commanded  troops  at  Le.  Boeuf,  and  Mr.  Ellicott  f  was  at 
the  head  of  the  surveyors.  The  arrival  of  the  ambassador  of  peace 
and  his  dusky  retinue,  was  honored  by  the  discharge  of  cannon. 
Runners  had  preceded  the  party,  and  on  its  arrival,  a  considerable 
number  of  Indians  were  collected.  General  Chapin  delivered  to 
Messrs.  Denny  and  Ellicott ,  a  message  from  the  chiefs  he  had  met 
at  Buffalo  Creek,  which  contained  a  demand  for  the  suspension  of 
surveys  and  a  withdrawal  of  the  troops ;  a  day  or  two  was  spent  in 
making  speeches,  and  in  friendly  intercourse  with  the  Indians.  The 
council,  or  interview,  terminated  in  a  promise  from  General  Chapin 
of  a  general  treaty  to  settle  not  only  that,  but  all  existing  difficul 
ties,  and  the  representatives  of  Pennsylvania  signified  a  willingness 
to  abide  by  the  result.  Before  leaving  Le  Boeuf,  General  Chapin 
despatched  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  which  he  said,  that 

*  Johnson  was  a  trader  and  interpreter  in  the  British  interests,  residing  at  Buffalo 
Creek.  When  the  Holland  Company  purchased,  lie  owned,  by  deed  of  gift  from  the 
Indians,  almost  the  entire  site  of  the  present  city  of  Buffalo.  A  compromise  gave 
him  45  acres,  now  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and  a  tract  of  wild  land  near  the  city.  He 
had  been  a  Butler  Ranger.  He  died  in  1807 

t  Either  Joseph  or  Benjamin  Ellicott. 


PHELPS  AND  GoiuiAivrs  PURCHASE.  303 

"  although  the  minds  of  the  Six  Natio'ns  are  much  disturbed  at  the 
injuries  they  say  they  have  sustained,  they  are  still  opposed  to  war, 
and  wish,  if  possible,  to  live  in  peace  with  the  United  States. 
They  are  much  opposed  to  the  establishing  of  a  garrison  at  this 
place,  as  they  say  it  will  involve  them  in  a  war  with  the  hostile 
Indians.  *  They  are  likewise  much  displeased  with  the  having 
those  lands  surveyed,  as  they  say  they  have  not  been  legally  pur 
chased."  In  this  letter,  General  Chapin  earnestly  recommended  a 
general  treaty,  as  the  only  means  which  could  keep  the  Six  Nations 
aloof  from  the  dangerous  confederacy  at  the  west. 

To  the  letter  of  General  Chapin,  the  Secretary  answered  on  the 
25th  of  July,  saying;. —  "Your  ideas  of  a  conference  are  adopted. 
It  will  be  held  at  Canandaigua  on  the  8th  of  September.  Colonel 
Pickering  will  be  the  commissioner,  to  be  assisted  by  you  in  all  re 
spects.  Notify  the  Six  Nations  that  their  father,  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  is  deeply  concerned  to  hear  qf  any  dissatisfac 
tion  existing  in  their  minds  against  the  United  States,  and  there 
fore  invites  them  to  a  conference,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  all 
causes  of  misunderstanding,  and  establishing  a  permanent  peace 
and  friendship  between  the  United  States  and  the  Six  Nations." 

No  time  was  lost  by  General  Chapin  in  disseminating  the  invi 
tation  among  the  Indians  ;  holding  "  talks  "  and  councils  with  them, 
personally,  in  their  villages.  A  crisis  wras  at  hand ;  Gen.  Wayne 
was  marching  into  the  Indian  country ;  legions  of  the  western  and 
southern  Indians  were  assembling  to  give  him  battle  ;  unless  the 
Six  Nations  were  diverted,  there  was  strong  probability  that  they 
would  be  with  them  ;  and  if  Gen.  Wayne  was  defeated,  there  was 
the  additional  fearful  probability  that  an  attempt  of  the  confederates 
would  follow,  to  address  the  alleged  wrongs  of  the  Six  Nations,  by 
bringing  the  war  to  this  region.  Runners,  or  messengers,  were 
despatched  to  the  seat  of  government ;  frequent  communications 
passed  betwen  Generals  Knox  and  Chapin,  and  frequent  speeches 
came  from  the  President,  through  General  Knox,  to  the  Six  Nations. 
On  the  30th  of  July,  General  Chapin  reported  progress,  and  inform 
ed  General  Knox  that  the  complexion  of  things  at  the  west  looked 
discouraging ;  that  although  he  entertained  hopes  of  a  general  at- 


*  Oblige  them  to  join  the  hostile  Indians,  it  is  presumed,  is  the  meaning  intended 
to  be  conve)red. 


304  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

tendance  at  the  treaty,  he  had  to  stem  a  strong  tide  of  opposition, 
principally  instigated  by  the  British.  "  Captain  O.  Bail  does  not 
feel  satisfied  respecting  his  villanous  conduct  in  making  sale  of  the 
lands  at  Presque  Isle,  which  gives  general  dissatisfaction  to  the  Six 
Nations,  as  they  were  not  informed  of  his  proceedings.  The  In 
dians'  enmity  to  him,  induces  him  to  be  more  attached  to  the 
British,  as  they  tolerate  every  kind  of  such  conduct  to  disturb  the 
Indians  and  bring  about  their  own  purposes."  In  this  letter,  the 
General  mentions  that  the  warriors  on  the  Allegany  had  been  per 
suaded  that  Wayne  would  march  in  this  direction,  and  had  re 
moved  their  old  men,  women,  and  children,  to  a  new  location  on 
he  Cattaraugus  Creek,  with  the  ultimate  intention,  as  he  thought, 
of  crossing  the  Lake  to  Canada. 

In  the  fore  part  of  September,  General  Chapin  employed  William 
Ewing,  whom  the  reader  will  find  alluded  to  in  connection  with 
reminiscences  of  Pioneer  settlement  on  the  Genesee  river,  to  repair 
to  Buffalo  creek  and  Canada,  use  his  influence  in  getting  the  Indi 
ans  in  that  quarter  to  attend  the  treaty,  and  watch  and  counteract 
as  far  as  possible,  British  interference.  A  letter  from  Mr.  Ewing 
to  General  Chapin  after  his  return,  contains  so  much  of  the  cotem- 
porary  history  of  that  period,  that  the  author  has  inserted  it  entire 
in  the  Appendix,  No.  15. 

The  most  ample  provisions  were  made  for  the  treaty ;  while  the 
Secretary  of  War  would  caution  against  the  unnecessary  expendi 
ture  of  public  money,  he  transmitted  funds  liberally,  and  ample 
stores  of  Indian  goods,  liquors,  tobacco,  &c.,  were  purchased  in 
New  York,  sent  up  the  Hudson,  and  started  upon  the  long  and  tedious 
water  transit,  while  at  Canandaigua,  the  local  superintendent,  laid 
in  provisions  and  prepared  to  fulfil  a  promise  to  the  Indians,  that  he 
would  "hang  on  big  kettles."  Col.  Pickering  wrote  to  General 
Chapin  to  have  quarters  provided  for  him  where  he  could  entertain 
friends  ;  that  he  ha.l  sent  on  liquors,  provisions,  tea  and  coffee,  for 
a  private  establishment. 

The  Indians  gathered  tardily.  Col.  Pickering  anticipating  this, 
did  not  arrive  until  after  the  20th  of  September.  In  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary,  dated  on  the  17th,  Gen.  Chapin  mentions  a  rumor,  that 
Wayne  had  defeated  the  Indians.  In  reference  to  the  treaty  he 
says  :  —  "  Since  the  Indians  were  first  invited  to  it,  the  British  have 
endeavored  if  possible  to  prevent  their  attendance,  and  have  used. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  305 

every  endeavor  to  persuade  them  to  join  the  hostile  Indians,  till  at 
last  they  found  the  Indians  would  not  generally  join  in  the  war, 
the  Governor  told  them  in  the  council  at  Fort  Erie,  that  they  might 
attend  the  treaty,  and  if  anything  was  given  them  by  the  Ameri 
cans,  to  take  it."  "  The  Indians  will  generally  attend  the  treaty  in 
my  opinion,  or  especially  those  of  the  best  part  of  them ;  such  as 
are  generally  in  council,  and  the  best  friends  to  the  United  States." 

Previous  to  the  treaty,  or  Wayne's  victory,  a  little  light  had  broke 
in  to  the  darkness  that  pervaded.  The  prospect  of  a  general  war 
with  England  was  lessened.  Gen.  Knox  wrote  to  Gen.  Chapin  in 
June,  that  the  "  British  conduct  in  the  West  Indies,"  and  Lord 
Dorchester's  speech  had  "  rendered  it  pretty  conclusive^that  last  au 
tumn  the  ministry  of  Great  Britain  entertained  the  idea  of  making 
war  upon  us.  It  is  however,  now  pretty  certain  that  they  have 
altered  or  suspended  that  intention.  This  conclusion  is  drawn  from 
the  orders  of  the  8th  of  January,  and  the  general  opinion  enter 
tained  in  Great  Britain."  Favorable  as  were  these  indications, 
they  had  no  immediate  effect  upon  British  agents  in  this  quarter. 

It  was  not  until  near  the  middle  of  October,  that  a  sufficient  num 
ber  of  Indians  were  collected  at  Canandaigua,  to  warrant  the  com 
mencement  of  business.  About  that  period  General  Chapin  wrote 
to  the  Secretary,  that  he  should  "  endeavor  to  make  use  of  the 
shortest  ceremony  in  procuring  supplies,  but  the  number  of  Indians 
is  greater  than  I  expected,  and  the  expenses  also."  It  is  apparent 
from  the  cotemporary  records,  that  the  Six  Nations,  a  large  propor 
tion  of  them  at  least,  hung  back  from  this  treaty,  even  until  they 
began  to  hear  of  Wayne's  victory,  from  such  of  their  number  as 
had  been  in  the  fight,  as  allies  of  the  confederates ;  and  in  fact  they 
did  not  assemble  at  Canandaigua,  in  any  considerable  numbers,  un 
til  Wayne's  success  was  fully  confirmed,  and  they  were  clearly  con 
vinced  that  the  fortunes  of  war  had  turned  decidedly  against  those 
with  whom  they  would  have  been  fully  allied,  if  Wayne  had  met 
with  no  better  success  than  had  his  predecessors,  Harmar  and  St. 
Clair. 

The  general  proceedings,  and  favorable  termination  of  Picker 
ing's  treaty  of  1701,  at  Canandaigua,  are  already  incorporated  in 
history.  Wayne's  victory,  and  the  success  of  the  treaty,  which 
was  in  a  great  measure  consequent  upon  it,  were  the  commence 
ment  of  events  that  finally  gave  a  feeling  of  security  to  this  region, 


306  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

and  enabled  settlements  and  improvements  to  go  on,  unannoyed  by 
the  alarms  and  prospects  of  war  and  invasion.  There  was  a  lin 
gering  state  of  uncertainty  after  the  two  fortunate  events;  for 
months  rumors  came,  that  the  western  confederates  were  again 
making  a  stand,  and  refusing  any  compromise ;  indications  in  Can 
ada,  and  at  the  British  posts  at  the  west,  favored  the  conclusion  of 
British  alliance  with  them ;  but  the  news  at  last  came,  that  the  far 
western  nations  were  retiring  across  the  Mississippi,  discomfited, 
and  chagrined  with  an  alledged  breach  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the 
British,  in  not  coming  to  the  rescue  when  they  \vere  hotly  pressed 
by  Wayne  —  in  shutting  the  gates  of  their  fortress  against  them, 
when  his  iron  hail  was  strewing  the  ground  with  their  warriors ;  * 
and  finally,  that  the  nations  more  immediately  interested  in  the  con 
test,  had  signified  their  willingness  to  do  what  was  soon  after  con 
summated  at  the  treaty  of  Grenv'ille.  Jay's  treaty  followed,  Oswego 
and  Niagara  were  surrendered,  and  years  of  peace  and  security 
followed,  and  continued  until  the  war  of  1812. 

The  Hon.  Thomas  Morris,  it  will  have  been  seen,  was  a  citizen 
of  Canandaigua.  He  was  present  at  the  treaty.  He  tnus  speaks 
of  it  in  his  manuscript  reminiscences :  —  "  For  some  months  prioi 
to  the  treaty  at  Canandaigua,  the  Indians  would  come  among  us 
painted  for  war ;  their  deportment  was  fierce  and  arrogant :  such 
as  to  create  the  belief  that  they  would  not  be  unwilling  to  take  up 
the  hatchet  against  us.  From  certain  expressions  attributed  to 
Gov.  Simcoe,  in  connection  with  his  conduct  at  Sodus  Bay,  it  was 
believed  that  the  British  had  taught  the  Indians  to  expect  that  Gen. 
Wayne  would  be  defeated,  in  which  event  they  might  easily  have 
persuaded  the  Six  Nations,  to  make  common  cause  with  the  hostile 
Indians,  and  our  settlements  would  have  been  depopulated.  Such 
were  the  apprehensions  entertained  at  the  time  of  an  Indian  war  on 
our  borders,  that  in  several  instances,  farmers  were  panic  struck,  and 
with  the  dread  of  the  scalping  knife  before  them,  had  pulled  up 
stakes,  and  with  their  families,  were  on  their  way  to  the  East.  Ar 
rived  at  Canandaigua,  they  found  that  I  was  painting  my  house, 
and  making  improvements  about  it ;  believing  that  I  possessed  better 
information  on  the  subject  than  they  did,  their  fears  became  quieted. 


*  Mr.  Morris  says  that  the  hostile  Indians  at  the  west,  sent  runners  to  the  Canandai 
gua  treaty  with  a  full  account  of  their  disaster,  which  closed  by  saying :  —  "  And  our 
brethren,  the  British,  looked  on,  and  gave  us  not  the  least  assistance.'5 


PHELPS    AltD    GORIIAM's    PURCHASE. 

and  they  retraced  their  steps  back  to  their  habitations.  After  the 
defeat  of  the  hostile  Indians,  those  of  the  Six  Nations  became  com 
pletely  cowed ;  and,  from  that  time  all  apprehensions  of  a  war  with 
them  vanished. 

Brant  has  almost  been  lost  sight  of  in  the  progress  of  this  narra 
tive  ;  though  he  was  by  no  means  inactive.  He  was  in  correspond- 
dence  with  General  Chapin,  on  terms  of  personal  friendship  with 
him,  receiving  from  his  hands  considerable  sums  of  money  in  pay 
ment  for  promised  services ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  the  con 
clusion  that  he  was  insincere  and  faithless.  His  own  partial  biog 
rapher,  Col.  Stone,  places  him  in  arms,  with  an  hundred  Mohawks, 
against  St.  Glair,  and  gives  a  letter  of  his  to  Gov.  Simcoe,  in  which 
he  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  ammunition  from  the  British,  and 
said  he  was  about  to  join  his  camp  of  warriors  at  "  Point  Appineu,"* 
to  act  in  co-operation  with  Cornplanter  in  an  attack  upon  Le  Boeuf. 
In  short,  with  the  exception  of  a  growing  distaste  for  war,  of  which 
he  had  had  a  surfeit,  his  relations  to  the  British  government,  and 
attachment  to  its  interests,  were  not  materially  changed,  until  grow 
ing  out  of  land  difficulties  in  Canada,  he  had  a  quarrel  with  the 
colonial  authorities.  Cornplanter  finally  made  some  amends  for 
the  conduct  of  which  Gen.  Chapin  so  very  justly  complained. 

The  visit  of  General  Chapin  to  the  disputed  territory  in  Penn 
sylvania,  as  a  mediator,  and  the  fortunate  turn  he  gave  to  affairs  by 
his  judicious  suggestion  of  a  general  treaty,  was  an  important  event 
not  only  to  this  region,  but  to  our  whole  country.  It  diverted  the  Six 
Nations  from  marching  against  Wayne ;  had  they  been  in  main  force 
with  the  confederates,  the  result  of  the  contest,  in  all  probability, 
would  have  been  adverse.  Little  Turtle  would  have  been  aided 
by  the  counsels  of  "older  and  better"  warriors  than  himself;  the 
ancient  war  cry  of  the  Iroquois  that  had  so  often  spread  dismay  and 
terror  among  the  confederates,  would  have  been  equally  potent  in 
rallying  them  in  a  common  cause  of  their  race.  In  a  letter  to  Gen. 
Knox,  dated  in  December,  alter  the  treaty,  in  which  he  congratu 
lates  the  Government  through  him  of  the  favorable  turn  of  affairs, 
and  gives  the  assurance  of  a  settled  state  of  things  in  this  region, 
General  Chapin  says  :  —  "  My  journey  to  Le  Boeuf,  I  shall  ever 
believe  was  the  means  of  preventing  the  Six  Nations  from  lending 

*  Point  Abino  on  the  Canada  side  of  Lake  Erie. 


308  PHELPS  Am)  GORHAM'S  PUKOHASE. 

their  assistance  to  their  western  brothers,  as  they  term  them ;  and 
in  which  I  got  my  present  sickness  from  which  I  am  fearful  I  shall 
never  recover.  But  believe  me,  Sir,  to  be  useful  to  the  frontier  upon 
which  I  live,  and  my  country  in  general,  has  been  the  prevailing 
object  of  my  pursuits.  " 

Other  than  the  mutual  pledges  of  peace  and  friendship  which 
was  made  at  the  treaty,  the  settling  of  the  lands  about  Presque  Isle 
was  the  important  consummation.  This  was  the  result  of  a  com 
promise.  By  the  treaty  at  Fort  Stanwix,  the  western  boundary  of 
the  Senecas  was  a  line  due  south  from  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek 
to  the  Pennsylvania  line ;  thus  cutting  them  off  from  Lake  Erie  and 
taking  from  them  all  the  territory  that  is  now  embraced  in  Chautauque 
county,  besides  a  strip  which  is  now  in  Cattaraugus,  and  a  gore  in 
Erie  county.  This  was  restored,  making  their  western  boundary 
the  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  and  a  strip  of  land  on  the  Niagara  River, 
an  addition  to  what  had  been  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  was  also  res 
tored.  The  Senecas  surrendered  -all  claim  to  a  smaller  amount  of 
land  —  the  triangle  at  Presque  Isle. 

In  the  Maryland  Journal  of  Nov.  5th,  1794,  there  is  a  letter  dated 
at  Whitestown,  in  this  state,  which  says  that  "  Wm.  Johnston  a 
British  Indian  agent  "  was  present  at  the  treaty  and  secretly  at 
tempted  a  diversion  of  the  Indians.  The  author  finds  bnt  little  of 
this  in  General  Chapin's  correspondence  with  Gen.  Knox,  but  he 
infers  that  something  of  the  kind  occurred.  In  a  letter  to  Brant 
General  Chapin  speaks  of  the  sudden  departure  of  Johnston  from 
the  treaty  ground,  as  if  he  had  advised  it  in  consequence  of  a  fear 
that  some  outrage  would  be  committed  upon  him  by  citizens  in  at 
tendance  ;  as  if  he  had  interfered,  and  a  summary  punishment  was 
threatened. 

The  forebodings  of  General  Chapin,  in  his  last  letter  to  General 
Knox,  in  reference  to  his  declining  health,  unhappily  for  his  country, 
and  especially  the  local  region  where  he  had  been  so  useful,  was  des 
tined  to  be  realized.  He  continued  to  decline,  under  the  effects  of 
what  is  presumed  to  have  been  in  some  form  the  then  prevailing 
disease  of  the  country,  which  finally  terminated  in  dropsy.  He 
died  on  the  7th  of  March,  1795,  aged  54  years.  In  the  discharge 
of  his  official  duties,  he  had  won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  the 
government,  testimonials  of  which  were  given  before  and  after  his 
death.  Apprized  of  his  illness,  his  friend  Colonel  Pickering,  who  had 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.       309 

succeeded  Gen.  Knox  as  Secretary  of  War,  carefully  consulted  the 
eminent  physician,  Dr.  Rush,  and  communicated  his  advice  by 
letter  ;  and  equal  solicitude  was  felt  throughout  a  large  circle  of  ac 
quaintance.  In  all  this  local  region,  his  death  was  mourned  as  that 
of  a  puhlic  benefactor  ;  and  no  where  more  sincerely  than  among  the 
Indians,  whose  esteem  he  had  won  by  his  uniform  kindness  and 
strict  regard  for  their  welfare.  Soon  after  his  death  a  large  num 
ber  of  chiefs  assembled  at  Canandaigua,  and  in  public  council  de 
monstrated  their  high  sense  of  tha  loss  they  had  sustained,  Red 
Jacket,  addressing  Captains  Israel  Chapin  and  Parrish,  said  :  — 

"  BROTHERS  —  I  wish  you  to  pay  attention  to  what  I  have  to  say. 
We  have  lost  a  good  friend  ;  the  loss  is  as  great  to  us  as  to  you. 
We  consider  that  we  of  the  Six  Nations,  as  well  as  the  United 
States,  have  met  with  a  great  loss.  A  person  that  we  looked  up  to 
as  a  father ;  a  person  appointed  to  stand  between  us  and  the  United 
States,  we  have  lost,  and  it  gives  our  minds  great  uneasiness. 
He  has  taken  great  pains  to  keep  the  chain  of  friendship  bright  be 
tween  us  and  the  United  States  ;  now  that  he  is  gone,  let  us  pre 
vent  that  agreeableness  and  friendship,  which  he  has  held  up  between 
us  and  the  United  States,  from  failing. 

"BROTHERS  — It  has  been  customary  among  the  Six  Nations, 
when  they  have  lost  a  great  chief,  to  throw  a  belt  in  his  place  after 
he  is  dead  and  gone.  We  have  lost  so  many  of  late,  that  we  are 
destitute  of  a  belt,  and  in  its  place  we  present  you  with  these  strings, 
[9  strings  black  and  white  wampum.] 

"  BROTHERS  —  As  it  is  a  custom  handed  down  to  us  by  our  fath 
ers,  to  keep  up  the  good  old  ancient  rules,  now  we  visit  the  grave 
of  our  friend,  we  gather  leaves  and  strew  them  over  the  grave,  and 
endeavor  to  banish  grief  from  our  minds,  as  much  as  we  can."  [14 
strings  black  and  white  wampum.] 

After  this  the  chiefs  adopted  a  message  to  be  sent  to  the  Presi 
dent,  informing  him  that  the  "  person  whom  he  had  appointed  for 
us  to  communicate  our  minds  to,  has  now  left  us  and  gone  to  ano 
ther  world.  He  with  the  greatest  care  communicated  our  minds  to 
the  great,  council  fire."  They  concluded  the  message  by  recapitu 
lating  the  services  that  had  been  rendered  them  by  Captain  Israel 
Chapin,  his  son ;  reminded  the  President  that  he  is  conversant  with 
all  the  relations  of  his  father  with  then),  and  request  that  he  may- 
succeed  to  his  place. 


310  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

The  President  being  of  the  same  mind  of  the  Indians,  the  ap 
pointment  of  Captain  Israel  Chapin  soon  followed.  In  announcing 
to  him  his  appointment,  Mr.  Pickering  says :  — "  The  affairs  of  the 
Six  Nations  will  henceforward  be  managed  with  much  less  trouble 
than  formerly.  The  treaty  made  with  them  last,  fall,  must  supersede 
all  pre-existing  cause  of  complaint.  The  treaty  entered  into  by  Mr. 
Jay  with  Great  Britain,  will,  I  trust,  rid  you  of  all  such  embarrass 
ments,  as  heretofore  have  sprung  from  British  influence,  and  peace 
with  the  western  Indians,  is  now  in  fair  prospect.  The  hostile  na 
tions  have  all  sent  in  their  chiefs  to  Gen.  Wayne,  to  sue  for  peace ; 
and  have  agreed  upon  a  treaty,  to  be  held  at  his  head  quarters,  about 
the  first  of  June  next.  So  your  principal  concern  will  be  to  pro 
tect  the  tribes  under  your  superintendence  from  injury  and  imposi 
tion,  which  too  many  of  our  own  people  are  disposed  to  practice 
upon  them ;  and  diligently  to  employ  all  the  means  under  your  di 
rection,  to  promote  their  comfort  and  improvement." 

As  the  Secretary  suggested,  the  principal  difficulties  with  the  Six 
Nations  had  been  adjusted,  but  a  vast  amount  of  labor  and  responsi 
bility  still  devolved  upon  the  local  agency.  Annuities  were  to  be 
paid,  not  only  the  general  ones,  but  special  ones,  to  a  large  num 
ber  of  chiefs  and  warriors,  who  had  recommended  themselves  to 
favor ;  schools  and  school-masters  were  to  be  looked  to ;  blacksmiths 
were  to  be  employed  and  superintended  in  all  the  principal  Indian 
villages  ;  depredations  upon  Indian  lands  were  to  be  prevented,  and 
frequent  difficulties  between  Indian  and  white  settlers  were  to  be 
adjusted  ;  Indians  killed  by  the  white  men  were  to  be  paid  for.* 
The  Indians  had  learned  to  lean  upon  the  local  Superintendent  with 
all  the  dependence  of  childhood.  All  these  arduous  duties  seem  to 
have  been  faithfully  discharged  until  1802,  when  he  was  removed 
from  the  agency.  His  successor  was  Captain  Callender  Irwin,  of 
Erie,  Pennsylvania.  The  change  would  seem  to  have  been  one 
of  an  ordinary  political  character,  and  not  from  any  cause  that  im 
plicated  his  private  or  official  character. 

In  connection  with   these  events,  it   should    be  mentioned  that 

*  Killing  was  a  matter  of  business  compromise  :  —  "  Received  of  Israel  Olmpin, 
agent  of  Indian  affairs  for  the  Six  Nations,  two  hundred  dollars,  to  satisfy  the  widow 
and  children  of  a  deceased  Indian,  who  was  murdered  at  Venango,  in  1795,  by  a  sol 
dier  of  that  garrison.  his 

Witness,  Win.  Johnston,  Jasper  ParrisL  JOHN  X  O'BAIL. 

Canandaigua,  April  8,  1797.  mark. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  311 

the  Six  Nations  found  in  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  the  society  of 
Friends  of  Philadelphia  early  and  faithful  guardians  of  their  inter 
ests  and  welfare.  A  committee  of  their  number  hospitably  enter 
tained  their  chiefs  when  they  visited  Philadelphia  ;  at  the  especial 
request  of  the  chiefs,  a  committee  attended  the  treaty  of  '94,  at 
Canandaigua.  For  almost  half  a  century  there  has  been  a  standing 
committee  of  that  Yearly  Meeting,  having  especial  care  of  the 
Six  Nations.  In  I79G  this  committee,  availing  themselves  of  a 
visit  of  Jasper  Parrish  to  the  seat  of  government,  prevailed  upon 
him  to  visit  the  Indians  and  tender  to  them  their  assistance  in  a 
plan  to  instruct  them  in  "  husbandry  and  the  most  neccessary  arts 
of  civil  life.  "  They  soon  after  established  schools,  sent  men  and 
women  among  them  to  teach  them  farming  and  house  work,  and 
built  mills  for  them,  in  at  least  one  locality. 

The  sons  of  General  Israel  Chapin  were  :  —  Thaddeus,  who  was 
an  early  merchant  in  Canandaigua.  and  subsequently,  a  large  farmer 
near  the  village ;  Israel,  the  official  successor  of  his  father,  who  was 
the  founder  of  what  was  called  "  Chapin's  Mills,  "  a  few  miles  north 
of  Canandaigua,  on  the  Palmyra  road ;  the  only  survivors  of  his 
family,  are,  Mrs.  John  Greig,  and  a  maiden  sister  ;  Henry,  who  was 
an  early  merchant  in  Buffalo,  a  resident  of  Ohio ;  and  George,  a 
farmer  near  Canandaigua.  A  daughter  of  General  Chapin,  was 
the  wife  of  Benjamin  Wells,  who  came  to  Canandaigua  with  his 
father-in-law,  in  1789.  The  surviving  sons  of  Mr.  Wells  are, 
Walter  Wells,  of  Webster,  Monroe  county,  Benjamin  Wells,  of 
Conhocton,  and  Clement  Wells,  •  of  Canandiagua.  A  daughter 
became  the  wife  of  Jonas  Williams,  who  was  one  the  founders  of 
the  village  ol  Williamsville,  Erie  co. 


JASPER  PARRISH. 

His  family  were  emigrants  from  the  state  of  Connecticut  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  Delaware  river  in  this  State,  where  they  were 
residing  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  border  wars.  In  1778,  when 
but  eleven  years  of  age,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  with  his 
father,  who  was  six  miles  from  home,  assisting  a  family  of  back 
woodsmen  to  move  nearer  the  settlement,  where  they  would  be  less 
exposed.  Attacked  by  a  small  party  of  Munsee  Indians,  they  were 
made  captives.  The  father  was  taken  to  Niagara,  and  after  being  a 


312  PHELPS  AKD  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

captive  two  years,  was  exchanged  and  enabled  to  rejoin  his  family. 
The  protector  of  young  Jasper,  was  a  war  chief,  by  whom  he 
was  well  treated.  After  remaining  a  while  at  the  "  Cook  House," 
he  was  taken  to  Chemung.  When  entering  the  Indian  village,  the 
war  party  that  accompanied  him  set  up  the  war  shout  when  a  posse 
of  Indians  and  Indian  boys  sall'ed  out  and  met  them ;  pulling  the 
young  prisoner  from  the  horse  he  was  riding,  they  scourged  him 
with  whips  and  beat  him  cruelly  with  the  handles  of  their  toma 
hawks  —  subjected  him  to  one  form  of  their  gauntlet  —  until  his 
master  humanely  rescued  him.  He  was  soon  after  sold  by  his 
master  to  an  Indian  family  of  Delawares,  and  taken  to  reside  with 
them  at  their  village  on  the  south  side  of  the  Delaware  river,  where 
he  remained  during  the  year  1779,  suffering  a  good  deal  during  the 
winter  for  the  want  of  warm  clothing,  and  in  consequence  of  the 
scanty  fare  of  the  Indians.  To  inure  him  to  cold,  the  Indians  com 
pelled  him  almost  daily,  to  strip  and  plunge  into  the  ice  and  water 
of  the  river.  Adopted  by  the  family  who  had  become  his  owners, 
he  was  kindly  treated,  and  accompanied  them  in  all  their  hunting 
and  fishing  excursions. 

He  was  at  Newtowh  with  his  captors,  when  Sullivan  invaded 
their  country,  and  used  to  relate  what  transpired  there  :  —  As  the 
army  approached  New  town  point,  a  large  body  of  Indians  collected 
four -miles  below  to  make  an  attack,  after  having  placed  their  squaws, 
prisoners  and  baggage  in  a  safe  place.  They  soon  found  they  could 
not  stand  their  ground,  and  sent  runners  to  the  squaws  directing 
them, to  retreat  up  the  river  to  Painted  Post,  where  they  followed 
them  soon  after.  The  whole  made  a  hasty  march  to  Niagara,  via 
Bath,  Geneseo  and  Tonawanda.  The  family  to  whom  Parrish  be 
longed  were  of  this  retreating  party.  In  a  short  time  after  their 
arrival,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Six  Nations  were  encamped  on  the 
plain,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Fort.  They  subsisted  upon  salted  pro 
visions  during  the  winter,  dealt  out  to  them  from  the  British  garrison, 
and  great  numbers  died  in  consequence.  To  induce  them  to  dis 
perse  and  go  back  to  their  villages  on  the  Genesee  river,  or  go  out 
on  scouting  parties,  the  British  officers  offered  them  an  increased 
bounty  for  American  scalps. 

Before  winter  young  Parrish  was  sold  for  twenty  dollars,  to  Cap 
tain  David  Hill,  "  a  large  fine  looking  Mohawk  Indian,"  a  relation 
of  Joseph  Brant,  who  conducted  him  to  his  tent  and  gave  him  to 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAMS  PURCHASE.         313 

understand  that  he  would  thereafter  live  with  him.  He  disliked 
the  change  of  masters  at  the  time  ;  it  involved  the  necessity  of 
learning  another  Indian  language,  and  he  had  become  attached  to  the 
Delaware  family ;  but  it  all  turned  out  for  the  best.  He  resided  in 
the  family  of  Captain  Hill  for  five  years,  in  all  of  which  time  he 
was  kindly  treated,  and  well  provided  for.  His  time  was  chiefly 
spent  in  accompanying  the  Indians  in  travelling  excursions,  hunting, 
fishing,  and  when  put  to  labor,  but  light  tasks  were  imposed  upon 
him.  Soon  after  he  was  purchased  by  Captain  Hill,  a  general 
council  of  the  British  and  Indians  took  place  at  Fort  Niagara ;  upon 
which  occasion  Capt.  Hill  took  his  young  American  captive  into  the 
midst  of  an  assembly  of  chiefs,  and  adopted  him  as  his  son,  going 
through  the  ceremony  of  placing  a  large  belt  of  wampum  around 
his  neck.  After  which  an  old  chief  took  him  by  the  hand  and 
made  a  speech,  as  is  customary  on  such  occasions,  accompanying  it 
with  a  great  deal  of  solemnity  of  manner.  Then  the  chiefs  arose 
and  all  shook  hands  with  the  adopted  captive. 

On  one  occasion,  while  with  the  Delaware  family  at  Niagara,  he 
came  near  being  the  victim  of  the  British  bounty  for  scalps.  Left 
alone  with  some  Indians  who  were  on  a  carousal,  he  overheard  one 
propose  to  another,  that  they  should  kill  the  "young  Yankee,"  take 
his  scalp  to  the  Fort  and  sell  it  for  rum.  In  a  few  minutes  one  of 
them  took  a  large  brand  from  the  fire  and  hurled  it  at  his  head,  but 
being  on  the  alert,  he  dodged  it  and  made  his  escape.  The  Indians 
pursued  him,  but  it  being  dark  he  was  enabled  to  avoid  them. 

In  May,  1780,  Brant  founded  a  village  of  Mohawks  near  the  pres 
ent  village  of  Lewiston,  to  which  Capt.  Hill  removed.  There  Par- 
rish  remained  until  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  He  travelled  with 
his  Indian  father  a  good  deal  among  other  Indian  tribes,  by  whom 
he  was  always  well  treated.  At  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  in  1784, 
he  with  other  prisoners,  were  surrendered  in  accordance  with  treaty 
stipulations.  He  immediately  joined  his  father's  family,  whom  he 
found  in  Goshen,  Orange  county.  Having  nearly  lost  the  use  of 
his  own  language,  he  attended  school  for  about  one  year,  which  was 
all  the  opportunity  for  acquiring  an  education  he  ever  enjoyed, 
other  than  what  a  strong  native  intellect  enabled  him  to  acquire  in 
his  intercourse  with  the  world. 

He  was  employed  by  Mr.  Pickering  in  his  Indian  treaty  in  1790, 
and  '91,  and  his  qualifications  as  an  interpreter,  together  with  his 
20 


314  PHELPS  AOT)  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

character  for  faithfulness  and  integrity,  coming  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  then  Secretary  of  War,  General  Knox,  he  employed  him  in 
the  Indian  department  in  1792,  giving  him  a  letter  to  General  Cha- 
pin,  with  whom  he  became  associated  as  interpreter  for  the  Six 
Nations.  In  all  the  crisis  of  Indian  difficulties,  he  was  the  active 
co-operater  of  General  Chapin,  and  contributed  much  to  the  final 
adjustment  of  them.  A  "  winged  Mercury/'  in  the  earliest  years 
his  appointment  after  he  was  now  here,  and  now  there ;  alter 
nating  between  the  seat  of  government,  at  Philadelphia,  Buffalo 
Creek,  Genesee  River,  Onondaga,  Oneida  and  Canandaigua ;  the 
interpreter  at  councils,  and  the  bearer  of  messages.  The  captive 
boy  of  the  Indian  wigwams,  becoming  a  man,  remembered  on]y  the 
virtues  and  kindnesses  of  his  captors  —  not  the  wrongs  they  had 
inflicted  upon  him  or  his  countrymen  —  and  was  the  faithful  inter 
preter  of  their  complaints  and  grievances  to  him,  whom  they  called 
their  "Father,  the  great  chief  of  the  Thirteen  Fires" — Washing 
ton.  In  1803  he  had  the  additional  appointment  of  local  Indian 
agent,  and  continued  to  hold  both  offices,  through  all  the  changes 
oY  the  administration  of  the  general  government,  down  to  the 
second  term  of  General  Jackson's  administration. 

He  retained  to  the  close  of  his  life,  a  strong  attachment  to  the 
Indians,  as  was  the  case  generally  with  liberated  captives  ;  and  by 
means  of  his  position,  and  the  influence  he  had  acquired  with 
them,  was  enabled  to  render  them  essential  service ;  to  assist  in 
ameliorating  their  condition,  by  introducing  among  them  the  Chris 
tian  religion,  schools  and  agricultural  pursuits.  While  a  prisoner, 
he  acquired  the  Mohawk  language,  and  before  the  close  of  his  life, 
he  spoke  that  of  five  of  the  Six  Nations  with  great  fluency. 
Captain  Parrish  died  at  his  residence  in  Canandaigua,  July  12th, 
1836,  in  the  69th  year  of  his  age. 

He  married  in  early  life,  a  daughter  of  General  Edward  Paine, 
one  of  the  Pioneers  of  the  western  Reserve,  and  the  founder  of 
Painesville.  She  died  in  1837.  His  surviving  sons  are,  Isaac,  a 
farmer  on  the  Lake  shore,  near  Canandaigua ;  Stephen  and  Ed 
ward,  residents  of  the  village  of  Canandaigua.  One  of  his  daughters 
became  the  wife  of  Ebenezer  S.  Cobb,  of  Michigan,  who  was  lost 
with  the  ill-fated  Erie,  near  Dunkirk,  in  1841  ;  another,  the  wife 
of  Peter  Townsend,  of  Orange  county ;  and  another,  the  wife  of 
William  W.  Gorham.  of  Canandaigua. 


PHELPS  AXD  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.          315 


CHAPTER  IV. 


ATTEMPT  OF  GOV.  SIMCOE  TO  BREAK  UP  THE  SETTLEMENTS  OF  THE 
GENESEE  COUNTRY. 


THE  reader  has  already  learned,  generally,  what  was  the  temper 
and  bearing  of  the  British  authorities  in  Canada,  touching  the  early 
Pioneer  movements  in  the  Genesee  country.  A  British  and  Indian 
alliance,  a  connected  movement,  having  in  view  the  re-possession 
of  the  country,  was  with  much  difficulty  but  barely  prevented. 
In  all  the  controversy  —  or  pending  the  issue  of  the  whole  matter  — 
there  was,  other  than  what  may  have  transpired  at  the  west,  but 
one  overt  act,  in  pursuance  of  British  pretensions  and  threats.  This 
was  an  actual  invasion,  by  a  British  armed  force,  of  the  Genesee 
country,  at  Sodus  Bay. 

Previous  to  coming  in  possession  of  the  valuable  manuscripts  of 
the  late  Thomas  Morris,  the  author  had  drawn  up  for  this  work,  an 
account  of  the  event,  the  materials  for  which  were  derived  prin 
cipally  from  the  papers  of  Mr.  Williamson.  Mr.  Morris  having 
included  it  in  his  reminiscences,  it  being  a  matter,  "  all  of  which 
he  saw,  and  a  part  of  which  he  was/'  his  history  of  the  transaction 
is  substituted  :  — 

"  Gov.  Simcoe  had,  from  his  first  assuming  the  government  of 
Upper  Canada,  evinced  the  greatest  jealousy  of  the  progress  of  the 
settlement  of  our  western  country ;  he  was  even  said  to  have 
threatened  to  send  Captain  Williamson  to  England  in  irons,  if  he 
ever  ventured  to  come  into  Canada.  In  1794,  Capt.  Williamson 
had  commenced  a  settlement  at  Sodus  Bay. 

In  the  month  of  August  of  that  year,  Lieut.  Sheaffe,  of  the 
British  army,  (now  Major  General  Sir  Roger  Hale  Sheaffe,  who, 
during  the  last  war,  commanded  at  the  battle  of  Queenston,  after 
the  death  of  Gen.  Brock,)  was  sent  by  Governor  Simcoe,  with  a 


316  PHELPS   AND    GOKH Ail's    PURCHASE. 

protest  to  be  delivered  to  Captain  Williamson,  protesting  against 
the  prosecution  of  the  settlement  of  Sodus,  and  all  other  Ameri 
can  settlements  beyond  the  old  French  line,  during  the  inexecution 
of  the  treaty  that  terminated  the  Revolutionary  war.  Finding 
there  only  an  agent  of  Mr.  Williamson's,  (a  Mr.  Moffat,  who  is  yet 
living,)  Lieut.  Sheaffe  informed  him  of  the  nature  of  his  mission, 
and  requested  him  to  make  it  known  to  Capt.  Williamson,  and  to 
inform  him  that  he  would  return  in  ten  days,  when  he  hoped  to 
meet  Capt.  Williamson  there.  Mr.  Moffat  came  to  me  at  Canan- 
daigua,  to  acquaint  me  with  what  had  taken  place,  and  induce  me 
to  accompany  him  to  Bath,  to  confer  with  Capt.  Williamson  in  re 
lation  to  this  very  extraordinary  protest.  I  accordingly  went  to 
Bath,  and  it  was  agreed  between  Capt.  Williamson  and  myself,  that 
we  would  both  meet  Lieut.  Sheaffe  at  Sodus,  at  the  time  he  had  ap 
pointed  to  be  there.  Accordingly,  on  the  day  named  by  Lieut. 
Sheaffe,  we  were  at  Sodus ;  and  shortly  after  our  arrival  there,  we 
perceived  on  the  lake,  a  boat  rowed  by  about  a  dozen  British 
soldiers,  who,  after  landing  their  officer,  were  directed  by  him  to 
pull  off  some  distance  in  the  bay,  and  remain  there  until  he  made  a 
signal  to  return  for  him.  Capt.  Williamson,  in  consequence  of  the 
threats  imputed  to  Gov.  Simcoe,  in  relation  to  himself,  did  not  think 
proper  to  expose  himself  unnecessarily  to  any  act  of  violence,  if 
any  such  should  have  been  meditated  against  him.  He  therefore 
requested  me  to  receive  Lieut.  Sheaffe  on  the  beach,  and  to  ac 
company  him  to  the  log  cabin  where  Capt.  Williamson  was,  with  a 
brace  of  loaded  pistols  on  his  table.  The  ordering  his  men  to  re 
main  at  a  distance  from  the  shore,  shows  that  the  precaution  that 
had  been  taken,  though  proper  at  the  time,  was  unnecessary, 
and  that  no  resort  to  force  was  intended.  The  meeting  between 
the  Lieut,  and  Mr.  Williamson,  was  friendly ;  they  had  known  each 
other  before ;  and  while  in  the  same  service,  had  marched  through 
some  part  of  England  together.  The  Lieut,  handed  to  Capt.  Wil 
liamson  the  protest,  and  was  desired  by  the  Capt.  to  inform  Gov- 
Simcoe  that  he  would  pay  no  attention  to  it,  but  prosecute  his  set 
tlement,  the  same  as  if  no  such  paper  had  been  delivered  to  him  ; 
that  if  any  attempt  should  be  made  forcibly  to  prevent  him  from 
doing  so,  that  attempt  would  be  repelled  by  force.  Lieut.  Sheaffe 
having,  during  the  interview  between  them,  made  some  allusion  to 
Capt.  Williamson  having  once  held  a  commission  in  the  British 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.       317 

army,  he  replied,  that  while  in  the  service  of  the  Crown,  he  had 
faithfully  performed  his  duty  ;  that  having  since  renounced  his  al 
legiance  to  that  Crown,  and  became  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
his  adopted  country,  having  both  the  ability  and  the  inclination, 
would  protect  him  in  his  rights,  and  the  possession  of  his  property, 
I  asked  Lieut.  Sheaffe  if  he  would  be  so  good  as  to  explain  what 
was  meant  by  the  old  French  line,  where  it  ran,  and  what  portion 
of  our  country  we  were  forbidden  in  Gov.  Simcoe's  protest,  to  oc 
cupy.  He  replied,  that  he  was  merely  the  bearer  of  the  paper  ;  that 
by  the  orders  of  his  superior  officer,  he  had  handed  it  to  Capt.  Wil 
liamson  ;  that  no  explanation  had  been  given  to  him  of  its  purport, 
nor  was  he  authorized  to  give  any.  After  about  half  an  hour,  I 
accompanied  him  to  the  beach,  where  he  had  landed  ;  and  on  a 
signal  having  been  made  by  him,  his  boat  returned  for  him,  and  he 
departed.  This  is  what  my  father,  in  his  letter  of  the  10th  of  Sep 
tember,  1794,  alludes  to,  and  terms  a  treaty,  and  for  which  he  hopes 
that  Simcoe  will  get  a  rap  over  the  knuckles  from  his  master.  So 
many  years  have  elapsed  since  the  complaints  made  both  by  the 
British  and  our  own  Government,  were  adjusted  by  negotiation, 
that  you  may  be  at  a  loss  to  know  what  Governor  Simcoe  meant 
when  he  spoke  of  the  inexecution  of  the  treaty  that  terminated  our 
Revolutionary  struggle.  The  complaint  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  was,  that  those  parts  of  the  treaty  which  required  that 
those  States  in  which  British  subjects  were  prevented  by  law,  from 
recovering  debts  due  to  them  prior  to  the  Revolution,  had  been  re 
pealed,  —  as  by  the  treaty,  they  ought  to  have  been,  —  and  also, 
that  British  property  had  been  confiscated,  since  the  period  limited 
in  the  treaty  for  such  confiscations,  and  no  compensation  had 
been  made  to  the  injured  parties.  On  our  part,  the  complaint  was, 
that  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  negroes  and  other  property, 
were  carried  away  by  the  British  army,  contrary  to  stipulations  en- 
tered  into  by  the  preliminary  treaty  of  peace.  The  British  retain 
ed  possession.  of  the  posts  on  our  borders,  and  within  our  bounds, 
until  an  amicable  settlement  of  these  difficulties,  and  which  settle 
ment,  I  think,  took  place  in  1796." 


TE.  —  The  conversation  that  passed  between  Mr.  Williamson  and  Lieut.  Sheaffe, 
as  copied  from  Mr.  Williamson's  autograph,  is  as  follows  :  — 

LIEUT.  SHEAFFE.  —  "lam  commissioned  by  Governor  Simcoe  to  deliver  the  papers, 
and  require  an  answer." 

MR.  WILLIAMSON.  —  "I  am  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  under  their  authori- 


318  PHELPS  AOT>  GOBHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

The  news  of  this  hostile  demonstration  on  the  part  of  one,  seem 
ing  to  act  by  authority  from  the  British  government,  was  soon 
spread  through  all  the  backwoods  settlements  of  the  Genesee  coun 
try.  At  no  period  since  the  settlement  commenced,  had  the  con 
duct  of  the  Indians  so  much  favored  the  worst  apprehensions.  Har- 
mar  and  St.  Clair  had  in  turn  been  defeated  and  repulsed  by  the 
western  Indians,  and  the  issue  that  Wayne  had  made  with  them 
was  pending;  his  defeat  being  not  improbable,  in  view  of  the  for 
midable  enemy  with  which  he  had  to  contend.  Evidences  of 
British  aid  to  the  western  Indians,  against  General  Wayne,  was 
furnished  by  returning  adventurers  from  the  west,  and  every  travel 
ler  that  came  through  the  wilderness  from  Niagara,  confirmed  the 
worst  suspicions  of  all  that  was  going  on  at  that  focus  of  British 
machinations,  against  the  peace  of  the  defenceless  border  settlers. 
It  was,  too,  ominous  of  danger,  that  the  Senecas  in  their  immedi 
ate  neighborhood,  in  their  midst,  it  may  almost  be  said,  had  armed  and 
moved  off  in  considerable  numbers,  to  become  confederates  against 
General  Wayne,  bearing  upon  their  persons  the  blankets,  the  broad 
cloths,  calicoes,  and  war  decorations,  served  to  them  from  the  king's 
store  house  at  Niagara,  by  the  hands  of  one  whose  very  very  name* 
was  a  terror,  for  it  was  mingled  with  the  chiefest  horrors,  and 
the  darkest  deeds  of  the  Border  Wars  of  the  Revolution.  Wayne 
defeated,  it  was  but  natural  to  suppose  that  the  Senecas  who  had  gone 
west  and  made  themselves  confederates  against  him,  would  bring 
back  with  them  upon  their  war  path,  allies  from  the  western  tribes,  to 
renew  the  bloody  scenes  that  had  been  enacted  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Mohawk  and  Susquehannah.  Such  being  the  cotemporary  state 


ty  and  protection,  I  possess  these  lands.  I  know  no  right  that  his  Britannic  Majesty, 
or  Gov.  Simcoe,  has  to  interfere,  or  molest  me.  The  only  allegiance  I  owe  to  any 
power  on  earth,  is  to  the  i  nited  States  ;  and  so  far  from  being  intimidated  by  threats 
from  people  I  have  no  connection  with,  I  shall  proceed  with  my  improvements ;  and 
nothing  but  superior  force  shall  make  me  abandon  the  place.  Is  the  protest  of  Gov. 
Simcoe  intended  to  apply  to  Sodus,  exclusively  ?" 

LIEUT.  SHEAFFE.  —  "By  no  means  !  It  is  intended  to  embrace  all  the  Indian  lands 
purchased  since  the  peace  of  1783." 

MR.  WILLIAMSON. —  "And  what  are  Gov.  Simcoe's  intentions,  supposing  the  protest 
is  disregarded  ?" 

LIEUT.  SHEAFFE. — "I  am  merely  the  official  bearer  of  the  papers;  but  I  have  a 
further  message  to  deliver  from  Gov.  Simcoe  ;  which  is  that  he  reprobates  your  con 
duct  exceedingly  for  endeavoring  to  obtain  flour  from  Upper  Canada ;  and  that  should 
he  permit  it,  it  would  be  acknowledging  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  these  In 
dian  lands." 

*  Col.  John  Butler. 


PIIELPS  ATsT)  GCRHAM'S  PURCHASE.  319 

of  things,  it  is  hardly  to  be  wondered,  that  the  landing  of  a  small 
body  of  British  troops  upon  the  soil  of  the  Genesee  country  ;  though 
they  came  but  small  in  numbers,  their  errand  but  to  bring  a  threat 
ening  protest,  was  a  circumstance  of  no  trifling  magnitude.  And  the 
reader  will  not  fail  to. take  into  the  account,  how  feeble  in  numbers, 
how  exposed,  and  how  weak  in  all  things  necessary  to  a  successful 
defence,  was  the  then  new  settlements  of  the  Genesee  country.  In 
all  this  he  will  be  aided  by  a  brief  retrospect  of  the  commencement 
and  progress  of  settlement ;  and  added  to  what  this  will  show, 
should  be  the  consideration,  that  the  settlers  came  into  the  wilder 
ness  unprepared  for  war.  They  came,  relying  upon  a  treaty  of 
peace.  Wearied  with  war  and  all  its  harrassing  effects,  they  had 
more  than  figuratively  beat  their  swords  into  ploughshares,  and 
their  spears  into  pruning  hooks.  They  had  come  to  subdue  the  wil 
derness,  and  not  to  subdue  their  fellow  men.  The  rumors  of  war 
came  to  the  sparse  settlements,  and  the  solitary  log-cabins  dotted 
down  in  the  wilderness,  like  the  decrees  of  fate,  to  be  added  to  all 
the  sufferings  and  endurances  of  pioneer,  life.  But  a  few  weeks 
previous  to  all  this,  there  had  been,  as  if  by  concert,  a  far  more  than 
usual  emigration  of  New  York  Indians  to  Canada.  They  went  from 
most  of  the  Six  Nations,  in  detatched  parties,  and  a  very  large  pro 
portion  of  the  Onondagas  had  emigrated  in  a  body.  The  demeanor 
of  the  Senecas  had  undergone  a  marked  change.  By  some  unseen 
but  suspected  influence,  they  had  become  morose  and  quarrelsome. 
A  far  more  than  usual  number  of  outrages  were  committed  upon 
the  new  settlers  ;  in  fact,  the  principal  ones  that  are  now  remem 
bered,  happened  about  this  period.  These  facts  were  not  without 
their  influence  in  converting  the  circumstances  of  the  landing  of  an 
armed  force  at  Sodus  Bay,  into  a  preliminary  measure,  the  sequel 
of  which  might  prove  the  breaking  out  of  a  general  war,  having 
for  its  object  the  recovery  of  the  soil  of  the  Genesee  country  by 
the  Indians,  and  the  bringing  of  it  again  under  British  dominion 

It  will  surprise  those  who  are  not  familiar  with  early  events  in  the 
Genesee  country,  when  they  are  told  that  as  late  as  1794  —  eight 
years  after  settlement  had  been  commenced,  there  was  but  little  of 
intercourse  or  communication  with  Albany  arid  New  York ;  Phila 
delphia  and  Baltimore,  and  especially  the  latter,  had  far  more  inti 
mate  relations  with  all  this  region.  To  the  papers  of  those  cities, 
the  settlers  in  those  then  backwoods  looked  for  news,  and  in  them 


320  PHELPS  A15TD    GOKHAMS   PURCHASE. 

events  transpiring  here  were  generally  recorded.  On  the  first  of 
September,  the  affair  at  Sodus  was  announced  in  the  Maryland 
Gazette,  in  a  letter  from  Philadelphia,  accompanied  by  the  intelli 
gence  that  an  express  had  arrived  at  the  then  seat  of  government, 
with  despatches  for  the  War  Office. 

Immediately  after  the  departure  of  Lieut.  Sheaffe,  Mr.  William 
son,  with  the  co-operation  of  other  prominent  citizens,  adopted  the 
most  energetic  measures,  as  well  for  the  purpose  of  preparing  for 
the  contingency,  which  he  had  good  reasons  for  supposing  would 
occur,  after  what  had  transpired  at  Sodus,  as  to  give  assurances  of 
safety  and  protection  to  the  inhabitants. 

He  not  only  despatched  an  express  rider  to  the  seat  of  govern 
ment,  as  indicated  by  the  correspondent  of  the  Maryland  Gazette, 
but  he  also  despatched  one  to  Albany.  He  forwarded  by  these  mes 
sengers  letters  to  Edmund  Randolph,  Secretary  of  State,  to  Gen. 
Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  and  to  Gov.  George  Clinton.  In  these 
letters  he  detailed  all  that  had  transpired,  suggested  some  measures 
of  protection,  and  gave  asurances  that  the  mandate  of  Gov.  Sim- 
coe  would  be  disregarded.  In  the  letter  to  Gen.  Knox,  he  says  :  — 
"  It  is  pretty  well  ascertained  that  for  some  time  past,  quantities  of 
military  stores  and  ammunition  have  been  forwarded  to  Oswego. 
This  makes  me  think  it  not  improbable  that  Lieut.  SheafFe  will  take 
a  forcible  possession  of  Sodus  on  his  return.  I  shall,  however,  with 
out  relaxing,  go  on  with  my  business  there,  until  drove  off  by  a 
superior  force.  It  is  heedless  for  me  to  trouble  you  with  any  com 
ments  on  this  unparalleled  piece  of  insolence,  and  gross  insult  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States/' 

Mr.  Williamson  wrote  a  letter  to  Sir  William  Pulteney,  in  which 
he  says : — 

"  I  shall  make  no  further  comment  on  this  business,  than  to  observe,  that 
any  thing  short  of  actual  hostilities,  it  completes  the  unequalled  insolent  con 
duct  of  Mr.  Simcoe  toward  this  government.  Mr.  Simcoe's  personal  of  my 
self  and  you,  I  treat  with  the  scorn  it  deserves,  but  I  beg  leave  to  give  you  a 
sketch,  of  his  political  conduct.  On  his  first  arrival  in  this  country,  by  deep 
laid  schemes  he  has  prevented  every  possibility  of  an  accomodation  between 
this  country  and  the  hostile  Indians,  and  this  summer,  by  his  intrigues,  he  has 
drawn  several  tribes  of  friendly  Indians  from  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
to  the  British  side  of  the  lines,  and  left  nothing  undone  to  induce  the  Six 
Nations,  our  neighbors,  to  take  up  the  hatchet  the  moment  he  gives  the  word. 
You  must  be  acquainted  with  his  marching  a  body  of  armed  troops,  and 
erecting  a  Fort  at  the  Rapids  of  the  Miami  seventy  miles  within  the  territory 


PIIELPS  AND  GOKHAAL'S  PURCHASE.  321 

of  the  United  States,  but  this  being   an  extensive  wilderness,  seemed  of  less 
importance. 

"  Not  content  with  this,  he  has  now  interfered  with  our  settlements,  in  a 
manner  so  unlike  the  dignity  of  a  great  nation  that  it  must  astonish  you.  If  it 
is  the  intention  of  the  British  ministry,  by  low  and  underhand  schemes,  to  keep 
alive  a  harrassing  war  against  helpless  women  and  children,  or  by  murders  on 
this  frontier,  to  add  to  the  list  of  murders  already  committed  by  the  influence 
of  their  servants  here,  and  to  treat  this  government  with  the  most  unwarrantable 
insolence  and  contempt.  I  allow  that  Mr.  Simcoe  is  the  most  industrious  and 
faithful  servant  the  British  government  ever  had.  But  if  it  is  their  intention 
to  cultivate  a  friendly  intercourse  with  this  country,  it  never  can  take  place 
while  such  is  the  conduct  of  their  Governor  here.  For  my  own  part,  I  think 
it  would  be  doing  the  government  of  Great  Britain  a  most  essential  service, 
should  their  intentions  towards  this  country  be  friendly,  to  show  to  their  min 
istry  the  conduct  of  Gov.  Simcoe ;  and  I  write  this  letter  that  you  may  show  it 
to  Mr.  Dundas,  or  Mr.  Pitt,  if  you  think  proper.  Their  knowledge  of  me,  I 
am  convinced,  will  give  it  sufficient  weight.  If  these  transactions  are  in  con 
sequence  of  orders  from  Great  Britain,  and  their  views  are  hostile,  there  is 
nothing  further  to  be  said." 

While  all  this  was  progressing,  in  four  days  after  the  affair  at  Sodus 
in  fact,  before  Gov.  Simcoe  would  have  had  time  to  execute  his 
threats,  the  great  measure  of  deliverance  for  the  Genesee  country 
and  the  few  scattered  border  settlers  of  the  west,  had  been  con 
summated.  "  Mad  Anthony, "  —  [and  there  had  been  "  method  in 
his  madness, "]  —  had  met  the  confederated  bands  of  the  hostile 
Indians  of  the  west,  and  almost  under  the  walls  of  a  fortress  of  their 
British  allies,  achieved  a  signal  victory!  Those  upon  whom  Gov. 
Simcoe  was  relying  for  aid,  (for  it  is  evident  that  he  looked  to  a 
descent  of  the  western  Indians  upon  the  Genesee  country  in  case 
the  war  was  renewed,)  —  were  humbled  and  suing  for  peace. 
This  alone  would  have  averted  his  worst  intentions,  and  added  to 
this,  was  the  consideration  that  Mr.  Jay  had  sailed  for  London  on 
the  12th  of  May,  clothed  with  ample  powers  from  our  government 
to  arrange  all  matters  of  dispute. 

Those  familiar  with  the  history  of  our  whole  country  in  the 
earliest  years  of  its  separation  from  England,  are  aware  how  im 
portant  was  the  well  planned  and  successful  expedition  of  General 
Wayne.  Important  in  its  immediate  consequences  —  the  putting 
an  end  to  protracted,  harrassing  Indian  treaties,  and  the  founding  of 
that  great  empire  of  wealth,  prosperity,  and  unparralleled  progress, 
our  western  states.  But  few  can  now  realize  its  local  consequence, 
in  the  Genesee  country.  It  gave  security  where  there  was  little  of 
it  before,  inspired  hope  and  confidence  with  those  who  were  half 


322  PHELPS   AND  GOEHAM'S   PURCHASE. 

determined  to  retrace  the  weary  steps  that  had  brought  them  into 
the  wilderness,  for  they  felt  that  if  war  was  to  be  added  to  all  the 
sufferings  and  privations  they  were  encountering,  it  were  better  to 
abandon  the  field,  if  not  forever,  to  a  period  more  propitious.  The 
news  of  Wayne's  victory  was  communicated  by  Brant  to  Gen. 
Chapin,  and  it  circulated  briskly  among  the  backwoods  settlements. 
Here  and  there  was  seen  small  gatherings  of  Pioneer  settlers,  con 
gratulating  each  other  upon  the  event,  and  taking  fresh  courage  to 
grapple  with  the  hardships  of  Pioneer  life.  All  was  confirmed,  when 
in  a  few  days,  the  Senecas  were  seen  coming  back  upon  their  war 
path,  humbled,  quaking  with  fear  at  the  mere  recollection  of  the  terri 
ble  onslaught  that  Mad  Anthony  had  made  upon  the  dusky  legions 
that  had  gathered  to  oppose  him,  and  uttering  imprecations  against 
those  who  had  lured  them  from  home  to  take  part  in  the  contest 
and  then  remained  far  away  from  danger,  or  shut  themselves  up  in 
a  strong  fortress,  but  spectators  in  a  conflict  in  which  they  and 
their  confederates  were  falling  like  autumn  leaves  in  a  shower  of 
hail. 

The  haughty  spirit  of  the  descendants  of  the  warlike  Iroquois, 
was  humbled  within  them,  and  chagrined  by  the  terrible  discomfit 
ure  they  had  witnessed,  and  been  partakers  of,  as  well  as  by  the 
bad  faith  of  their  advisers  and  abettors  at  Niagara,  they  resolved  to 
settle  down  quietly  in  their  villages,  and  renew  their  peaceful  and 
amicable  relations  with  their  white  neighbors. 

As  early  as  the  3d  of  July,  preceding  the  visit  of  Lieut.  Sheaffe, 
to  Sodus,  a  representation  had  been  made  to  the  War  Department, 
of  the  exposed  condition  of  the  new  settlers  in  the  Genesee  coun 
try,  the  danger  of  Indian  disturbances  promoted  by  British  agents 
at  Niagara,  and  the  necessity  of  some  means  of  defence.  To  which, 
Gen.  Knox,  the  Secretary  of  War,  had  replied  in  substance,  that 
some  official  use  had  been  made  of  the  communication,  by  the  Sec- 


There  are  some  amusing  anecdotes  of  the  relations  that  the  returning  Indi- 
dians  gave  of  the  battle.  In  its  conduct,  Wayne  had  made  himself  in  their  imagina- 
ations,  more  than  human.  His  was  a  warfare  they  had  been  unused  to  :  —  impetuous, 
crushing  ;  inspiring  a  terror  that  conquered  as  effectually  as  his  arms.  A  Seneca,  who 
came  away  in  an  early  stage  of  the  battle,  having  seen  quite  enough  to  gratify  his  curi 
osity  and  love  of  adventure,  gave  to  an  informant  of  the  author,  the  reason  for  his 
precipitate  retreat.  He  said  in  his  graphic  description  of  the  opening  of  the  right: 
—  "Pop,  pop,  pop,  —  boo,  woo,  woo-o-oo,  —  Avish,  wish,  wish-e-ee,  —  boo,  woo!  — 
kill  twenty  Inguus  one  time  ;  no  good,  by  d  —  ri  !  "  This  the  reader  will  at  once 
perceive,  was  an  attempt  to  imitate  the  firing  of  small  arms  and  cannon,  and  the 
whizzing  of  the  fuse,  and  the  bursting  of  bombs. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.  323 

retary  ol  War,  in  his  correspondence  with  the  British  Minister, 
that  a  conference  was  to  be  held  with  the  Six  Nations  at  Canandai- 
gua,  in  September,  for  the  purpose  of  conciliating,  and  establishing 
finally  a  peace  with  them  if  possible.  In  reply  to  an  application 
for  arms,  the  Secretary  says,  that  an  order  had  been  issued  in  favor 
of  the  Governor  of  New  York,  for  one  thousand  muskets,  cartridge 
boxes,  and  bayonets. 

The  following  copy  of  a  letter  from  President  Washington  to  Mr. 
Jay,  our  then  minister  in  London,  possesses  much  of  a  general 
historical  interest,  and  will  aid  the  reader  in  a  full  understanding  of 
the  questions  then  at  issue,  so  far  as  this  local  region  wasc  oncerned  : 

"AUGUST,  30,   1794. 

"As  you  will  receive  letters  from  the  Secretary  of  States'  office,  giving  an 
official  account  of  the  public  occurrences  as  they  have  arisen  and  advanced, 
it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  retouch  any  of  them ;  and  yet  I  cannot  restrain  my 
self  from  making  some  observations  on  the  most  recent  of  them,  the  commu 
nication  of  which  was  received  this  morning  only.  I  mean  the  protest  of  the 
Governor  of  Upper  Canada,  delivered  by  Lieutenant  Skeaffe,  against  our  oc 
cupying  lands  far  from  any  of  tke  posts,  wkick,  long  ago,  they  ought  to  have 
surrendered,  and  far  within  tke  known,  and  until  now,  tke  acknowledged 
limits  of  tke  United  States. 

"  On  this  irregular  and  high  kanded  proceeding,  of  Mr.  Simcoe,  wkick  is 
no  longer  masked,  I  would  rather  kear  wkat  tke  ministry  of  Great  Britain  will 
say,  tkan  pronounce  iny  own  sentiments  tkereon.  But  can  tkat  government, 
or  will  it  attempt,  after  tins  official  act  of  one  of  tkeir  governors,  to  kold  out 
ideas  of  friendly  intentions  towards  tke  United  States,  and  suffer  suck  con 
duct  to  pass  witk  impunity  ? 

"This  may  be  considered  as  tke  most  open  and  daring  act  of  tke  British 
agents  in  America,  tkough  it  is  not  tke  most  kostile  and  cruel  :  for  tkere 
does  not  remain  a  doubt  in  tke  mind  of  any  well  informed  person  in  .this 
country,  not  skut  against  conviction,  tkat  all  the  difficulties  we  encounter  with 
the  Indians,  their  hostilities,  the  murders  of  helpless  women  and  children, 
along  our  frontiers,  result  from  the  conduct  of  agents  of  Great  Britain  in 
this  country.  In  vain  is  it  tken  for  its  administration  in  Britain,  to  disavow 
haying  i^iven  orders  wkick  will  warrant  suck  conduct,  wkilst  tkeir  agents  go 
unpunished  ;  while  we  have  a  thousand  corroborating  circumstances,  and 
indeed  as  many  evidences,  some  of  wkick  cannot  be  brought  forward,  to  prove 
tkat  tkey  are  seducing  from  our  alliances,  and  endeavoring  to  remove  over  tke 
line,  tribes  tkat  kave  kitkerto  been  kept  in  peace  and  friendship  with  us  at  a 
heavy  expense,  and  who  kave  no  causes  of  complaint,  except  pretended  ones 
of  tkeir  creating  ;  wkilst  tkey  keep  in  a  state  of  irritation  tke  tribes  tkat  are 
kostile  to  us,  and  are  instigating  those  wko  know  little  of  us,  or  we  of  them, 
to  unite  in  tke  war  against  us  ;  and  whilst  it  is  an  undeniable  fact,  that  they 
are  furnishing  the  whole  with  arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  and  even  pro 
visions  to  carry  on  the  war.  I  might  go  farther,  and  if  thev  are  not  muck 
belied,  add,  men  also  in  disguise. 


324  PHELPS    AND    GORHAMS    PUECHASE. 

"  Can  it  be  expected,  I  ask,  so  long  as  these  tilings  are  known  in  the  United 
States,  or  at  least  firmly  believed,  and  suffered  with  impunity  by  Great  Britain, 
that  there  ever  will  or  can  be  any  cordiality  between  the  two  countries  ?  I 
answer  —  No.  And  I  will  undertake,  without  the  gift  of  prophecy  to  predict, 
that  it  will  be  impossible  to  keep  this  country  in  a  state  of  amity  with  Great 
Britain  long,  if  these  posts  are  not  surrendered.  A  knowledge  of  those  being 
my  sentiments,  would  have  but  little  weight,  I  am  persuaded,  with  the  British 
administration,  or  perhaps  with  the  nation,  in  effecting  the  measures,  but  both 
may  rest  satisfied,  that  if  they  want  to  be  at  peace  with  this  country,  and  to 
enjoy  the  benefits  of  its  trade,  to  give  up  the  posts  is  the  only  road  to  it. 
Withholding  them,  and  the  consequences  we  feel  at  present  continuing,  war 
will  be  inevitable." 


CHAPTER    V. 


JAME-3    AND    WILLIAM    WADSWORTH PIONEER    EVENTS    IN    WHAT    IB 

NOW    LIVINGSTON. 


THE  advent  of  these  two  brothers  to  the  Genesee  country,  marks 
an  era  in  our  early  local  history.  They  were  from  the  first, 
large  landholders  and  patroons  of  new  settlements,  and  for  many 
years  intimately  and  conspicuously  blended  with  the  progress  of 
improvement.  The  connection  of  their  family  with  Col.  Jeremiah 
Wadsworth,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  was  the  primary  cause  of  their 
early  enterprise  ;  of  whom,  as  he  was  an  early  and  large  proprietor 
of  land,  by  purchase  from  Phelps  and  Gorham,  it  will  not  be  out  of 
place  to  speak,  incidentally.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Wadsworth,  of  Hartford.  Entering  upon  a  sea-faring  life  in  early 
years,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  first  as  a  sailor  before  the  mast, 
and  afterwards  as  mate  and  captain,  he  finally  settled  down  in 
Hartford,  where  he  resided  upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution 
ary  war.  He  received  the  appointment  of  commissary  of  the  Con 
necticut  line,  and  following  that  appointment,  he  had  important  trusts 
committed  to  his  charge,  not  only  by  Connecticut,  but  by  the  Con 
gress  at  Philadelphia,  having  reference  generally  to  the  pay,  clothing 


5 

PHELPS  AND  GORIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  325 

and  subsistence  of  the  Continental  troops.  Soon  after  the  arrival 
of  Rochambeau,  with  the  French  army,  their  subsistence  was  en 
trusted  to  his  charge,  jointly  with  John  B.  Church.  He  was  one 
of  those  with  whom  Gen.  Washington  made  an  early  acquaintance 
when  the  great  crisis  arrived,  and  in  whose  hospitable  mansion,  at 
Hartford,  he  was  wont  to  meet,  and  have  social  intercourse  and 
consultation  with  its  owner,  and  other  prominent  men  of  the  Revo 
lution.  It  was  the  taking  down  and  removal  of  this  old  mansion, 
that  suggested  the  following  .beautiful  lines  of  Mrs.  Sigourney: — 

"  Fallen  dome,  beloved  so  well, 
Thou  could 'st  many  a  legend  tell 
Of  the  chiefs  of  ancient  lame, 
Who,  to  si' are  thy  shelter  came : — • 
Rochambeau  and  La  Fayette, 
Round  thy  plenteous  board  have  met, 
With  Columbia's  mightier  son, 
Great  and  glorious  WASHINGTON. 
Here  with  kindred  minds  they  plann'd 
Rescue  for  an  infant  land ; 
While  the  British  Lion's  roar 
Echo'd  round  the  leagur'd  shore." 

Annals  of  Conn.,  by  R   R  Hinman. 

"  The  services  of  Col.  Wadsworth,  during  some  periods  of  the 
war,"  says  a  biographer,  "  were  incalculable."  He  was  a  member 
of  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d  Congress.  He  died  in  1804,  aged  61  years. 

Mr.  Phelps  having  been  in  the  commissary  department  during  the 
Revolution,  he  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Col.  Wadsworth,  and 
soon  after  he  obtained  title,  induced  him  to  make  investments  in  the 
Genesee  country.*  He  purchased  T.  6,  R.  9,  a  part  of  T.  11,  R. 
7,  and  one  12th  of  "  Big  Tree."f  Being  a  man  of  wealth,  and  con 
siderably  advanced  in  years,  their  purchases  were  for  investment 
and  and  re-sale,  rather  than  with  any  intention  to  emigrate. 

William  and  James  Wadsworth  were  natives  of  Durham,  Conn., 
the  sons  of  John  N.  Wadsworth.  James  Wadsworth  graduated  at 
Yale  College,  in  1787,  and  spent  the  winter  of  '87  and  '88,  in  Mon 
treal,  employed  in  school  teaching.  The  father  had  died  before 
James  graduated  at  College,  and  left  the  homestead  in  Durham, 
which  would  have  been  called  a  "  fair  estate"  in  New  England,  to 
his  three  children,  the  care  of  which  had  devolved  upon  the  elder 
brother,  William.  In  the  Spring  of  1790,  at  a  period  when  James, 
then  22  years  of  age,  was  undetermined  as  to  the  pursuits  of  life  — 


826  PHELPS    AND    GORHAM's    PUECHASE. 

hesitating  between  the  alternatives  of  seeking  his  fortune  in  the  south 
ern  states,  and  acquiring  the  profession  of  law,  and  settling  down  in 
New  England,  his  kinsman,  Col.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  proposed  to 
him  emigration  to  the  Genesee  country,  the  sale  to  him  of  a  part 
of  his  tract  at  "  Big  Tree,"  upon  advantageous  terms,  and  an 
agency  that  would  embrace  the  care  and  sale  of  his  remaining  lands. 
After  consulting  with  his  brother  William,  making  it  a  condition  of 
the  proposed  emigration  that  he  should  accompany  him,  the  two 
brothers  agreed  jointly  to  accept  the  proposition. 

In  June,  after  a  work  of  preparation  which  was  of  no  little  mag 
nitude  in  New  England,  preliminary  to  an  advent  to  this  then- far 
off  and  secluded  wilderness ;  amid  the  farewells  of  kindred  and 
friends,  in  which  were  mingled  sad  forebodings  of  the  dangers  and 
vicissitudes  the  bold  adventurers  were  about  to  encounter,  they  com 
menced  their  journey.  William,  the  practical  working  man  of  the 
two,  so  far  as  manual  labor  was  concerned,  started  with  an  ox  team 
and  cart,  two  or  three  hired  men  and  a  colored  woman,  a  favorite 
slave  belonging  to  the  family.  J  James  came  via  the  Sound,  and  the 
Hudson,  and  the  water  route  from  Schenectady  to  the  head  of  navi 
gation  on  Canandaigua  outlet,  in  charge  of  provisions  and  a  small 
amount  of  household  furniture.  William,  with  his  oxen  and  cart, 
made  slow  progress.  The  winter  sleigh  road  west  of  Whitesboro, 
had  to  be  adapted  to  wheels  as  they  progressed ;  logs  had  to  be  cut 
and  moved  out  of  the  track,  and  small  streams  and  sloughs  had  to 
be  cause-wayed.  Arriving  at  Cayuga  Lake,  there  was  no  ferry 
scow,  and  the  party  chartered  two  Indian  canoes,  which  they  lashed 
together,  and  making  a  deck  of  poles,  succeeded  in  crossing.  Be 
tween  Whitesboro  and  Canandaigua  their  average  progress  was 
but  twelve  miles  per  day.  The  parties  reunited  at  Canandaigua, 
James  having  arrived  three  days  in  advance. 

After  making  some  necessary  preparations,  the  whole  party  start- 

*  Or,  as  is  quite  probable,  Col.  Wadsworth  may  have  had  an  interest,  originally, 
with  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Gorham. 

t  To  which,  James  and  William  afterwards  added  a  tenth,  making  the  original 
"Wadsworth  tract  at  Geneseo;  about  5,000  acres. 

t  The  identical  "Jenny."  She  was  for  a  long  time  almost  the  only  one  of  her  race, 
in  that  region  ;  and  an  object  of  curiosity  with  the  younger  portion  of  the  back 
woodsmen.  Turning  to  the  travels  of  Liancourt,  we  find  that  on  the  morning  he  left 
"Big  Tree,"  she  was  queuing  and  powdering  "Capt.  Wadsworth's"  hair,  preparatory 
to  his  departure  for  Caradaigna  to  "review  a  partv  of  .soldier?,  over  whom  he  is 


PHELPS   AND    GOKHAM'S    PURCHASE.  32? 

ed  from  Canandaigua,  with  all  the  effects  with  which  they  had  left 
Durham,  to  which  had  been  added  a  small  stock  of  cattle,  purchased 
upon  the  Mohawk.  They  took  the  Indian  trail  and  Sullivan's 
route,  clearing  their  road  for  the  passage  of  their  cart,  as  they  went 
along,  camping  the  first  night  at  "  Pitt's  Flats,"  and  the  next,  at  the 
foot  of  Conesus  Lake.  Breaking  up  their  encampment  in  the 
morning,  James,  on  horseback,  with  one  companion,  preceded  the 
rest  of  the  party,  and  pursued  the  Big  Tree  trail ;  William,  with 
the  oxen,  cart,  and  other  effects,  following  after,  took  the  Branch 
trail  that  led  to  a  large  Indian  village  of  the  Oneidas,  which  was 
two  miles  below  Big  Tree,  on  the  river.  Wandering  from  the 
obscure  trail,  the  party  got  lost,  and  brought  up  at  night  in  a  swamp 
about  two  miles  north-east  from  Big  Tree,  tied  their  cattle  to  trees, 
and  encamped.  James,  having  spent  the  night  at  Big  Tree,  with 
his  companion,  in  the  woods,  withmo  means  of  making  an  en 
campment,  took  his  back  track  in  the  morning  ;  arrived  at  the  point 
where  the  Oneida  trail  branched  off,  followed  the  track  of  the  cart 
wheels,  and  found  the  lost  party,  groping  in  the  wilderness,  un 
determined  as  to  the  course  they  should  pursue.  He  conducted  the 
whole  party  to  Big  Tree,  (Geneseo,  the  reader  will  bear  in  mind,) 
where  they  slept  in  the  cart  and  upon  the  ground,  for  two  or  three 
nights,  until  they  erected  a  rude  cabin  on  the  table  land,  a  little  be 
low  the  present  village,  on  the  old  River  trail.  On  their  arrival, 
they  found,  of  their  race,  but  one  man,  Lemuel  Jennings,  who  had 
a  cabin,  and  was  herding  some  cattle  on  the  flats  for  Oliver  Phelps. 
James,  returning  to  Canandaigua  on  the  day  he  had  located  the 
party,  on  his  way  back,  got  benighted,  but  was  attracted  by  a  light, 
and  pursuing  the  direction  from  which  it  proceeded,  found  the  negro 
woman,  Jenny,  holding  a  light  for  his  brother  William,  who  was 
hewing  some  plank  for  their  cabin  floor. 

The  arrival  was  upon  the  10th  of  June.  In  August  of  the  same 
year,  1790,  when  Gen.  Amos  Hall  took  the  census,  the  family  of 
William  Wadsworth  consisted  of  nine  persons.  Beside  him,  there 
had  then  settled  in  the  townships,  others  who  were  regarded  as 
heads  of  families:' — Phineas  Bates,  Daniel  Ross,  Henry  Brown, 
Enoch  Noble,  Nicholas  Rosecrantz,  David  Robb,  Nahum  Fair 
banks.  Horatio  and  John  H.  Jones  had  preceded  the  Wadaworths 
a  few  weeks,  and  were  over  the  river,  occupying  an  Indian  cabin, 
and  the  shantee  they  had  built  the  year  before.  They  had  come  in 


328  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

from  Geneva,  via  Canandaigua  and  Avon,  with  a  cart,  Horatio's 
wife  and  three  children,  household  furniture,  and  some  hired  men. 
Their  cart  was  the  first  wheel  vehicle  that  passed  over  that  route. 
From  Avon,  they  had  no  track,  but  picked  their  way  along  the 
ridges  and  open  grounds.  Horatio  Jones  built  a  comfortable  block 
house  the  same  year.  Besides  Horace  Jones'  family,  there  was  in 
August,  west  of  the  river,  on  what  was  then  called  "  Indian  lands," 
the  families  of  William  Ewing,  *  Nathan  Fowler,  and  Jeremiah 
Gregory,  f 

The  Indians  residing  upon  the  Genesee  river  in  1790,  were  loca 
ted  in  villages,  as  follows  :  —  At  Squaky  Hill,  near  Mount  Morris, 
there  were  a  small  cluster  of  cabins,  and  a  few  families.  The  men 
had  been  southern  captives,  who  had  intermarried,  and  merged 
themselves  with  the  Senecas.  The  principal  chief,  was  "  Black 
Chief."  At  "  Allan's  Hill,"  now  Mount  Morris,  there  were  a  few 
families  ;  their  principal  chief,  "  Tall  Chief."  He  was  a  fine  speci 
men  of  his  race,  physically  and  otherwise.  At  Philadelphia,  on  a 
visit  to  Congress,  with  Horatio  Jones,  he  commanded  much  atten 
tion  and  respect. 

Little  Beard's  Town,  a  large  village,  was  upon  the  present  site 
of  Cuylerville.  The  chief,  Little  Beard,  was  one  of  the  worst 
specimens  of  his  race.  He  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  the  horrid 
massacre  of  Lieut.  Boyd,  and  all  the  early  Pioneers  give  him  a  bad 
character.  The  manner  of  his  death  in  1806,  was  but  a  just  retri 
bution  for  his  many  acts  of  cruelty  in  the  Border  wars  :  —  In  a 
drunken  row,  in  which  both  Indians  and  whites  were  engaged,  at 
the  old  Stimson  tavern,  in  Leicester,  he  was  pushed  out  of  door, 
and  falling  from  the  steps,  received  an  injury  that  caused  his 
death. 

Big  Tree,  a  considerable  village,  was  upon  the  bluff,  opposite 

*  Ewing  was  a  surveyor  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Phelps.  His  father,  Alexander 
Ewing,  became  a  resident  there  in  an  early  day,  upon  what  is  now  the  Perkins  farm, 
near  Fall  Brook.  He  was  the  father-in-law  of  John  H.  Jones.  His  son,  William, 
went  from  there  to  Buffalo,  and  from  thence  to  Sandusky.  Another  son,  Alexander, 
was  a  Pioneer  at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  where  he  carried  on  an  Indian  trade.  His  sou 
Charles,  was  the  U.S.  District  Judge  Ewing;  another  son,  George  W.,  was  State 
Senator  of  Indiana ;  William  G.  Ewing,  of  Indiana,  was  another  son.  The  father  was  an 
emigrant  from  Ireland,  and  was  settled  in  Northumberland,  Pa.,  when  settlement  of 
the  Genesee  country  commenced. 

t  He  was  the  father  of  "  Mille  Gregory,"  who  was  one  of  the  white  wives  of  Ebene- 
zer  Allan.  He  lived  on  the  Canascraga,  near  •'  Son-yea,"  (the  open  spot  where  the 
sun  shines  in,)  the  present  site  of  the  Shaker  Society. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKUAM'S  PURCHASE.  329 

Geneseo,  upon  the  river,  now  embraced  in  the  farm  of  Eason  Slo- 
cum  ;  Iven-de-wa,  (Big  Tree)  was  its  principal  chief. 

There  was  a  small  village  of  Tucaroras  on  the  river,  a  little 
above  the  Geneseo  bridge,  which  was  called  Tuscarora  ;  and  t^vo 
miles  down  the  river  from  Geneseo,  near  the  large  Maple  Grove  of 
the  Messrs.  Wadsworths,  was  "  Oneida  Town,"  a  large  village  of 
Oneidas.  * 

The  other,  and  a  principal  village,  was  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river,  opposite  Avon,  near  where  the  main  road  crosses  the  river. 
The  chief  was  Ga-kwa-dia,  (Hot  Bread,)  in  high  repute  among  his 
people,  and  much  respected  by  the  Pioneer  settlers,  f 

Gardeau,  was  the  residence  of  the  White  Woman,  and  the  several 
branches  of  her  family  went  principally  to  make  up  the  small 
Tillage.  Her  husband  was  principal  chief.  At  Nunda,  there 
was  a  small  village  ;  "  Elk  Hunter "  and  "  Green  Coat,"  were 
principal  chiefs. 

At  Caneadea  there  was  a  considerable  village  ;  the  head  chief. 
John  Hudson.  He  was  an  ok,'  man,  and  had  been  a  leading 
"  brave  "  in  the  southern  Indian  wars,  waged  by  the  Seneoas, 
and  afterwards,  in  the  English  and  French  wars.  Hon.  George 
Woods,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Bedford,  Pennsylvania,  became  a 
prisoner  with  the  Indians,  on  the  Ohio  or  the  Allegany.  Hudson 
porcured  his  release,  after  he  had  been  condemned  and  tied  to  a 
stake.  In  after  years,  they  met,  and  the  Judge  treated  him  with 
much  kindness,  making  him  a  present  of  a  fine  house  and  lot  at 


*  The  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras  were  divided  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution. 
Those  that  adhered  to  the  colonies,  and  the  neutrals,  remaining  in  their  eastern  vil 
lages  ;  and  those  that  followed  Butler  and  Brant,  coming  upon  the  Genesee  River.  A 
partial  re-union  of  the  Tuscaroras  took  place  at  their  village  near  Lcwiston,  in  after 
years. 

t  This  was  the  birth  place  of  Cornrjlanter.  In  his  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Penn 
sylvania,  in  1822,  he  says :  —  "I  feel  it  my  duty  to  send  a  speech  to  the  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania  at  this  time,  and  inform  him  the  place  where  I  was  from  —  which  was 
Connewaugus,  on  the  Genesee  river."  He  then  goes  on  to  relate  to  the  Governor,  that 
on  growing  up,  the  Indian  boys  in  the  neighborhood  took  notice  of  his  skin  being  of 
a  different  color  from  theirs,  and  on  naming  it  to  his  mother,  she  told  him  who  his 
white  lather  was,  and  that  he  lived  at  Albany.  He,  after  becoming  a  man,  sought  him 
out,  and  made  himself  known  to  him.  He  complains  that  he  gave  him  victuals  to  eat 
at  his  house,  but  "no  provisions  to  eat  on  the  way  home."  "He  gave  me  neither 
kettle  nor  gun,  nor  did  he  tell  me  that  the  United  States  were  about  to  rebel  against 
Great  Britain,"  This  is  authentic,  and  does  away  with  the  less  truthful,  but  more 
romantic  version  of  the  first  interview  between  Cornplanter  and  his  white  father, 
O'Bail  or"Abeel." 
21 


330  PHELPS   AND    GOBHA3I7S   PURCHASE. 

Bedford,  which  he  never  occupied,  but  he  used  to  often  pride  him 
self  upon  its  possession,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  came  by  it. 

In  a  ramble,  to  give  the  reader  some  account  of  their  neighbors, 
the  adventurers  who  were  more  immediately  under  consideration, 
have  almost  been  lost  sight  of.  We  left  William  Wadsworth  hewing 
plank  for  their  shantee,  by  candle  light,  and  James  emerging  from 
the  forest,  where  he  had  been  lost  on  his  return  from  Canandaigua. 
The  shantee  went  up,  and  the  work  of  clearing  a  small  spot  of  up 
land  and  preparing  a  few  acres  of  flats  for  summer  crops,  was  im 
mediately  commenced.  There  was  from  the  first,  a  division  of 
labor  between  the  two  brothers :  —  William  had  been  bred  a 
farmer,  and  from  habit  and  physical  constitution,  was  well  adapted 
to  take  the  laboring  oar  in  that  department.  Few  men  were  better 
fitted  for  a  Pioneer  in  the  backwoods  —  to  wrestle  with  the  harsh 
est  features  of  Pioneer  life — or  for  being  merged  in  habits,  social 
intercourse  and  inclinations,  with  the  hardy  adventurers  who  were 
his  early  cotemporaries.  The  backwoodsmen  called  him  "Old 
Bill,"  and  yet  he  had  not  reached  his  30th  year  ;  — not  from  any  dis 
respect,  but  as  a  kind  of  backwoods  conventional  nomenclature.  At 
a  log  house  raising,  "  a  bee,"  or  a  rude  frolic,  "  he  was  one  of  them  ;" 
and  when  there  were  any  "doings"  at  "Old  Leicester,"  "Pitt's 
Flats,"  or  Williamsburg,  he  was  pretty  sure  to  be  there.  He  took 
an  early  interest  in  the  organization  of  the  militia,  and  mingled 
with  the  recollections  of  the  author's  boyhood,  is  "  General  Bill," 
at  the  fall  musters,  with  his  harsh,  strong  features,  and  bronzed 
complexion,  mounted  upon  his  magnificent  black  charger ;  the 
"  observed  of  all  observers,"  the  not  inapt  personification  of  the 
dark  and  frowning  god  of  war;  and  to  youthful  backwoods  eyes, 
he  looked  nothing  less. 

James,  was  by  nature,  of  a  different  cast,  and  to  natural  incli 
nations  had  been  added  the  polish  and  the  discipline  of  mind 
acquired  in  college  halls,  and  a  mingling  in  the  most  cultivated  of 
New  England  society.  The  transition,  the  change  of  a  New  Eng 
land  home,  for  that  of  a  cabin  in  the  wilderness,  and  the  associa 
tions  of  the  backwoods,  was  far  less  easy  and  natural ;  though  by 
alternating  between  the  settlement  at  "  Big  Tree,  "  and  Canandai- 


NOTE. — James  Hudson,  the  son  and  successor  of  John,  was  one  of  the  finest 
men  of  his  race  that  was  found  here,  in  the  early  days  of  settlement.  Staid  and  < 
fied  in  his  deportment,  he  was  truly  one  of  "nature's  noblemen/' 


PHELPS  A:ND  GOKHAM'S  PUECIIASE.  331 

gua,  Albany  and  Connecticut,  he  managed  to  accommodate  himself 
very  well  to  circumstances.  Upon  him  devolved  the  land  agen 
cy,  and  soon  extending  its  sphere,  and  purchasing  largely  on  the 
joint  account  of  himself  and  brother,  even  in  early  years,  he  be 
came  engrossed  in  a  business  of  great  magnitude. 

They  had  left  behind  them  a  large  circle  of  family  connexions 
and  friends  in  "old  Durham,  "  and  great  was  their  concern  for  the 
rash  adventurers  who  had  pushed  away  on  beyond  the  verge  of 
civilization,  and  set  down  in  the  midst  of  wild  beasts,  and  then  but 
recently  hostile  Indian  tribes.  How  different  is  now  the  spirit  and 
feeling  of  the  age  ?  Then,  there  had  been  brooding  over  New  Eng 
land  the  incubus  of  foreign  dominion,  binding,  fettering  enterprise, 
and  confining  it  to  narrow,  sterile  and  unpropitious  bounds ;  until 
when  the  fetters  were  shaken  off,  it  seemed  rashness  to  venture 
upon  the  extension  of  settlement  and  civilization  even  to  this  fair 
region,  where  all  would  seem  to  have  been  so  inviting  and  promis 
ing.  Now,  under  the  blessings,  the  stimulus,  the  release  from 
foreign  thraldom,  of  something  over  half  a  century,  our  young  men 
make  a  hasty  preparation,  and  are  off  over  a  wide  ocean  track,  foun 
ding  villages  and  cities  on  the  Pacific  coast,  in  the  interior,  and  fol 
lowing  up,  up,  the  dark  ravines  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  are  making 
their  camps  upon  its  slope  and  its  summit ;  and  in  fond  kindred 
circles  at  home,  there  is  less  concern  for  them  than  there  wras  for 
the  young  adventurers  who  pushed  out  from  New  England  to  settle 
in  the  Genesee  country. 

An  active  correspondence  commenced  between  James  and  his 
New  England  friends  soon  after  their  departure  from  Durham. 
In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  John  N.  Wadsworth,  dated  at  Albany,  he 
says :  —  "  We  have  secured  a  boat  and  pilot,  forage  is  pretty  scarce, 
but  our  expenses  do  not  exceed  our  expectations.  We  have  now 
arrived  where  Genesee  is  much  talked  of,  and  all  accounts  confirm 
us  in  our  choice.  All  hands  are  in  good  health  and  fine  spirits ;  lay 
aside  all  anxiety  for  us.  We  expect  many  difficulties  but  are  fast 
in  the  belief  that  perseverance  will  surmount  them.  There  has 
arrived  this  day,  two  vessels  from  Rhode  Island.  One  has  28  and 
the  other  30  passengers,  bound  full  speed  for  the  Genesee  country. 
The  migrations  to  the  westward  are  almost  beyond  belief.  Gin's 
(the  colored  woman,)  courage  rather  increases,  as  many  of  her 
color  are  £oing  to  the  Genesee."*  A  tender  epistle  to  James,  in  no 


332  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

masculine  hand,  dated  at  New  Haven,  imagines  that  at  some  Indian 
war  dance,  his  scalp  may  be  one  of  the  trophies  "  that  will  dangle 
from  the  belt  of  a  Seneca  brave.  "  She  adds,  that  "  nothing  short 
of  making  a  fortune  could  induce  you  to  reside  amongst  an  uncivil] 
ized  people,  exposed  to  the  savages  of  the  wilderness. "  Samuel 
Street,  of  Chippewa,  C.  W.,  writes  a  note  from  Canandaigua,  on  a 
small  strip  of  paper,  asking  Mr.  Wadsworth  to  excuse  it  "  as  paper 
is  very  scarce  here.  "  John  B.  Van  Epps  writes  from  Schenectady 
that  "  Peter  and  Gerritt  Ryckman  would  not  take  up  the  four  bar 
rels  of  rum  to  Canandaigua,  under  $4  per  barrel ;  and  to  be  paid 
likewise  for  riding  the  barrels  over  the  carrying  place.  " 

As  early  as  September,  1790,  the  progress  of  improvement  was 
arrested :  —  William  and  all  of  his  hired  hands  had  the  fever  and 
ague,  the  wench  Jenny  being  the  only  well  one  among  them.  Dis 
heartened  by  disease,  the  hired  men  returned  to  Connecticut, 
where  they  were  soon  followed  by  James,  leaving  William  and 
the  negro  woman,  to  winter  in  the  shantee  and  take  care  of  the 
stock. 

James  Wadsworth  started  from  Durham,  in  April  1791;  but  was 
delayed  in  New  York  by  the  sprouting  of  the  ague,  the  seeds  of 
which  had  been  sown  the  fall  previous.  He  arrived  however,  at 
"  Big  Tree  "  in  June,  and  writes  back  to  his  uncle  James  thai  he 

*  But  she  did  not  become  wholly  reconciled.  Sometimes  on  foot,  sometimes  in  tlu 
ox-cart,  cutting  out  roads  and  camping  out  nights,  she  would  get  out  of  all  patience,  in 
sist  that  the  expedition  was  a  wild  and  foolish  one  ;  and  offer  her  sage  advice  that  i 
would  be  best  to  go  back  to  "  Old  Durham  "  and  give  it  up  as  a  bad  job. 

NOTE.  — Among  the  family  connexions  in  Durham,  was  an  uncle,  Gen.  Jamc; 
Wadsworth,  who  had  held  the  rank  of  a  Major  General  in  the  Connecticut  line  in  tin 
Revolution,  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress ;  and  was  one  of  the  promi 
nent  men  of  New  England.  It  would  seem  that  after  the  death  of  their  father,  lie  hat 
been,  if  not  the  guardian,  the  kind  mentor  and  counsellor  of  his  nephews.  Reverence 
for  his  memory  is  the  natural  impulse  upon  the  perusal  of  his  letters  to  them  after  the\ 
had  departed  for  the  Genesee  country.  His  first  letter  dated  in  May,  1790,  was  a  loiu 
one,  replete  with  advice  and  admonition,  deeply  imbued  with  religious  sentiment,  am 
instructions  as  to  the  duties  and  pursuits  of  Jife.  In  the  next,  dated  in  July,  he  give: 
the  nephews  all  the  current  news  of  the  day,  as  if  they  were  beyond  the  reach  of  news- 
papers  or  mails,  (as  they  really  were,)  and  closeswitii  admonitions  : — "  I  must  remiiu 
you  of  the  importance  of  orderly  and  regular  conduct  in  a  new  settlement ;  of  a  prope: 
observation  of  the  Sabbath;  of  justice  in  your  dealings,  especially  with  the  Indians 
and  of  inviolably  supporting  your  credit;  cultivate  friendship  with  your  neighboring 
Indians.  Whatever  husbandry  you  undertake,  do  it  thoroughly."  Then  again  in  an 
other  letter,  he  strikes  off  upon  foreign  news:  —  "  The  commotions  in  France,  arc  tlu 
topics  among  our  politicians  and  clergy.  Cutting  off  heads,  hanging  and  assassination 
are  much  the  order  of  the  day  there.  It  will  be  a  very  hard  case  if  they  arc  not  Ten 
properly  applied  in  some  instances.  Report  says,  the  King's  head  is  cut  off;  La  Fay- 
ette  has  gone  over  to  the  Austrians.  I  hope  the  six  nations  will  observe  a  strict  neu 
trality,  on  which  your  safety  depends." 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE.       333 

found  "  brother  Bill  well ;  and  by  persevering  industry  he  has  much 
improved  the  place,  and  given  our  settlement  a  very  different  and 
highly  pleasing  aspect.  We  have  an  excellent  enclosed  pasture 
within  eight  rods  of  our  house,  and  please  ourselves  with  the  pros 
pect  of  soon  enjoying  most  of  the  conveniences  of  settlements  of 
several  years  standing.  We  have  the  prospect  throughout  the 
country  of  a  most  extraordinary  crop  of  wheat ;  ours  far  exceeds 
our  expectations,  and  corn  promises  60  or  70  bushels  to  the  acre. 
Our  flats  bespeak  a  great  quantity  of  hay, (wild  grass.)  Respecting 
the  Indians,  we  are  so  far  from  dreading  the  Six  Nations  (our  neigh 
bors)  that  we  consider  them  no  inconsiderable  security.  They 
have  given  us  the  most  satisfactory  proof  of  their  friendship.  We 
shall  not  be  troubled  by  the  southern  Indians.  I  am  happy  to  say 
that  on  second  view  of  the  Genesee  country,  I  am  confirmed  in  my 
favorable  opinion  of  it.  We  have  received  a  great  increase  of  in 
habitants  the  winter  past.  Four  barns  were  raised  last  week  in 
Canandaigua,  within  a  half  mile  distance.  Ontario,  from  a  dreary 
wilderness  begins  to  put  on  the  appearance  of  a  populated  country.  " 
In  a  letter  to  his  uncle  James,  dated  in  August,  same  year,  he 
says  :  —  "  The  Indians  have  returned  from  the  treaty(Pickering's  at 
Newtown,)  highly  pleased.  The  inhabitants  now  do  not  even  think 
of  danger  from  the  Six  Nations ;  although  fears  are  entertained 
that  the  southern  Indians  will  attack  the  Six  Nations. " 

In  1791,  Oliver  Phelps,  First  Judge  of  Ontario  county  admits 
James  Wadsworth  to  practice  as  attorney  and  counsellor  "  to  enable 
persons  to  sue  out  writs  and  bring  actions,  which  .at  the  present, 
for  want  of  attornies,  it  is  impossible  to  cb. " 

The  Messrs.  Wadsworths'  from  year  to  year,  extended  their  far 
ming  operations,  bringing  the  broad  sweep  of  flats  that  they  pos 
sessed,  under  cultivation,  and  stocking  it  with  cattle.  There  being 
no  access  to  markets  for  wheat,  they  raised  but  little,  but  were  early 
large  producers  of  corn.  Their  cattle  went  to  the  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore  markets  principally ;  some  were  sold  to  new  settlers, 
and  some  driven  to  Fort  Niagara  and  Canada.  Independent  of 
their  cultivated  fields,  the  uplands  and  flats  in  summer,  and  the 
rushes  that  grew  in  abundance  upon  the  flats,  in  winter,  enabled 
them  to  increase  their  cattle  to  any  desired  extent.  The  present 
town  of  Rush,  upon  its  flats  had  extensive  meadows  of  rushes,  upon 
which  their  cattle  were  herded  for  several  of  the  early  winters. 


334  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

They  at  one  period  had  an  extensive  dairy.  The  cultivation  of 
hemp  engaged  their  attention  in  an  early  day,  and  along  in  1800, 
and  a  few  succeeding  years,  they  were  large  cultivators  of  it,  with 
others  upon  the  river.  They  manufactured  much  of  it  into  ropes, 
for  which  they  found  a  market  in  Albany  and  New  York.  In  com 
mon  with  others  in  their  neighborhood,  they  commenced  the  culti 
vation  of  tobacco ;  but  that  business  fell  pretty  much  into  the  hands 
of  a  company,  who  came,  on  from  Long  Meadow,  in  Connecticut, 
rented  flats  of  them,  and  cultivated  for  a  few  years  largely.  They 
cured  it  and  put  it  uj  for  market  after  the  Virginia  fashion.  The 
breeding  of  mules  fix  the  Baltimore  market,  was  a  considerable 
business  with  them  in  early  years.  In  later  years  they  turned  their 
attention  to  sheep,  and  prosecuted  wool  growing  to  an  extent  that 
has  never  been  exceeded  in  the  United  States.  In  some  observa 
tions  of  Professor  Renwick,  they  are  ranked  with  Gen.  Wade  Hamp 
ton,  of  S.  Carolina,  in  reference  to  the  magnitude  of  their  opera 
tions,  at  the  "  head  of  agricultural  pursuits  in  the  United  States." 

While  the  immediate  care  of  all  this  chiefly  devolved  upon  Wil 
liam  Wadsworth,  James  participated  in  it  by  a  general  supervis 
ion,  the  purchase  and  sale  of  stock  in  distant  markets,  the  procuring 
of  improved  breeds  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  a  scientific  investiga 
tion  of  all  matters  of  practical  improvement  in  agriculture. 

From  their  first  coming  into  the  country,  they  were  constantly 
extending  their  farming  operations,  and  adding  to  their  possessions. 
In  early  years  they  were  materially  aided  in  all  this,  by  the  use  of 
the  capital  of  their  friends1'  in  New  England ;  especially  that  of 
their  relative,  Col.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth ;  but  their  extensive  and 
judiciously  conducted  farming,  soon  began  to  yield  them  large 
profits,  which  added  to  the  commissions  that  James  realized  upon 
various  land  agencies,  in  the  aggregate,  of  vast  magnitude,  and  of 
profits  of  purchase  and  sale  of  wild  lands  upon  his  own  account 
enabled  them  to  add  farm  to  farm,  and  tract  to  tract,  until  they  were 
ranked  among  the  largest  land  holders  in  the  United  States ;  and 
hi  reference  to  present  and  prospective  value  of  their  possessions, 
probably  the  largest.  Certainly  no  others  owned  and  managed  so 
many  cultivated  acres. 


NOTE.  —Major  Spencer,  the  early  merchant,  manufactured  the  leaf  into  plugs,  and 
for  several  years  supplied  most  of  the  small  dealers  west  of  Seneca  Lake. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.       335 

In  February,  1796,  James  Wadsworth  sailed  for  Europe.  He 
went  upon  his  own  account,  upon  that  of  joint  partners  with  him  in 
land  operations,  and  other  large  land  holders  in  the  United  States. 
And  here  it  is  not  out  of  place  to  remark,  that  land  speculations  had 
become  rife  very  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  Large 
quantities  of  wild  lands  were  thrown  into  market  by  the  different 
States,  pre-emption  rights  were  obtained.  Indian  cessions  followed, 
and  very  soon  most  of  the  available  capital  and  credit  of  the  whole 
country  was  used  in  the  purchase  of  lands.  They  rose  rapidly  in 
value,  fortunes  were  made,  but  as  we  have  seen  in  later  years,  a 
crash  followed,  ruin  and  bankruptcy  overtook,  a  large  and  prominent 
class  of  the  operators.  No  matter  how  low  they  had  purchased 
their  lands ;  if  they  were  in  debt  for  them,  sale,  settlement  and  im 
provement,  would  fall  behind  the  pay  days  of  purchase  money,  and 
wide  tracts  of  uncultivated  wilderness  was  a  poor  resource  for  taking 
care  of  protested  bills,  and  threatened  foreclosures.  Speculators  had 
over  bought,  even  with  the  quantity  of  wild  lands  then  marketable, 
and  when  other  wide  regions  in  the  north-west  territory  were  thrown 
into  market,  and  brought  into  competition,  embarrassments  were  en 
hanced.  In  '95,  '6,  this  untoward  state  of  things  had  arrived  at  its 
culminating  point ;  an  exigency  existed  which  created  the  alterna 
tives  of  ruin  to  nearly  all  who  had  ventured  in  large  land  specula 
tions,  and  the  enlisting  of  capital  in  Europe. 

In  such  a  crisis,  a  distinct  realization  of  which,  can  only  be  had 
by  a  general  review  of  the  history  of  that  period,  Mr.  Wadsworth 
was  selected  as  an  agent  to  go  to  Europe,  and  make  sales  of  lands  to 
foreign  capitalists.  It  was  certainly  no  small  compliment  to  the  bus- 
siness  reputation  and  character  of  one  who  had  gone  out  in  his  youth 
and  acquired  his  recommendations  in  the  back  woods,  to  be  thus 
singled  out  from  among  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  United 
States,  whose  interest,  with  his  own,  he  was  to  promote.  His  visit 
to  Europe,  was  at  the  suggestion,  and  attended  by  the  co-operation, 
of  Robert  Morris,  Thomas  Morris,  Governeur  Morris,  Aaron  Burr, 
Charles  Williamson,  De  Witt  Clinton,  Robert  Troup,  Oliver  Phelps, 
Nicholson  and  Greenleaf,  Col.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  of  Hartford, 
and  other  prominent  men  of  New  England  and  Pennsylvania.  His 
mission  was  undertaken  under  adverse  circumstances  :  —  What  was 
understood  in  Europe  to  have  been  the  highly  successful  ventures  of 
the  London  associates,  and  the  Holland  Company  of  Amsterdam,  in 


336  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

lands  in  this  region,  had  had  the  effect  to  stimulate  others,  and  at 
first,  to  create  a  strong  disposition  for  American  land  investments. 
Land  agents-had  flocked  to  Europe,  and  it  is  not  at  all  strange  that 
impositions  had  been  practiced,  and  that  many  had  been,  (to  use  a 
modern  term,)  victimized.  The  reader  need  only  be  told,  that  a 
system  of  operations  had  been  carried  on,  not  unlike  the  mapping 
and  platting  upon  paper,  which  prevailed  in  1836,  '7.  Mr.  Wads- 
worth  reached  Europe  at  a  period  of  reaction,  and  yet,  with  the 
testimonials  he  carried  with  him,  added  to  the  confidence  he  inspired 
by  his  dignity  of  deportment  and  manifest  integrity  of  purpose,  by 
a  slow  process,  his  mission  was  mainly  successful.  He  visited,  and 
resided  temporaily  in  London,  Paris  and  Amsterdam.  His  letters  of 
introduction,  coming  from  high  sources  in  this  country,  gave  him  ac 
cess  to  the  society  of  prominent  financial  men  of  that  period,  and  inci 
dentally  to  that  of  some  eminent  statesmen  and  scholars.  Favored  at 
once  by  the  countenance  and  friendship  of  Sir  Wm.  Pulteney  and 
Mr.  Colquhoun,  and  in  Amsterdam,  with  that  of  the  members  of  the 
Holland  Company,  among  whom  was  one  eminent  statesman,  and 
several  who  occupied  a  high  position  as  bankers,  the  young  back 
woodsman,  from  then  young  America,  was  enabled  to  place  him 
self  upon  a  favorable  footing,  not  only  with  reference  to  the  imme 
diate  objects  of  his  mission,  but  with  reference  to  those  advantages 
acquired  by  foreign  travel  and  residence.  He  remained  abroad  until 
the  last  of  November,  1798.  In  all  this  time,  he  effected  a  large 
amount  of  sales,  and  to  this  mission  is  to  be  attributed  many  of  the 
foreign  proprietorships  in  this  region,  as  well  as  in  other  portions  of 
the  United  States.  Some  brief  extracts  from  his  correspondence 
while  abroad,  possess  not  only  local,  but  general  historical  inter 
est,  and  are  contained  in  a  note  attached.  While  in  London 
Mr.  Wads  worth  obtained  a  commission  agency  from  Sir  William 
Pulteney,  for  the  sale  of  lands  upon  the  Mill  Tract  west  of 
Genesee  River,  embracing  what  is  now  Ogden,  Parma,  Riga,  Chili, 
and  a  part  of'  Greece  and  Wheatland,  from  William  Six,  of  Am 
sterdam,  for  the  sale  of  the  township,  now  Henrietta,  and  from 
others,  the  agency  for  the  sale  of  other  tracts.  And  added  to  all 
this,  was  the  agency  for  the  sale  of  lands  in  the  Genesee  country 
belonging  to  Jeremiah  Wadsworth  and  other  New  England  land 
holders.  The  duties  thus  assumed,  together  with  the  general  man 
agement  of  what  then  constituted  the  Wadsworth  estate,  of  farms 


PHELPS   AND  GORHAMS  PUECHASE.  337 

and  wild  lands,  threw  upon  his  hands  an  amount  of  business  seldom 
devolving  upon  one  individual,  and  requiring  all  his  time  and  ener 
gies.  He  must  be  regarded  as  the  patroon  of  new  settlements  in 
his  own  neighborhood,  in  a  large  portion  of  the  present  county  of 
Monroe,  and  in  several  other  localities.  His  European  agencies 
were  upon  terms  that  gave  him  an  interest  in  the  sale  and  settlement 
of  wild  lands,  in  some  instances  more  than  equal  to  that  of  the  pro 
prietors,  and  he  was  indefatigable  in  promoting  sales.  The  fine  re 
gions  coming  under  his  supervision,  unbroken  by  sales  or  settlement, 
principally  west  of  the  Genesee  river;  were  put  in  market,  and 
going  to  New  England,  he  prosecuted  upon  a  large  scale,  a  system 
that  Mr.  Phelps  had  began,  of  exchanging  wild  lands  for  farms, 
when  the  occupants  would  become  residents.  He  thus  secured  a 
good  class  of  new  settlers,  and  no  where  in  the  whole  history  of  new 
settlements  in  this  country,  have  they  been  more  prosperous,  abating 
such  drawbacks  as  were  beyond  his  control,  than  those  were  of 
which  he  may  be  regarded  the  founder.  And  while  he  was  thus 
the  instrument,  eventually,  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  others,  he 
was  laying  the  foundation,  or  accumulating,  the  large  estate  which 
his  family  now  possess.  The  profits  of  his  agencies  were  large 
ones,  and  were  invested  in  wild  lands  and  farms.  These  being 
g  nerally  retained  and  well  managed,  the  rise  in  value  chiefly  helped 

NOTE.  —  From  London,  June, '96.  J.  W.  writes  to  Charles  Wilkes,*  that  he  was 
upon  the  point  of  effecting  large  sales  of  land,  "  but  all  had  been  frustrated  by  oppo- 
sition  in  the  H.  of  Rep.  to  Jay's  treaty."  "The  fear  of  sequestration  and  confiscation 
has  destroyed  all  confidence  with  capitalists  in  England.  Besides  they  fear  the  effect 
of  French  influence  in  the  United  States."  "  Mr.  Young,  a  large  East  India  cap 
italist,  to  whom  1  was  going  to  sell  30,000  acres  of  land  at  half  a  guinea  per  acre, 
backs  out  in  consequence  of  news  from  America."  J.  W.  to  Thomas  Morris,  May, 
'90,  says: — "I  am  prevented  from  making  sales  by  the  proceedings  of  H.  of  Repre 
sentatives."  J.  W.  to  Charles  Wilkes,  June,  '96  :  —  "  Things  are  looking  better ;  news 
has  been  received  that  Congress  have  passed  the  necessary  laws  to  carry  the  treaty  into 
effect ;  confidence  in  American  investments  are  reviving."  J.  W.  to  Benj.  West,  (the 
celebrated  painter.)  —  "Be  kind  enough  to  use  your  influence  in  quieting  alarm  and 
getting  up  confidence  in  London.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  United  States  will  be  as 
happy,  and  their  government  as  permanent,  as  is  allowable  to  men,  and  human  insti 
tutions  in  the  world."  A  correspondence  between  Mr.  Wadsworth  and  Aaron  Burr 
was  kept  up  during  the  absence  of  the  former ;  the  letters  of  Mr.  Burr,  would  some 
times  be  upon  matters  of  business,  sometimes  upon  politics,  which  subject  would  sud- 
lenly  be  arrested  by  his  favorite  theme,  gossip  upon  courtship  and  marriage.  Some 
portions  of  his  letters  are  obscured  by  the  use  of  his  ciphers.  A.  B.  to  J.  W.,  JS"ov. 
1796  :  —  "I  refer  you  to  the  gazettes  for  the  name  of  the  electors,  and  the  particulars 
yet  known  respecting  the  election  ;  4  I  think  will  be  15  ;  1,  has,  I  think  no  chance  ; 
12  and  4  will  run  generally  together,  43ut  the  latter  will  not  succeed  by  reason  of 
Borne  disaffection  in  14;  — 16,  lu,  had  been  at  home,  13  would  have  been  the  man  as 

*  An  eminent  early  merchant  of  New  York ;  a  namesake  and  family  connexion  of 
Charles  Wilkes,  of  London. 


338       PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

to  make  the  lagest  estate,  perhaps,  that  has  ever  been  accumulated 
in  the  United  States,  by  the  same  process. 

But  let  no  one,  while  viewing  the  broad  domains  of  which  he 
died  possessed,  suppose  that  they  came  to  him  in  the  absence  of  in 
dustry,  economy,  good  management,  or  of  long  years  of  severe 
trial  and  embarrassments.  Dependent,  chiefly,  in  his  early  enter 
prises,  upon  the  capital  of  others,  he  carried  along  through  an  ex 
tended  period  of  depression,  a  slow  growth  of  the  country,  a  war  that 
bore  heavily  upon  this  local  region  —  a  large  debt,  and  all  the  trials 
and  vexations  which  it  carries  in  its  train.*  It  was  not  until  the 
war  of  1812  made  a  good  market  for  his  produce,  that  he  began  to 
be  relieved  from  embarrassment ;  his  large  clip  of  wool,  his  cattle, 
grain,  and  the  produce  from  his  dairy,  enabled  him  to  rapidly  di 
minish  his-dndebtedness ;  then  followed  a  few  years  of  depression  ; 
then  came  that  great  measure  of  deliverance,  and  source  of  pros 
perity  to  all  this  region,  the  Erie  Canal ;  and  participating  largely,  as 
his  possessions  enabled  him  to  do,  in  the  rapid  advance  in  the  value 
of  real  estate,  in  the  facilities  for  market  that  it  at  once  afforded 
freedom  from  debt,  unincumbered  wealth  that  was  soon  rated  by 
millions,  was  the  reward  of  his  early  wilderness  advent,  and  over 
half  a  century  of  industry  and  enterprise. 

In  a  history  of  pioneer  settlement,  such  as  this  is  intended  to  be, 
one  who  bore  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  it,  must  necessarily  occupy 
a  considerable  space,  and  yet  one  entirely  inadequate  to  the  task  of 
detailing  his  immediate  and  intimate  connection  with  the  growth 

you  'will  be  convinced  when  you  shall  return  home.  Upon  the  whole  I  am  quite  sat 
isfied  with  the  state  of  things."  "  Except  the  little  box  already  acknowledged,  and 
which  appeared  to  have  been  sent  by  my  booksellers,  probably  under  your  orders,  I 
have  not  received  a  book  or  a  pamphlet  from  you  since  your  residence  abroad."  I 
have  it  from  the  very  best  authority  that  your  friend  Linklaen  is  soon  to  be  married 
to  a  daughter  of  Major  Ledyard,  a  pretty  and  agreeable  girl.  Not  a  bad  match  I 
think  on  either  side.  I  continue  an  in  flexible  bachelor,  but  have  been  much  smitten  by 
Dge-gx  of  Naef-az,  who  is  at  present  indisputably  at  the  head  of  my  list.  Under  oth 
er  dates,  A.  B.  to  J.  W. : — "I  have  been  quite  a  recluse  and  a  farmer  this  summer; 
have  not  been  two  miles  from  home  since  my  return  from  Philadelphia ;  am  not  mar 
ried,  nor  have  made  any  approaches  to  it,  though  shall  not  probably  pass  another  six 
months  single,  though  no  particular  object  has  yet 'engaged  my  attention.  God  bless 
and  prosper  you."  "It  is  hoped  by  some,  feared  by  others,  and  believed  by  all,  that 
the  President  will  decline  being  a  candidate  at  the  next  election.  The  candidates  will 
be  Burw-k,  — 12,  4  and  1.  The  event  seems  pretty  doubtful.  I  have  been  told  (this 
day,)  and  fully  believe  it,  that  20  and  21  were  publicly  married  a  few  day  sago.  Adieu 
once  more." 

*  In  a  letter  to  a  friend  after  he  had  had  an  experience  of  fifteen  years,  he  says : — 
"  It  is  slow  realizing  from  new  lands.  I  will  never  advise  another  friend  to  invest  in 
them.  Men  generally  have  not  the  requisite  patience  for  speculating  in  them." 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.       339 

and  prosperity  of  this  region.  His  biography  alone,  if  it  followed 
him  in  all  his  relations  to  our  local  region,  would  be  almost  its  early 
history.  To  say  that  his  was  a  useful  life,  would  be  but  a  natural 
deduction  from  his  early  advent,  and  his  leading  participation  in 
laying  the  foundation  of  that  unexampled  prosperity,  which  now 
exists  in  a  region  that  he  entered,  the  wheels  of  his  cart,  and  shoes 
of  his  horse,  making  the  first  impress  of  civilization  upon  its  soil ! 
The  abatement,  if  any,  from  his  life  of  usefulness,  would  be  the 
amount  of  territory  he  encompassed,  and  held  on  to  with  a  tenacity, 
almost  amounting  to  dotage,  or  an  inordinate  desire  to  possess  ex 
tended  fields  and  forests.  This  ambition  was  first  excited  when  a 
young  adventurer,  on  his  way  to  Montreal,  in  company  with  John 
Jacob  Astor,  to  seek  employment  as  a  school  teacher,  he  saw  an 
extensive  and  beautiful  estate,  in  one  of  the  valleys  of  Vermont ; 
and  traveling  in  Europe,  a  few  years  afterwards,  making  a  sojourn, 
occasionally,  at  the  hospitable  seats  of  immense  land  proprietors,  he 
seems  to  have  been  confirmed  in  his  desire  for  a  similar  position, 
and  to  have  steadily  pursued  his  object  in  after  life.  Great  landed 
estates  in  a  country  like  ours,  are  a  sore  evil ;  the  effects,  in  various 
ways,  bearing  heavily  and  vexatiously  upon  their  immediate 
neighborhoods.  It  is  no  "  vote  yourself  a  farm"  spirit,  no  sympathy 
in  common  with  agrarianism,  that  dictates  the  expression  of  a  hope, 
that  by  all  legal  means,  the  evil  may  be  abated.  It  would  have 
been  far  better  for  the  beautiful  valley,  where  Mr.  Wadsworth  cast 
his  lot  in  early  life,  o,nd  with  which  he  became  so  intimately  blen 
ded,  if  his  ambition  for  large  possessions  had  been  more  moderate ; 
but,  "  may  I  not  do  as  I  will  with  mine  own?  "  is  an  interrogation 
he  might  well  have  opposed  to  those  who  cavilled  at  his  monopoly 
of  the  soil.* 


*  And  this  reminds  the  author  of  an  anecdote  of  an  early  and  venerated  cotempora- 
ry  of  Mr.  Wadsworth,  the  late  Augustus  Porter.  The  possession  in  his  family  of  "  Goat 
Island,"  and  all  the  most  desirable  grounds  on  the  American  side,  at  Niagara  Falls, 
and  the  tenacity  with  which  they  were  held,  when  improvements  were  sought  to 
be  made,  had  occasioned  much  of  murmuring  and  fault  finding,  in  -which  the  au 
thor,  as  the  editor  of  a  paper  in  the  same  county,  had  participated,  occasionally  giving 
some  thrusts  at  what  used  to  be  called  the  "  monopoly."  While  engaged  in  a  preceding1 
historical  work,  the  old  gentleman  had  kindly  given  him  the  benefit  of  days  and 
nights  of  conversation  upon  the  early  history  of  all  this  region  ;  his  personal  narrative, 
that  began  with  his  early  adventures  in  the  wilderness,  his  early  years  spent  in  survey 
or's  camps,  encountering  hardships  and  privations ;  his  after  long  years  of  toil.  At 
the  close  of  this  interview,  suffering  under  bodily  infirmities,  partly  consequent  upon 
ull  this,  he  observed  :  — "  Now  you  have  my  whole  history ;  you  have  seen  how  I 


340  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PTJKCHASE. 

At  an  early  period  —  almost  as  soon  as  the  farming  operations  of 
the  Wadsworths  were  fairly  commenced  — James  Wadsworth  gave 
much  of  his  attention  to  agricultural  improvements.  He  may  be  said 
to  have  given  the  impetus,  in  this  state,  to  the  application  of  science, 
the  heeding  of  the  simple  teaching  of  nature,  the  election  of  rural 
labor  from  mere  uninstructed  handicraft,  to  the  position  and  the  dig 
nity  it  has  been  rapidly  assuming.  He  had  cotemporaries,  co-opera 
tors  —  there  were  perhaps  those  before  him  in  the  state,  who  had 
labored  in  the  same  field  —  but  he  had  entered  upon  the  work  with 
an  earnestness,  with  practical  views,  and  aided  with  his  pen  and 
his  purse,  effectual  measures,  that  helped  to  mark  a  new  era  in 
agricultural  improvements.  Practical  in  his  views  upon  all  sub 
jects,  his  theories  and  recommendations  occupied  the  middle  ground 
between  a  judicious  and  healthy  reform  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
earth,  and  stock  breeding,  and  the  extravagancies  of  mere  theorists. 
The  practicability  and  the  usefulness  of  a  thing  with  him  were  always 
allied.  Had  he  been  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  his  spirit  of  enter 
prise  may  have  dictated  the  erection  of  a  saw  mill  upon  an  eminence, 
to  be  propelled  by  wind,  but  before  he  had  ventured  upon  the  ex 
periment,  he  would  have  seen  how  his  saw  logs  were  to  be  got  up 
the  steep  ascent. 

His,  was  a  mind  too  active  to  repose  upon  the  possession  of 
wealth,  or  fall  into  supineness  and  inactivity,  when  the  stimulus  of 
gain  had  in  a  measure  subsided.  It  reached  out  after  new  objects, 
when  old  ones  were  accomplished.  Education,  —  education  of  the 
masses,  allied  to  political  economy,  in  all  its  later  years,  became 
with  him,  if  not  a  hobby,  an  object  of  intense  interest.  He  was  not 
unmindful  of  the  higher  interests  of  religion,  but  even  those  he  would 
have  made  secondary  in  the  economy  of  life,  believing  that  educa 
tion  of  the  mind  was  the  broad  superstructure  upon  which  all  of 
spiritual  as  well  as  temporal  good  should  be  based.  As  the  possessor 
of  property,  he  urged  upon  the  wealthy  of  the  state,  by  strong  ap 
peals,  that  it  had  no  security  short  of  the  education  of  the  masses, 
out  of  which  alone  wou'd  grow  a  respect  for  the  laws,  and  vested 
rights.  He  was  the  patron  of  J.  Orville  Taylor,  in  his  first  move 
ments  ;  had  essays  upon  education,  upon  political  economy,  tracts, 


have  earned  what  I  possess  ;  upon  the  whole,  do  you  not  think  that  I  should  have  the 
privilege  of  managing  it  as  best  suits  my  choice  and  inclinations?"  There  was  cer 
tainly  no  convenient  way  of  meeting  the  rebuke,  or  answering  the  interrrogatory. 


PIIELPS    AND    GCKHAMS   PTJECHASE.  341 

printed  and  distributed  through  the  state,  at  his  own  expense ;  en 
listed  newspapers  in  the  cause  of  education,  by  paying  them  for 
setting  apart  a  space  for  its  discussion ;  aided  ki  the  establishment 
of  the  District  School  Journal,  and  paid  salaries  to  public  lecturers, 
to  go  through  the  State,  and  arouse  public  attention  to  its  impor 
tance.  If  the  system  of  District  School  Libraries  did  not  originate 
with  him,  (as  there  are  some  reasons  to  suppose  it  did,)  it  had  the 
benefit  of  his  early  and  efficient  aid.  In  the  way  of  agricultural 
improvement,  he  had  essays  printed  and  distributed,  and  was  an 
early  and  efficient  patron  of  Judge  Buel,  in  the  starting  of  the 
Cultivator,  at  Albany 

A  love  of  order,  system  and  regularity,  was  one  of  his  leading 
characteristics.  This  is  strikingly  exhibited  in  his  correspond 
ence,  and  the  careful  manner  in  which  it  was  preserved;  and 
equally  so  in  the  written  instructions  to  his  agents.  His  office 
clerks  he  reminded  of  the  maxim  :  —  "  Every  thing  in  its  place,  and 
a  place  for  every  thing ;"  and  they  were  forbidden  to  hold  any  con 
versations  with  those  who  came  to  the  office  to  do  business,  on 
the  subject  of  party  politics,  but  instructed  to  interest  themselves, 
and  hold  conversations  "in  reference  to  schools,  and  the  means  of 
their  improvement."  His  out-door  clerk,  or  farm  agent,  was  in 
structed  to  "  frequently  visit  every  farm,  make  suggestions  to  ten 
ants  ;  see  how  they  manage  affairs,  see  that  every  farm  has  growing 
upon  it  good  and  wholesome  fruit ;  look  to  the  compost  heaps  and 
manure  ;  see  that  the  premises  are  made  conducive  to  health."  All 
short  comings,  negligencies,  and  slovenly,  or  bad  management,  you 
are  to  report  to  the  office.  Your  inquiries  should  be  :  —  "  Are  the 
gates  in  good  order  ?  Is  the  wood-pile  where  it  ought  to  be  ?  Are  the 
grounds  around  the  house  kept  in  a  neat  and  wholesome  manner  ? 
Are  the  sheds,  and  yard  fence  around  the  barn  in  a  good  state  of  re 
pair  ?  The  land  agent  should  make  suggestions  to  the  tenants  on 
the  leading  principles  of  good  husbandry,  with  frequent  reference 

NOTE. — In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Traup,  after  he  had  succeeded  to  the  Pulteney  agency,  in 
1805,  Mr.  Wadsworth  urges  the  setting  apart  of  land  in  each  township  "  for  a  school 
house,  meeting  house,  glebe,  and  parsonage"  He  adds  :  — "I  am  not  superstitious,  but 
I  believe  in  Christianity ;  I  am  no  partisan,  but  I  believe  in  the  piety  of  patriot 
ism  ;  and  amidst  the  afflictions  of  this  way  ward  world,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  sweet 
est  consolations  that  attend  advanced  life,  is  a  recollection  of  substantial  benefits  con 
ferred  upon  our  country  of  having  contributed  our  full  mite  to  the  improvement  and 
happiness  of  our  fellow  men  ;  especially  to  that  portion  of  them  whose  destinies  are  in 
fluenced  more  or  less  by  our  decisions,  and  by  the  situations,  which,  under  Providence, 
we  are  placed." 


342  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

to  sound  morals,  founded  on  the  sanction  of  religion  and  jusl 
reasoning;  and  also  the  unappreciable  importance  of  the  edu 
cation  of  youth,  and  of  a  vigilant  attention  to  the  state  of  com 
mon  schools  in  the  lessees'  district.  Shade  trees  must  be  about 
each  house.  From  a  look  or  two  about  the  garden  or  house,  you 
can  easily  ascertain  if  the  occupant  drinks  bitters  in  the  morning, 
or  whiskey  with  his  dinner.  If  he  drinks  bitters,  you  will  find  his 
garden  full  of  weeds." 

To  a  natural  love  of  rural  scenery,  skirted  and  dotted  with  forests 
and  shade  trees,had  been  added  observation  in  European  travel  where 
time  had  enhanced  their  beauty  and  value.  In  England,  in  fact, 
he  had  learned  to  love  trees,  and  appreciate  the  importance  of  their 
preservation  ;  and  in  nothing  has  he  so  distinctly  left  traces  of  him 
self,  as  in  the  beautiful  woodland  scenery  and  magnificent  forest 
trees,  so  much  admired,  in  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Genesee. 
With  the  same  forecast  that  enabled  him  to  estimate  the  prospec 
tive  value  of  lands,  he  saw  far  ahead  what  this  whole  region  is  now 
beginning  to  realize,  the  evil  of  destroying  the  native  forests,  with 
out  planting  and  rearing  trees  for  future  practical  uses,  as  well  as 
ornament. 

The  personal  character  of  Mr.  Wadsworth  may  mostly  be  infer 
red  from  this  imperfect  sketch  of  him,  as  the  Pioneer  and  founder 
of  settlements.  Almost  his  entire  history  is  blended  with  this  local 
region  —  its  early  settlement  and  progress ;  though  he  took  a  deep 
interest  in  public  affairs,  it  was  in  the  retirement  of  private  life, 
from  which  he  would  seem  to  have  never  had  a  disposition  to  be 
drawn  by  any  allurements  of  official  stations.  His  private  corres 
pondence,  the  ability  with  which  he  discussed  various  subjects  of 
political  economy,  scientific  agriculture  and  education,  evince  a 
clear,  sound  judgment,  strengthened  by  judicious,  practical  read 
ing  ;  indeed,  his  library,  like  all  the  appointments  of  his  farms,  his 
stock,  his  dwelling,  and  his  garden,  is  chosen  with  a  strict  regard  to 
utility.  " He  was,"  (says  a  surviving cotemporary,  * )  "a good  judge 
of  men  —  seldom  erred  in  his  estimation  of  them  —  and  relying  up 
on  his  judgment,  was  even  arbitrary  in  the  withholding  and  bestow 
al  of  confidence.  He  had  not  the  elements  of  popularity ;  or  if  he 
had,  did  not  choose  to  make  them  available ;  usually  absorbed  in 
the  cares  of  business,  or  some  favorite  studv,  he  was  reserved  in  his 


*  George  Hoimier,  Esq. 


PHELPS  AKD  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  343 

deportment,  and  liable  to  be  regarded  as  austere  and  unsocial  ;  but 
relaxing,  as  he  sometimes  would  —  freeing  his  mind  from  its  bur 
dens,  he  would  exercise  fine  conversational  powers,  not  unmixed 
with  humor,  wit  and  gaiety." 

William  Wadsworth,  as  has  already  been  indicated,  was  the  prac 
tical  farmer,  and  has  little  of  history  disconnected  with  the  imme 
diate  supervision  of  large  farming  operations,  and  his  early  and 
prominent  position  in  the  local  military  organization.  At  the  battle 
of  Queenston,  after  the  wounding  of  Gen.  Solomon  Van  Rensselear, 
the  immediate  command  devolved  upon  him,  and  he  acquitted  him 
self  with  honor,  and  won  even  something  of  laurels,  upon  a  badly 
selected  and  generally  unfortunate  battle  field,  where  they  were 
scarce,  and  hard  to  acquire.*  He  was  a  bachelor,  and  a  bachelor's 
history  has  always  an  abrupt  termination.  He  died  in  1833,  aged 
71  years.  His  property  which  had  been  mostly  held  in  common 
with  his  brother  James,  was  willed  to  his  children;  thus  leaving  the 
large  estate  unbroken. 

James  Wadsworth  died  at  his  residence  in  Geneseo,  in  June, 
1844,  aged  76  years ;  leaving  two  sons  and  two  daughters.  His 
eldest  daughter,  was  the  wife  of  Martin  Brimmer,  of  Boston,  at 
one  period  the  Mayor  of  that  city;  she  died  in  1834.  His  second 
daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  married  in  January,  of  the  present  year, 
in  Scotland,  to  Charles  Augustus  Murray,  second  son  of  the  late 
Earl  of  Dunmore,  and  a  nephew  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton ;  and 
now  resides  at  Cairo,  in  Egypt,  where  her  husband  is  the  diplomatic 
representative  of  the  British  Government.!  His  son,  William 

*  Mansfield,  one  of  the  biographers  of  Gen.  Scott,  says  that  when  he  had  crossed 
the  Niagara,  at  the  battle  of  Queenston,  and  arrived  upon  the  Heights,  he  proposed 
to  Gen.  Wadsworth,  instead  of  assuming  the  chief  command  to  limit  it  to  the  legular 
force;  to  which  the  brave  and  patriotic  Wadsworth  replied:  —  "No,  you  know  best 
professionally  what  ought  to  be  done  ;  I  am  here  for  the  honor  of  my  country,  and  the 
New  York  militia."  And  the  biographer  adds :  — "  Scott  assumed  the  command,  and 
Wadsworth  throughout  the  movements  that  ensued,  dared  every  danger  in  seconding 
his  views.  Though  they  "had  met  for  the  first  time,  he  had  become  attached  to  the 
young  Colonel,  repeatedly  during  the  battle,  interposing  his  own  person  to  shield 
'Scott  from  the  Indian  rifles,  which  his  tall  form  attracted."  This  statement,  illus 
trating  the  modesty  of  his  courage,  is  confirmed  by  General  Scott. 

t  He  is  the  grand  son  of  Lord  Dunmore,  the  governor  of  the  colony  of  Virginia  on 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution.  In  1834,  he  visited  this  country,  upon  a  tour 
undertaken  with  the  two  fold  objects  of  business  and  pleasure.  Upon  investigation 
he  ascertained  that  by  some  defect  or  omission  in  the  Virginia  acts  of  confiscation, 
-  he  could  recover  a  large  tract  of  land  that  had  belonged  to  his  grand-father,  but  he 
declined  consummating  the  recovery  upon  learning  that  the  land  was  nearly  valueless. 
Striking  off  into  the  western  States,  he  organized  at  St.  Louis  a  corps  of  adventurers, 
and  with  them  visited  one  of  the  far  western  Indian  nations  —  the  Pawnees  —  spend- 
in01  the  most  of  a  summer  with  them,  joining  them  in  their  rural  sports,  and  accora- 


344  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Wadsworth,  who  married  the  daughter  of Austin,  of  Boston, 

resides  at  the  old  family  mansion  in  Geneseo.  His  son,  James  S. 
Wadsworth,  who  married  the  daughter  of  John  Wharton,  of  Philadel 
phia,  is  the  occupant  of  a  fine  mansion  he  has  erected  in  a  grove, 
a  short  distance  north  of  the  village  of  Geneseo,  upon  a  bluff  that 
overlooks  a  broad  sweep  of  the  valley  of  the  Genesee.  Upon  him, 
in  consequence  of  the  abscence  of  the  surviving  sister,  and  the  in 
firmities  of  his  brother,  devolves  the  entire  management  of  the 
Wadsworth  estate  ;  a  difficult  task,  with  all  its  diversified  interest, 
its  numerous  farms,  and  tracts  of  wild  lands ;  but  one  that  is  well 
performed,  not  only  in  reference  to  the  estate  itself,  but  with  refer 
ence  to  the  public  interest  in  which  so  large  landed  possessions  are 
necessarily  merged.  The  representative  of  the  early  Pioneers  — 
his  father  and  uncle  —  "  to  the  manor  born"  —  while  he  knows  little 
of  the  hardships,  self-denial,  the  long  years  of  trial  and  anxiety 
which  attended  the  accumulation  of  the  immense  wealth  he  controls, 
he  entertains  liberal  and  enlightened  views  in  reference  to  its  man 
agement  and  disposition  ;  is  not  unmindful,  as  his  frequent  acts  of 
public  munificence  bear  witness,  of  the  local  interests  and  prosper 
ity  of  his  native  valley  of  the  Genesee.  While  in  many  portions 
of  our  country,  the  evil  attending  the  accumulation  of  great  estates, 
is  much  enhanced  by  the  narrow  and  sordid  views  of  those  into 
whose  hands  they  fall;  in  this,  as  well  as  in  other  instances,  in  cur 
own  prosperous  region,  it  has  been  mitigated.  It  was  something 
more  than  the  mere  possession  of  wealth  —  something  of  the  more 
legitimate  claims  to  popular  esteem  —  that  during  the  last  winter 
created  that  intense  anxiety  in  the  local  public  mind,  when  the 
worst  fears  were  entertained  in  reference  to  the  fate  of  the  packet 
ship,  in  which  the  subject  of  this  incidental  notice,  had  taken  pas 
sage  on  his  return  voyage  from  Europe. 

panying  them  in  their  buffalo  hunts.  He  is  the  author  of  a  book  of  "  Travels  in  North 
America,"  and  of  the  popular  tale  of  fact  and  fiction  —  of  wild  adventure  and  roman 
tic  incidents-—  entitled  the  "  Prairie  Bird ; "  which  the  author  is  informed  by  one  of 
the  trade,  has  reached  a  tenth  edition,  in  this  country.  James  Wadsworth  made  the 
acquaintance  of  the  family  during  his  residence  in  Europe,  and  the  younger  member 
of  it  brought  a  letter  of  introduction  to  him  when  he  came  out  to  this  country  in  1834 ; 
thence  the  acquaintance ;  the  sequel,  after  a  long  delay,  consequent  upon  the  mooted 
question  of  country  and  residence,  has  been  the  transfer  of  one  of  the  daughters  of  the 
Genesee  from  her  native  valley,  to  the  court  and  the  diplomatic  circle  of  one  of  the 
far  off  capitols  of  the  Old  World. 

NOTE.  — James  Wadsworth  in  his  life  time,  founded  a  library  in  Geneseo,  erecting 

a  building  for  the  purpose,  and  for  its  support  deeding  to  its  trustees  two  farms  and 

.   some  village  property.    He  made  it  free  to  every  citizen  of  Livingston  county.    It  has 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  345 

In  the  primitive  division  of  Ontario  into  Districts,  the  second 
district,  Geneseo,  embraced  all  west  of  the  east  line  of  the  present 
towns  of  Pittsford,  Mendon,  Richmond.  The  first  town  meeting 
for  the  "  District  of  Geneseo, "  was  held  at  Canawagus,  April  9, 
1791.  John  Ganson  was  chosen  Sup.  David  Bullen,  T.  C.  Other 
town  officers :  Gad  Wadsworth,  Nathan  Perry,  Amos  Hall,  Israel 
Stone,  Edward  Carney,  Hill  Carney,  Jno.  Ball,  Isaiah  Thompson, 
Benj.  Gardner,  John  Lusk,  Jasper  Marvin,  Norris  Humphrey. 

It  will  be  observed  that  these  officers  were  distributed  throughout 
the  entire  settled  region  west  of  the  line  named  above.  It  used  to  be 
alledged  that  a  little  feeling  of  aristocracy  had  thus  early  crept  into 
the  backwoods,  and  manifested  itself  in  the  choice  of  supervisor  — 
shoes,  moccasins,  and  bare  feet,  were  the  order  of  the  day,  but  "  Capt 
Ganson, "  glorying  in  the  possession  of  a  pair  of  boots,  the  choice 
fell  upon  him. 

The  town  meeting  in  1793,  was  held  at  "Miles  Gore."  Lima  ; 
Amos  Hall  was  elected  Supervisor.  This  year,  most  of  all  the 
early  roads  in  Livingston,  east  part  of  Monroe,  and  west  part  of 
Ontario,  were  laid  out  and  recorded.  Store  and  tavern  licenses 
were  granted  to  Gilbert  R.  Berry,  Wm.  Wadswortli,  Simon  Stone, 
Elijah  Flowers,  Pierce  and  Ransom,  John  Johnson,  Donald  Mc 
Donald,  Elijah  Starr,  Abel  Willey,  Peter  Simms,  Nathaniel 
Fowler,  James  Rogers,  Wm.  Hencher,  Abner  Migells.  Nathaniel 
Perry,  Christopher  Dugan. 

At  that  early  period,  when  stock  of  all  kinds  ran  in  the  woods, 
ear  marks  were  appended.  It  is  presumed  that  nearly  all  of  the  in 
habitants  had  their  peculiar  marks  recorded.  In  many  of  the  old 
town  books,  the  picture  of  a  hog  or  a  sheep's  ear,  is  drawn,  with 
each  man's  mark  delienated  opposite  his  name.  In  1796,  there 
were  upon  the  town  books  of  the  district  of  Geneseo,  the  following 
names  of  those  who  had  chosen  ear  marks,  in  all  the  wide  region 
west  of  East  Bloomfield  to  the  western  boundaries  of  the  State. 
There  is  no  other  form  in  which  so  many  Pioneer  names  are  re 
corded  : — 

now  about  2,300  volumes,  and  a  yearly  income  of  about  $600.  In.  his  will,  he  constitu 
ted  his  immediate  heirs  its  trustees.  Its  management  devolves  upon  James  S.  Wads- 
worth,  under  which  it  is  carrying  out  the  designs  of  its  founder,  and  promises  to  become 
one  of  the  largest  Libraries  in  the  State.  He  gave  $10,000  the  income  of  which  is  to  be 
employed  in  the  education  of  any  indigent  relative.  He- also  gave  $10,000,  the  in 
come  of  which  is  to  be  devoted  to  the  benefit  of  the  common  schools  of  the  State. 
22 


346 


PHELPS  AND    GOEHAM'S   PURCHASE. 


Benjamin  Gardner, 
Perez  Gardner, 
J.  P.  Sears, 
Clark  Peek, 
Jasper  Marvin, 
John  Alger 
John  Gardner, 
John  Minor, 
Solomon  Hovey, 
Amos  Hall, 
Asa  Baker, 
Samuel  Barker, 
Paul  Davison, 
Samuel  Baker,  jr., 
Elijah  Morgan, 
Thomas  Peck, 
Sylvester  Marvin, 
Nathaniel  Fowler, 
Win.  Harris, 
Ebenezer  Merry, 
Jacob  Wright, 
Abraham  "Wright, 
S.  C.  Brockway, 
Elisha  Wade, 
Stephen  Tucker, 
Amariah  Bates, 
Jos.  Wright, 
John  Parks, 
John  Ganson, 
David  Seymour, 
Alexander  Forsyth, 
John  Beach, 
Reuben  Thayer, 
Nathaniel  Mung-er. 


Henry  Redding, 
Joseph  Smith, 
Adna  Heacock, 
Marvin  Gates, 
Daniel  Gates, 
Phineas  Bates, 
Asahel  Burchell, 
Ebenezer  Sprague, 
Simon  Tiftanv, 
Ezra  Burchell, 
Seth  Lewis, 
Alexander  Ewing, 
Gad  Wadsworth, 
Wm,  Markham, 
Ebenezcr  Merry, 
Wm.  Wadsworth, 
Jed.  Cummings, 
Benjamin  Thompson, 
Lorin  Wait, 
Thomas  Lee, 
Richard  Wait, 
Wm.  Moore, 
John  Barnes, 
David  Davis, 
Samuel  Goodrich, 
Gershom  Beact, 
Daniel  Fox, 
Aaron  Lyon, 
William  Lay  ton, 
Hezekiah  Fox, 
Joseph  Baker, 
Zebulon  Moses, 
Asahel  Warner, 


Tim.  Hosmer, 
John  Rhodes, 
David  Bailey, 
Thomas  Migells 
Theo.  Shepherd, 
Ransom  Smith, 
Philip  Simms, 
David  Markham. 
Reuben  Heath,  ' 
Daniel  Wright, 
Jos.  Arthur, 
P.  andJ.  Sheffer, 
Jos.  Morgan, 
Enos  Hart, 
Abel  Wilsey, 
John  Morgan, 
Asa  B.  Simmons, 
David  B.  Morgan, 
Samuel  Bullen, 
Samuel  Stevens, 
George  Gardner, 
Joseph  Norton, 
Jesse  Pangburn, 
Joel  Harvey, 
David  Benton, 
Jeremiah  Olmsted, 
Joshua  Whitney, 
David  Pierson, 
Justus  Minard, 
Jonathan  Gould, 
Abiel  Gardner, 
Ezekiel  Chamberlin, 
Benjamin  Parsons, 


The  location  of  the  Wadsworths  at  Geneseo,  made  that  point  the 
nucleus  of  a  considerable  neighborhood,  though  for  many  years, 
there  was  but  a  small  cluster  of  buildings.  The  business  of  the 
new  settlements  was  divided  between  Geneseo,  "  Old  Leicester," 
and  Williamsburg.  The  Wadsworths  resided  in  their  primitive  log 
house  until  1794,  when  they  built  a  large  block  house  on  the  site  of 
the  old  Wadsworth  mansion.  About  1804,  they  had  erected  the 
upright  part  of  the  present  building,  a  large  square  roofed  house 
that  made  an  imposing  appearance  in  a  region  of  log  houses,  where 
a  framed  house  of  any  size  was  a  rarity.  The  early  clerk  of 
James  Wadsworth,  after  he  had  opened  his  land  office,  was  Samuel 
B.  Walley,  an  Englishman,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Dudley  Marvin ;  he 
was  succeeded  by  Andrew  McNabb,  who  went  into  the  Bath  land 
office  ;  Joseph  W.  Lawrence  was  first  blacksmith  in  Geneseo.  He 
removed  to  Michigan,  where  he  died  in  1845.  Among  the  promi 
nent  early  settlers,  were  :  —  Lemuel  B.  Jennings,  Benjamin  Squire, 
Wm.  Crossett,  Rodman  Clark,  Wm.  Findlay,  David  Findlay.  As 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  347 

early  as  1804,  Mr.  Wadsworth  visited  Marlborough,  Connecticut, 
and  exchanged  lands  for  farms,  thus  inducing  several  families  to 
remove,  who  settled  on  the  road  leading  to  Conesus,  among  whom 
was  David  Kneeland  ;  their  location  was  early  called  "  Marlborough 
Street." 

The  early  merchants  atGeneseo  were  Minor  &  Hall.  In  1805, 
one  of  the  firm,  Hall,  died  at  Oneida  Castle,  on  his  way  to  New 
York  to  purchase  goods. 

The  prominent  early  merchant  of  Geneseo  was  the  late  Major 
Wm.  H.  Spencer.  He  was  from  East  Haddam,  Conn.  Arriving 
upon  the  Genesee  River  in  1803,  with  his  axe  upon  his  shoulder,  he 
was  a  Pioneer  of  "  Fairfield  "  now  Ogden  ;  breaking  into  the  wilder 
ness  on  Rush  creek,  about  a  mile  east  of  Spencer's  Basin,  he  built 
a  cabin,  kept  bachelor's  hall,  bought  provisions  of  Mr.  Shaeffer, 
carrying  most  of  them  in  on  his  back  ;  built  a  saw  mill,  and  in  a  little 
over  a  year  cleared  fifty  acres.  Getting  ready  for  his  saw  mill  irons, 
he  went  to  Connecticut,  and  brought  them  all  the  way  from  there 
with  an  ox-team.  In  1804  he  struck  the  first  blow  in  Riga,  making 
an  opening,  and  erecting  a  house  for  Mr.  Wadsworth,  a  mile  and  a 
half  southeast  of  Churchville. 

In  1805  he  was  induced  by  Mr.  Wadsworth  to  take  an  interest 
with  him  in  a  mercantile  establishment  in  Geneseo.  Starting  with 
a  large  stock  of  goods  for  that  period,  his  business  extended  as  set 
tlement  advanced,  and  there  were  many  early  years  that  his  trade 
embraced  a  wide  region.  His  goods  came  by  the  water  route  from 
Schenectady  to  the  foot  of  Cayuga  Lake,  and  from  thence  on  wheels 
to  Geneseo ;  the  transportation  usually  costing  about  83,00  per  cwt. 
Doing  principally  a  barter  trade,  his  furs,  tobacco,  hemp,  grain,  pork, 
and  maple  sugar,  were  in  the  earliest  years  marketed  at  Baltimore  ; 
by  wagoning  to  Arkport  on  the  Canisteo,  and  from  thence  by  water. 
The  first  produce  shipped  at  Arkport,  was  from  Dansville ;  the  sec 
ond  shipments  were  by  Spencer  &  Co.,  from  Geneseo.  This  was 
the  avenue  to  market  for  all  the  southern  portion  of  Phelps  and  Gor- 
ham's  Purchase,  until  the  Jefferson  embargo ;  then  it  changed  to 
Lake  Ontario,  by  wagon  roads  to  the  mouth  of  Genesee  River, 
until  bateaux  were  introduced  upon  the  river.  These  ran  from  the 
rapids  above  Rochester,  as  high  up  as  Geneseo ;  and  Durham  boats 
used  to  ascend  to  Mount  Morris.  In  the  war  of  1812  Maj.  Spencer 
was  the  aid  of  Gen.  Wadsworth.  Many  years  since  he  retired 


348  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

from  the  mercantile  business  to  his  extensive  farm  of  flats  and  up 
land,  on  the  river  opposite  Geneseo.  He  was  the  owner  of  the 
beautiful  sweep  of  flats,  field  after  field,  along  on  either  side  of  the 
road  from  Geneseo  to  Piffardinia ;  and  had  become  one  of  the  largest 
grazers,  wool  and  wheat  growers  in  the  valley  of  the  Genesee.  He 
died  suddenly,  of  appoplexy,  in  January  of  this  year,  while  engaged 
in  the  active  management  of  the  large  estate  that  had  been  gamed 
by  early  Pioneer  enterprise,  industry  and  perseverance. 

In  1805  Geneseo  had  but  about  a  dozen  dwellings,  there  were 
two  public  houses,  one  kept  by  Faulkner,  and  the  other  by  Bishop  : 
John  Pierce  had  started  the  hatting  business.  Seymour  Welcon 
was  a  tavern  keeper  there  as  early  as  1S09  or  '10.  Dr.  Sill  was  the 
early  physician.  He  died  in  early  years  ;  he  was  the  father  of  Dr. 

Sill,  of  Livonia,  and Sill  of  Wheatland.     He  was  succeeded 

in  practice  by  Dr.  Augustus  Wolcott,  who  emigrated  west  in  early 
years.  Ashbel  Atkins  was  the  early  tanner  and  shoe  maker.  The 
earliest  religious  meetings  were  held  in  a  small  building  called  the 
"town  house,  "  opposite  the  Park,  which  also  answered  the  purpo 
ses  of  a  school-house.  Elder  Joseph  Lindsley  was  the  first  resident 
clergyman.  That  portion  of  Morris  Reserve  and  the  Holland  Pur 
chase  lying  west  of  Geneseo,  commenced  settling  along  in  1805  and 
'6,  and  Geneseo  being  upon  the  main  thoroughfare,  its  trade,  and 
the  business  of  its  public  houses,  derived  a  considerable  impetus 
from  it.  Much  of  the  trade  of  the  new  settlers  was  done  there  and 
the  grain  raised  upon  Wadsworths,  Jones,  and  Mt.  Morris  flats, 
was  their  principal  dependence. 


A  RECLUSE. 


In  1793  or  '4,  DeBoui,  a  Frenchman,  wandered  to  this  region  with  a  single 
companion,  a  negro  slave,  built  a  log  cabin  on  Wadsworth's  flats,  and  lived  the 
life  of  a  recluse.  He  was  a  native  of  Alsace.  While  a  youth,  lie  quarrelled 
with  a  friend,  wounded  him  in  a  duel,  fled  to  St.  Domingo,  where  lie  served 
as  a  private  soldier,  until  his  superior  attainments  recommended  him  for  em 
ployment  in  the  public  service  as  an  engineer.  He  finally  received  the  appoin- 
inent  of  Inspector  General  of  the  Li^n  roads,  and  became  besides,  a  consider 
able  planter.  The  revolution  in  St.  Domingo,  breaking  out,  lie  fled  to  Amer 
ica,  bringing  with  liim  one  faithful  servant,  and  the  remnant  of  his  estate,  a 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  349 

few  bills  on  France.  Col.  Wadsworth,  of  Hartford,  assumed  the  negotiation 
of  his  bills,  advanced  him  money,  and  granted  to  him  the  use  of  a  small  tract 
of  land,  which  he  came  on  and  occupied.  When  the  Duke  Liancourt,  and 
his  French  companions  were  upon  the  river,  in  1795,  they  visited  him  and 
spent  the  night  in  his  hut.  They  found  him  a  confirmed  misanthrope,  but 
pleased  at  the  unexpected  visit  of  his  countrymen  to  his  backwoods  retreat.  A 
highly  cultivated  mind  had  been  soured  by  misfortune  ;  and  he  had  contract 
ed  a  disgust  for  his  race,  seeking  no  other  associates  but  his  faithful  servant, 
who  cooked  his  food,  and  cultivated  a  small  patch  of  ground  for  their  mutual 
sustenance.  Unless  he  is  right  in  assuming  that  he  finally  joined  a  colony  of 
his  countrymen  at  Asylum,  in  Pennsylvania,  the  author  is  unable  to  state 
what  became  of  him. 


HORATIO  AND  JOHN  H.  JONES. 

In  1788,  John  H.  Jones  had  joined  his  brother  Horatio,  in  Gene 
va.  In  the  spring  of  1789,  having  obtained  a  yoke  of  oxen,  the 
two  brothers  went  into  what  is  now  Phelps,  found  an  open  spot, 
ploughed  and  planted  five  or  six  acres  of  corn,  which  they  sold  on 
the  ground.  In  August  of  that  year,  the  Indians  having  promised 
Horatio  a  tract  of  land  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  the  advent  of 
the  two  brothers,  was  as  related  in  page  328. 

With  the  history  of  Horatio  Jones,  the  public  have  already  been 
made  familiar.  In  a  previous  work  of  the  author's  —  the  history 
of  the  Holland  Purchase, —  there  is  a  sketch  of  his  life.  Identified 
as  he  had  become,  with  the  Senecas,  and  sharing  largely  in  their 
esteem  and  confidence,  in  his  settlement  west  of  the  river,  he  had 
relied  upon  their  intention  of  granting  him  his  location,  in  which 
he  was  not  disappointed,  as  will  be  seen  in  connection  with  the 
Morris  treaty.  Receiving  from  President  Washington  the  appoint 
ment  of  Indian  interpreter,  in  early  years,  his  attendance  upon 
treaties,  the  accompanying  of  Indian  delegations  to  the  seat  of  gov 
ernment,  and  various  other  trusts  connected  with  the  Indians,  em 
ployed  most  of  his  time.  When  alive,  there  was  none  of  our  race, 
save  Mary  Jemison,  who  had  been  so  long  a  resident  of  this  region. 
He  was  with  Col.  Broadhead  in  his  expedition  to  the  Allegany,  and 
as  an  Indian  prisoner,  he  resided  at  Nunda,  as  early  as  1781.  The 

NOTE.  —  No  one  whose  lot  was  ever  cast  with  the  Senecas,  was  a  better  judge  of 
their  character ;  and  no  one  has  in  a  greater  degree  contributed  to  our  knowledge  of 
them.  His  brother  gave  to  the  author,  some  observations  of  his,  in  reference  to  their 


350  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

farming  principally  devolved  upon  John  H.  Jones,  and  in  early  years, 
the  brothers  were  large  producers,  especially  of  corn,  for  the  new 
settlers  who  dropped  in  around  and  beyond  them.  At  a  primitive 
period,  when  the  Indians  in  all  that  region,  far  out  numbered  the 
whites  —  at  a  period  too,  when  they  were  unreconciled,  and  unde 
termined,  as  to  their  relations  with  the  whites,  Horatio  Jones  ex 
ercised  a  salutary  influence ;  and  to  him  much  of  the  credit  is  due, 
for  the  success  of  Indian  treaties,  and  the  suppression  of  hostilities. 
The  Indian  captive  boy  became  the  arbitrer  between  his  captors 
and  his  own  race ;  and  by  an  inherent  strength  of  mind  and  energy 
of  character,  which  marked  him  as  no  ordinary  man,  made  early 
misfortune  the  means  ol  conspicuously  identifying  himself  with  the 
early  history  of  all  this  region :  rendering  to  it  essential  service  in 
years  of  weakness ;  becoming  in  fact,  a  founder  of  settlement  and 
civilization  upon  soil  where  he  began  his  career  as  an  alien  and 
captive. 

Among  the  captives  with  whom  he  became  acquainted  while  in 

captivity  himself,  was  the  daughter  of Whitmore,  of  Schenec- 

tady.  She  was  released  with  him  at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix, 
soon  after  which  they  were  married.  She  died  in  1794.  He  died 
1836,  aged  75  years.  The  surviving  sons,  are  :  —  William,  Hiram 
and  Charles,  of  Leicester,  Horatio,  of  Moscow,  Seneca,  a  Califor 
nia  adventurer.  Daughters :  — Mrs.  Lyman  of  Moscow,  Mrs. 
Fitzhugh,  of  Saginaw,  Michigan,  Mrs.  Hewitt  and  Mrs.  B.  F.  Angell, 
of  Geneseo,  Mrs.  Finley,  of  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan.  Two  sons, 
George  and  James,  were  killed  at  the  British  attack  on  Lewiston, 
in  the  war  of  1812. 

John  H.  Jones,  is  now  living  at  the  age  of  80  years,  his  mind 
but  little  impaired,  and  with  the  exception  of  rheumatism,  a  physi 
cal  constitution  but  little  broken.  In  1792,  he  was  engaged 
in  the  Indian  trade  at  the  mouth  of  Genesee  river,  upon  the 
Allegany  river,  and  Cattaraugus  creek.  He  speaks  familiarly 
of  being  at  Buffalo,  when  the  only  white  inhabitant  was  Win- 
warlike  character,  which  it  is  believed  has  never  before  been  published.  He  used  to 
say  that  their  southern  wars  with  their  own  race,  their  success  in  them,  were  often. 
their  themes  in  the  war  dance,  and  iu  their  wigwams.  He  has  often  heard  the  old 
men  relate  that  the  very  name  of  Seneca,  had  a  terror  with  Indians  of  other  nations. 
At  the  south  and  the  west,  and  among  the  nations  of  Canada,  the  Seneca  war-whoop 
would  almost  conquer  of  itself.  He  said  that  even  as  late  as  the  war  of  1812,  the  In 
dians  of  Canada  were  struck  with  terror,  when  they  learned  that  they  must  encounter 
the  Senecas  in  battle. 


PHELPS  AM)  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  351 

ney,  a  Butler  Ranger,  and  the  only  resident  on  all  the  south 
shore  of  Lake  Erie,  west  of  Buffalo,  other  than  Indians,  was  "  Black 
Joe,"  a  fugitive  slave,  at  the  mouth  of  Cattaraugus  creek.  Judge 
Jones  was  a  magistrate  of  Ontario  before  the  division ;  soon  after 
Genesee  was  set  off,  he  became  one  of  its  Judges,  and  from  1812  to 
1822,  was  first  Judge  of  Genesee,  and  after  that  for  several  years$ 
of  Livingston.  He  was  the  first  supervisor  of  Leicester,  and  was 
in  all  early  years,  a  prominent,  active  helper  in  pioneer  movements. 
His  surviving  sons  are,  George  W.,  Horatio,  Thomas  J.,  James  M., 
John  H.,  Lucien  B.,  Hiram,  and  Fayette,  all  residing  in  his  imme 
diate  neighborhood  ;  and  Napoleon  N.,  of  Scottsville.  Daughters  : 
Mrs.  Clute,  of  Cuylerville,  Mrs.  William  Jones,  of  Leicester,  Mrs. 
James  Jones,  of  Cincinnati;!. 

The  three  brothers,  Jellis,  Thomas  and  "William  Clute,  from 
Schenectady,  were  early  settlers  at  Leicester.  Jellis  was  engaged 
in  the  Indian  trade  at  Beardstown.  Thomas  and"  William  settled 
at  Gardeau. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  a  na 
tive  of  Derby,  Conn.  He  emigrated  to  the  Genesee  river  in  1795. 
He  joined  Thomas  Morris  and  others  in  the  purchase  of  10,000 
acres  of  land  in  Groveland  and  Sparta,  at  a  period  of  high  prices, 
paying  and  contracting  to  pay  86  per  acre.  The  price  soon  fell 
below  $2.  He  settled  near  where  Col.  Fitzhugh  afterwards  loca 
ted  ;  erecting  a  framed  house  and  moving  into  it,  it  burned  down, 
with  all  his  household  furniture,  the  family  barely  escaping.  This, 
with  his  unfortunate  investment  in  lands,  embarrassed  him,  and  dis 
couraged  the  spirit  of  enterprise  that  had  brought  him  from  New 
England.  He  was  the  early  minister,  for  several  years  itinerating 
among  the  new  settlements,  until  the  period  of  his  death,  soon  after 
1800.  His  wife  returned  to  Connecticut.  One  of  his  sons,  the 
late  Gen.  William  A.  Mills,  was  destined  to  a  more  fortunate  career. 
Thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  the  age  of  17,  he  rented  flats 
of  the  Indians,  occupying  a  shantee,  where  he  lived  alone  at  Mount 
Morris,  his  nearest  neighbors,  the  Indians.  Renting  his  land  upon 
easy  terms,  and  hiring  the  Indians  and  Squaws  to  assist  him  in 
working  it,  he  was  soon  enabled  to  erect  a  distillery  ;  and  when  the" 
Mount  Morris  tract  was  opened  for  sale,  he  purchased  from  time 
to  time,  until  he  became  possessed  of  eight  hundred  acres,  including 
several  hundred  acres  of  the  fine  flats  opposite  the  present  village 


352  PHELPS  AKD  GOKHAM'S   PUKCHASE. 

of  Mount  Morris.  His  Indian  name,  "  Sa-nem-ge-wa,"  (generous) 
would  indicate  their  esteem  for  him,  and  the  probity  that  governed 
his  early  intercourse  with  them.  He  spoke  their  language  fluent 
ly,  and  from  early  associations,  was  much  attached  to  them.  When, 
after  their  removal,  they  would  occasionlly  revisit  their  old  homes 
upon  the  Genesee,  he  met  them,  and  treated  them  as  old  friends.  * 
To  his  distilling  and  grain  raising  in  early  years,  he  added  grazing 
upon  the  Mount  Morris  and  Gardeau  flats,  and  became  finally  large 
ly  engaged  in  that  business  :  and  successful,  as  many  have  witness 
ed  at  our  early  county  and  State  fairs.  He  was  for  twenty  years, 
the .  Supervisor  of  Mount  Morris ;  a  commissioned  officer  in  the 
early  military  organization  in  his  region,  he  was  upon  the  frontier 
in  the  war  of  1§12,  and  in  later  years,  rose  to  the  rank  of  Brig. 
General.  He  died  in  J844,  aged  67  years.  His  sons  are  :  —  Wil 
liam  A.,  Sidney  H.,  Minard  H.  and  Julius  P.,  of  Mount  Morris, 
and  Dr.  Myron  H.,  of  Rochester.  Daughters  :  —  Mrs.  Levi  Beach 
of  Knox  county,  Ohio,  Mrs.  Dr.  G.  W.  Branch  and  Mrs.  William 
Hamlin,  of  Mount  Morris. 

Alexander  Mills,  another  son  of  the  early  Pioneer,  Rev.  Samuel 
J.  Mills,  located  at  Olean  in  an  early  day,  where  he  was  extensively 
engaged  in  the  lumber  trade ;  now  resides  in  Cleveland.  Major 
Philo  Mills,  another  son,  located  in  Groveland,  emigrated  to  Tecum- 
seh,  Michigan.  Frederick  L.  Mills,  another  son,  located  on  flats ; 
he  died  in  1834;  his  living  descendants  are  : — George,  of  Mount 
Morris,  Philo,  of  Groveland,  Lewis,  of  Allegany,  and  Mrs.  Hunt, 
of  Groveland. 

The  first  saw  mill  west  of  Genesee  river,  (save  one  at  Niagara 
Falls,  erected  by  Stedman,)  was  erected  by  Ebenezer  Allan,  on  the 
outlet  of  the  Silver  Lake.  This  supplied  the  first  boards  had  in  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Genesee.  It  was  built  in  1792,  and  raised  by 
the  help  of  the  Indians,  for  the  want  of  sufficient  white  men  in  the 
country.  In  some  of  the  earliest  years,  Judge  Phelps  had  a  distil 
lery  erected  near  the  present  village  of  Moscow.  In  1800,  Augus 
tus  Porter,  as  the  agent  of  Oliver  Phelps,  laid  out  the  village  of 


*  And  this,  the  author  would  here  remark,  was  not  unlike  the  relation  that  existed 
between  most  of  the  Pioneers  of  the  Genesee  country  and  the  Indians,  where  they 
became  neighbors  in  early  years,  and  something  of  mutual  dependence  existed. 
Even  now,  in  our  cities  and  villages,  the  old  Pioneers  are  pained  often  in  witness- 
Ing  their  degradation,  arid  prompt  to  resist  any  insult  offered  to  them. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECIIASE.  353 

Leicester,  *  on  a  tract  he  had  purchased  of  Jones  and  Smith,  and 
opened  the  direct  road  across  the  flats  to  "  Jones'  Ford  ;"  previous 
to  which,  it  had  gone  via  Beardstown.  He  also  erected  a  saw  mill 
on  Beards'  Creek,  near  the  present  village  of  Moscow.  For  several 
years  after  1800,  the  village  of  Leicester  bore  an  important  relation 
to  the  new  settlements  forming  in  Wyoming,  Allegany,  and  south 
part  of  Erie.  The  early  and  well  known  tavern  keeper,  was 
Leonard  Stimson,  from  Albany,  who  had  been  engaged  in  a 
small  Indian  trade  at  Mount  Morris.  He  opened  the  first  store, 
and  started  the  first  blacksmith  shop.  He  left  Geneseo  soon  after 
the  war  of  1812  ;  his  descendants  reside  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Rochester.  The  first  physician  was  Dr.  Paul  Newcomb.  Colonel 
Jedediah  Horsford,  the  present  M.  C.  from  Livingston,  was  an  early 
tCdcher  of  a  missionary  school  at  Squaky  Hill,  and  an  early  land 
lord  at  Moscow.  Joel  Harvey  was  an  early  tavern  keeper  a  little 
west  of  Old  Leicester. 

The  first,  town  meeting  in  Leicester,  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Joseph  Smith.  John  J.  Jones  was  elected  Supervisor  ;  George  A. 
Wheeler,  Town  Clerk.  Other  town  officers:  —  Samuel  Ewing, 
Alpheus  Harris,  Dennison  Foster,  Abel  Cleavland,  Samuel  Hascall, 
George  Gardner,  Wm.  A.  Mills,  Joel  Harvey,  David  Dickinson, 
James  Dale. 

One  hundred  dollars  was  raised  to  pay  "  bounty  on  wolves  and 
wild  cats,  killed  by  white  people." 

By  a  resolution  of  a  special  town  meeting,  in  1803,  town  of  An 
gelica  was  set  off  from  Leicester. 

The  village  of  Moscow  was  started  just  after  the  close  of  the 
war  of  1812,  under  the  auspices  of  the  late  Samuel  M.  Hopkins, 
who  in  company  with  Benjamin  W.  Rogers,  had  purchased  three 
fourths  of  the  original  Jones  and  Smith's  Indian  grant,  of  Isaac 
Bronson.  Hopkins  built  the  fine  residence  now  owned  by  W.  T. 
Cuyler,  between  Cuylerville  and  Moscow.  The  first  merchant  was 
Nicholas  Ayrault,  late  of  Rochester ;  Wm.  Robb,  William  Lyman, 
and  Sherwood  and  Miller,  were  early  merchants.  The  early  land 
lords  were:  —  Jessee  Wadhams,  Wm.  T.  Jenkins,  Homer  Sher 
wood.  Early  lawyers,  other  than  S.M.Hopkins: — Felix  Tracy, 
John  Baldwin,  George  Miles,  recently  one  the  Judges  of  the  Su- 

*  Name,  from  Oliver  Leicester  Phelps. 


354      PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

preme  Court,  of  Michigan.  Rev.  Mr.  Mason  founded  the  first 
Presbyterian  church.  An  Academy  was  founded  principally  under 
the  auspices  of  Mr.  Hopkins,  in  1817;  the  first  Principal  was  Og- 
den  M.  Willey ;  his  assistants,  the  Miss  Raymonds,  one  of  whom 
became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Calvin  C.  Colton,  the  author  of  the 
life  of  Henry  Clay,  then  a  settled  Presbyterian  minister,  at  Batavia. 
The  early  physicians  were :  —  Asa  R.  Palmer,  J.  W.  Montross, 
Daniel  H.  and  Daniel  P.  Bissell. 

Cuylerville  sprung  up  after  the  completion  of  the  Genesee  Valley 
Canal.  W.  T.  Cuyler,  who  was  an  early  citizen  of  Rochester,  pur 
chased  the  Hopkins  house  and  farm,  of  Richard  Post,  a  son  of  the 
late  Dr.  Post,  of  New  York,  in  1830.  The  village  has  grown  up 
on  or  near  the  site  of  the  old  Indian  village  of  Beardstown,  where  the 
road  from  Perry  and  Warsaw  crosses  the  canal.  Mr.  Cuyler 
started  the  first  fordwarding  and  commission  house ;  the  early  mer 
chants  were  :  —  Odell  and  Evans,  and  Joseph  Wheelock. 

From  Ebenezer  Allan,  the  Mt.  Morris  tract,  of  four  square  miles, 
went  into  the  hands  of  Robert  Morris,  and  afterwards  his  son  Thom 
as  became  a  joint  owner  with  others.  Col.  John  Trumbull,  of 
Revolutionary  memory,  the  celebrated  artist,  was  one  of  the  early 
proprietors.  He  visited  the  country,  and  selected  for  his  residence, 
the  site,  in  the  present  village,  now  occupied  by  George  Hastings, 
Esq.;  planted  an  orchard,  and  made  some  preparations  for  building. 
The  name,  which  had  been  "  Allan's  Hill,"  he  changed  to  "  Rich 
mond  Hill."  Afterwards,  when  he  had  abandoned  the  idea  of 
making  it  his  residence,  the  name  was  changed  to  Mt.  Morris.  The 
early  proprietors  of  the  tract,  other  than  those  named,  were :  — Mr. 
Fitzsimmons,  of  Philadelphia,  Charles  Williamson,  Robert  Troup, 
the  Messrs.  Wads  worths,  John  Murray*  &  Sons,  of  New  York 
(of  which  firm  Wm.  Ogden  was  a  partner,)  Benj.  W.  Rodgers, 
Isaac  Bronson,  Gen.  Mills,  and  Jessee  Stanley,  were  the  prominent 
pioneers  of  settlement.  Deacon  Stanley  was  from  Goshen,  Conn., 
his  residence  was  the  site  now  occupied  by  James  Bond.  He  died 
in  1846,  aged  90  years;  he  was  the  father  of  Oliver  Stan-ley,  of 
Mt.  Morris.  The  village  has  grown  up  principally  on  the  lands  of 
Messrs.  Mills,  Stanley,  and  Mark  Hopkins,  a  brother  of  Samuel  M. 


*  Jolm  II.  Murray,  of  Mt.  Morris,  is  the  grandson  of  John  Murray,  the  early  proprie 
tor  at  Mt.  Morris,  and  owner  of  the  township,  now  Ogden. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.       355 

Hopkins.     Mr.  Hopkins  came  on  as  agent  for  owners,  soon  after  the 
tract  was  opened  for  sale.     He  died  soon  after  1820. 


VALLEY  OF  THE  CANASCRAGA. 

Following  the  tract  of  Mr.  Williamson  when  he  broke  in  from 
Pennsylvania  and  made  a  commencement  at  Williamsburg,  settlers 
soon  began  to  drop  into  the  valley  of  the  Canascraga.  In  Grove- 
land,  other  than  at  Williamsburg,  John  Smith  was  the  Pioneer.  He 
was  from  New  Jersey,  a  surveyor  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Williamson. 
He  purchased  a  mile  square,  upon  which  he  resided  until  his  death 
in  1817.  Benjamin  Parker,  a  step  son  of  John  Smith,  John  Harri 
son,  William  and  Thomas  Lemen,  William  and  Daniel  Kelley, 
James  Roseborough,  wrere  among  the  earliest.  Smith  in  '99,  built  a 
mill  between  Hornellsville  and  Arkport,  and  as  early  as  1800  took 
lumber  from  it  to  the  Baltimore  market.  Michael  Roup  was  an  early 
Pioneer  upon  the  up  lands  in  Groveland,  with  his  son  Christain 
Roup.  He  died  during  the  war  of  1812  ;  Michael  Roup,  of  Grove- 
land  is  his  son.  The  early  minister  that  visited  the  neighborhood  was 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Gray ;  the  first  school  taught  was  by  Robert  M'- 
Kay,  in  one  of  the  houses  that  the  Germans  had  deserted. 

The  early  Pioneers  of  Sparta,  on  the  Canascraga,  between  Mount 
Morris  and  Dansville,  were :  — J.  Duncan,  John  Clark,  Thomas 
Ward,  Wm.  McCartney,  Henry  Driesback,  Benjamin  Wilcox,  Geo. 
Wilkenson,  Rev.  Andrew  Grey,  John  McNair. 

In  Groveland,  other  than  those  named  in  another  connection :  — 
Samuel  Nibleck,  (Nibleck's  Hill,)  William  Martin,  Samuel  Stilwell, 
John  Vance, Doty,  Ewart. 

In  reference  to  all  the  upper  valley  of  the  Canascraga,  Dansville 
was  the  prominent  pioneer  locality,  as  it  is  now  the  focus  of  business 
and  enterprise.  The  Pioneer  in  the  town  of  Sparta,  near  the  present 
village  of  Dansville,  was  Hugh  McCartney,  who  had  accompanied 
Mr.  Williamson  from  Scotland,  and  of  whom,  the  author  has  no  ac 
count  other  than  the  fact  of  his  early  advent.  Upon  the  site  of  the 
village  of  Dansville,  Neil  McCoy,  was  the  first  settler.  He  came 
from  Painted  Post,  and  located  where  his  step-son,  James  McCurdy? 
who  came  in  with  him,  now  resides.  The  family  were  four  days  in 


356  PHELPS   AND    GOEHAMS    PUECHASE. 

making  the  journey  from  Painted  Post,  camping  out  two  nights  on 
the  way.  The  only  tenement  they  found,  was  a  small  hut  built  for 
surveyors,  where  Conrad  Welch  now  resides  on  Ossian  street.  At 
this  time  there  was  no  white  inhabitant  in  what  is  now  the  town  of 
Dansville.  Preparing  logs  for  a  house  14  by  18  feet,  help  to  raise 
it  came  from  Bath,  Geneseo  and  Mount  Morris,  with  Indians  from 
Squaky  Hill  and  Gardeau.  It  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  McCurdy,  in 
some  reminiscences  he  contributed  several  years  since  to  a  local 
history  of  Dansville,*  from  which  the  author  derives  many  facts  to 
add  to  what  he  has  gleaned  from  other  sources,  that  his  mother,  Mrs. 
M'Coy,  the  first  season  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Judge  Hurlburt's  family 
at  Arkport,  on  the  Canisteo,  eleven  miles  distant,  and  as  an  act  of 
backwoods  courtesy,  resolved  upon  making  the  first  call.  Taking 
her  son  (McCurdy)  with  her,  she  made  the  visit  through  the  woods 
by  marked  trees,  dined  with  her  new  neighbors,  and  returned  in 
time  to  do  her  milking,  after  a  walk,  going  and  coming  of  twenty- 
two  miles !  During  the  first  winter  they  needed  no  hay  for  their 
stock,  the  rushes  upon  the  Canascraga  flats  furnishing  a  substitute, 
upon  which  their  cattle  would  thrive.  The  Indians  belonging  in  the 
villages  along  the  Genesee  river,  were  almost  constantly  encamped  on 
the  flats  of  the  Canascraga,  as  high  up  as  Dansville,  principally  engag 
ed  in  hunting,  though  they  cultivated  small  patches  of  ground.  Their 
venison  and  corn  was  a  part  of  the  subsistence  of  the  new  settlers. 

Mr.  McCoy  died  in  1809,  childless;  his  representative,  and  the 
occupant  of  his  primitive  locality,  is  James  M'Curdy  Esq.,  his  step 
son. 

The  venerable  Amariah  Hammond,  for  a  long  period  a  patriarch 
of  the  settlement  and  village  of  Dansville,  after  living  to  see  a  young 
and  flourishing  city  grow  up  in  the  wilderness,  where  he  so  early 
cast  his  lot,  died  in  the  winter  of  '50,  '51.  His  large  farm,  is  im 
mediately  adjoining  the  village,  on  the  main  road  to  Geneseo. 
Daughters  of  his,  became  the  wives  of  L.  Bradner,  Esq.,  and  Dr. 
James  Faulkner,  both  of  whom  are  prominently  identified  with  the 
locality.  L.  C.  Woodruff,  Esq.,  formerly  of  Lockport,  graduating 
in  his  youth  from  a  printing  office,  and  now  the  principal  active 
manager  of  the  Bank  of  Dansville,  a  sound  and  flourishing  institu 
tion,  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Bradner,  the  grand-daughter  of 


'Miniature  of  Dansville/'  by  J.  W.  Clark. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  357 

the  early  and  much  respected  Pioneer.  The  first  wife  of  Mr. 
Hammond  died  in  1798.  "She  had,"  says  Mr.  M'Curdy,  "endear 
ed  herself  to  all  of  us  by  hei  many  virtues.  When  she  died,  all 
wept  who  had  hearts  and  eyes." 

The  author  of  the  small  local  history  already  named,  states  that 
Mr.  Hammond  on  coming  in  to  explore,  slept  two  nights  under  a 
pine  tree  on  the  premises  he  afterwards  purchased.  Early  in  the 
spring  of  1796,  "he  removed  his  young  family  from  Bath  to  this 
place  ;  his  wife  and  infant  child  on  horseback,  his  household  goods 
and  farming  utensils  on  a  sled  drawn  by  four  oxen,  and  a  hired  man 
driving  the  cattle."  Some  difficulty  occurring  in  getting  the  cattle 
through  the  woods,  Mr.  Hammond  after  arriving  at  his  log  cabin, 
went  back  upon  his  track,  and  remained  in  the  woods  all  night, 
leaving  his  young  wife  with  her  infant  child  to  spend  the  first  night 
alone.  Mr.  Hammond  among  other  instances  of  the  embarrass 
ments  of  pioneer  life,  that  he  used  to  relate,  said  that  the  first  scythes 
he  used,  cost  him  a  journey  to  Tioga  Point.  Two  scythes  and  the 
journey  costing  him  eleven  dollars. 

In  relating  to  his  London  principals  the  progress  of  settlement, 
Mr.  Williamson  says :  —  "I  sold  also  on  six  years  credit,  the  west 
half  of  township  No.  6,  Cth  range/'  (this  includes  a  large  portion  of 
the  site  of  Dansville,)  to  a  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  at  $1  50  per  acre.  He 
sold  the  land  to  gentlemen  in  Pennsylvania  for  a  large  profit.  The 
purchasers  were,  a  Mr.  Wilson,  one  of  the  Judges  of  Northumber 
land  co.,  a  Mr.  C.  Hall,  a  counsellor  at  law  in  Pennsylvania,  a  Mr. 
Dunn,  and  a  Mr.  Faulkner.  These  gentlemen  have  carried  on  the 
settlement  with  much  spirit,  and  Mr.  Faulkner  is  at  the  head  of  it. 
They  have  a  neat  town,  a  company  of  militia,  two  saw  mills  and  a 
grist  mill,  and  indeed,  every  convenience.  Mr.  Faulkner,  although 
he  came  from  Pennsylvania,  was  originally  from  the  State  of  New 
York,  north  from  Albany.  This  winter  he  went  down  to  see  his 
father  and  other  connections ;  the  consequence  was,  that  he  moved 


NOTE. — In  "Descriptions  of  the  Genesee country,"  written  by  Mr.  Williamson,  in 
1798,  he  remarks  :  —  "  Of- those  settlements  begun  in  1796,  there  are  two  worthy  of  no 
tice  ,  that  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gray,  in  T.  4,  7th  Range,  who  removed  from  Pennsylvania 
with  a  respectable. part  of  his  former  parish,  and  a  Mr.  Daniel  Faulkner,  with  a  Jersey 
settlement,  on  the  head  of  Cauascraga  creek  ;  both  of  them  exhibit  instances  of  indus 
try  and  enterprise.  The  ensuing  season,  Mr.  Faulkner  being  appointed  captain  of  a 
company  of  grenadiers  to  be  raised  in  his  settlement,  at  the  organization  of  the  militia 
of  Stcuben,  appeared  on  parade  at  the  head  of  27  grenadiers,  all  in  a  handsome  uniform, 
and  well  armed,  and  composed  solely  of  the  young  men  of  liis  settlement." 


358       PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

up  about  fifteen  very  decent  families,  who  passed  through  Albany 
with  excellent  teams,  every  way  well  equipped.  He  sold  to  some 
very  wealthy  and  respectable  men  of  Albany,  5,000  acres  at  a  large 
profit.  "  The  Captain  Faulkner,  who  Mr.  Williamson  names,  was 
Daniel  P.  Faulkner,  an  early  patroon  of  Dansville,  as  will  be  infer 
red.  "  Capt.  Dan.  Faulkner,"  was  his  familiar  backwoods  appella 
tive,  and  thence  the  name  —  Dans-vi\\e."  He  was  the  uncle  of  Dr. 
James  Faulkner. 

Soon  after  settlement  commenced,  Mr.  Williamson  had  erected 
a  grist  and  saw  mill,  on  the  site  afterwards  occupied  by  Col.  Roches 
ter.  David  Scholl,  who  was  Mr.  Williamson's  mill-wright  at  the 
Lyons  mills,  erected  the  mills.  The  early  mill-wright  of  the  Gen- 
esee  country,  emigrated  many  years  since  to  Michigan.  Mrs.  Sol 
omon  and  Mrs.  Isaac  Fentztermacher,  of  Dansville,  are  his  daughters. 
The  mill  was  burned  down  soon  after  1800,  after  which,  before  re 
building,  the  neighborhood  had  to  go  to  Bosley's  mills  at  the  foot  of 
Hemlock  Lake. 

Jacob  Welch  came  from  Pennsylvania  to  Dansville,  in  1798. 
He  died  in  1831.  His  widow  still  survives,  aged  86  years.  His 
sons,  Jacob,  Henry  and  Conrad,  are  residents  of  Dansville.  His 
daughters  became  the  wives  of  John  Beltz,  Peter  Labach,  Will 
iam  Kercher,  and  Valentine  Hamsher.  The  decendants  of  Jacob 
Welch,  residents  of  Dansville  and  its  vicinity,  number  over  one 
hundred  and  thirty.  The  part  of  his  farm  inherited  by  his  son 
Conrad  Welch,  embraces  the  Dansville  canal  slip  and  basin.  Mr. 
Conrad  Welch,  a  prominent  and  worthy  citizen  of  Dansville,  gave 
the  author  some  account  of  the  early  advent  of  his  father,  and 
others  :  —  "  My  grand-father,  Jacob  Martz,  resided  near  Sunbury, 
Northumberland  county,  Pa.  The  advent  of  Charles  Williamson 
through  that  region,  his  road,  and  all  that  was  going  on  under  his 
auspices,  created  a  good  deal  of  interest  for  the  Genesee  country. 
Jacob  Martz  came  out  and  viewed  it,  and  returning,  reported  so 
favorably,  that  an  emigrant  party  was  soon  organized.  It  consisted 
of  Jacob  Martz,  his  son  Conrad  Martz,  George  Shirey,  Frederick 
Barnhart  and  Jacob  Welch,  and  their  families.  The  party  came 
via  Bath,  and  up  the  Conhocton.  From  what  afterwards  became 
Blood's  corners,  the  emigrants  had  their  own  road  to  make  through 
to  Dansville.  A  winding  road  had  been  underbrushed,  but  no, 
streams  bridged,  and  high  winds  had  encumbered  it  with  fallen  trees 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  359 

They  were  three  days  coming  in  from  Bath,  camping  out  two  nights. 
Hearing  of  our  approach,  the  new  settlers  in  Dansville  nearly  all 
turned  out,  met  and  assisted  us.  Prominent  of  the  party  was  Mr. 
Faulkner,  who  was  alway  ready  to  assist  new  settlers  by  such  acts 
of  kindness.  Occupying  an  old  deserter!  hut,  and  quartering  our 
selves  upon  the  settlers  in  their  log  cabins,  we  got  through  the 
winter,  and  in  the  spring  erected  log  cabins  for  ourselves.  When 
we  arrived,  Samuel  Faulkner  had  opened  a  small  framed  tavern, 
near  where  Mr.  Bradner's  store  now  is.  In  addition  to  the  Faulk- 
ners,  Hammond,  and  M'Coy,  there  was  here  when  we  arrived, 
Wm.  Phenix,  James  Logan,  David  Scholl,  John  Vande venter,*  the 
father-in-law  of  Esq.  Hammond,  Jared  Erwin,Wm.  Perrine.  There 
was  three  or  four  families  along  on  the  road  to  Williamsburg." 

"  There  had  been,  where  Dansville  now  is,  a  pretty  large  Indian 
settlement,  fifteen  or  twenty  huts  were  standing  when  white  settle 
ment  commenced,  and  several  Indian  families  lingered  for  several 
years  in  the  neighborhood/' 

"  Game  was  very  abundant ;  the  new  settlers  could  kill  deer 
about  when  they  pleased.  After  yarding  their  sheep,  they  would 
often  have  to  go  out  and  scare  the  wolves  off.  In  cold  winter 
nights,  the  wolves  would  set  up  a  terrific  howl  in  all  the  surround 
ing  forests.  They  attacked  cattle  ;  in  one  instance,  they  killed  a  cow 
of  my  grand-father  Martz.  Steel  traps,  dead  falls  and  pits,  were 
put  in  requisition,  and  soon  thinned  them  out.  There  was  fine  fish 
ing  in  the  streams.  Mill  Creek,  especially,  was  a  fine  trout  stream. 
Pigeons  were  so  abundant,  that  almost  uniformly,  newly  sowed 
fields  had  to  be  watched  almost  constantly." 

*  A  brother  of  Isaac  Yandeventer,  the  early  settler  on  Buffalo  road  west  of  Clarence 
Hollow. 

ISToTE. —  The  author  copies  from  the  manuscripts  of  W.  H.  C.  Hosmer,  Esq.,  the  .fol 
lowing  account  of  an  "  ancient  grave  at  Dansville : "  — 

"  Before  the  Revolution,  according  to  Indian  tradition,  a  battle  took  place  on  a  hill 
a  few  miles  distant  from  the  village  of  Dansville,  between  the  Canisteo  Indians  and 
those  living  on  the  '  Ga-nope-ga-go,'  [Canascraga]  Creek.  A  chief  of  the  latter,  of 
great  renown,  was  slain,  and  buried  with  great  pomp  by  his  tribesmen.  When  the 
whites  first  settled  here,  the  spot  where  he  fell  was  marked  by  a  large  hole  dug  in  the 
shape  of  a  man  prostrate,  with  his  arms  extended.  An  Indian  trail  led  by  the  place, 
and  the  passing  red  man  was  accustomed  to  clear  away  the  dry  leaves  and  brush 
blown  in  by  the  winds.  The  chief  was  interred  in  an  old  burial  place  near  the  present 
site  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  the  village  of  Dansville.  The  ground  was  formerly 
covered  with  graves  to  the  extent  of  two  or  three  acres.  His  monument  consisted  of 
a  large  pile  of  small  stones,  gathered  from  time  to  time  by  the  natives,  from  a  hill,  a 
mile  distant ;  passing,  they  would  add  to  the  heap,  by  tossing  on  it,  after  the  manner 
of  the  ancient  Caledonians,  their  rude  tributes  of  arfectiou." 


360  PHELPS   AND    GORHAM'S   PURCHASE. 

The  primitive  settlers  of  Dansville  were  mostly  Lutherans,  01 
Dutch  Reformed.  The  first  meetings  were  held  from  house  to 
house  ;  Frederick  Barnhart  or  Adam  Miller,  usually  taking  the 
lead.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Markle,  a  Lutheran  preacher  from  Geneva, 
occasionally  visited  the  place,  as  did  Elder  Gray.  The  first  loca 
ted  minister,  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pratt.  The  Rev. Hubbard,  a 

son-in-law  of  Moses  Van  Cam-pen,  was  an  early  settled  minister. 
He  was  the  father  of  John  Hubbard,  of  Oswego. 

Jonathan  Rowley  was  an  early  landlord  in  Dansville  ;  he  erect 
ed  for  a  tavern  the  first  brick  house  in  the  village.  He  died  in 
1830,  childless;  the  only  representative  of  the  family,  residing  in 
Dansville,  is  a  niece  of  Mr.  Rowley,  the  wife  of  Samuel  W. 
Smith. 

William  Perrine,  has  been  before  named  as  one  of-'the  primitive 
class  of  Pioneers,  died  in  1847,  at  the  advanced  age  of  93  years. 
He  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  in  the  Pennsylvania  line.  His 
son,  Peter  Perrine,  occupies  the  farm  on  which  his  father  originally 
settled,  near  the  village.  William  Perrine,  of  South  Dansville,  and 
Robert  Perrine,  of  West  Sparta,  are  also  sons  of  the  early  Pioneer. 
Mrs.  Robert  Thompson,  of  Dansville,  is  a  daughter  of  his, 

Harman  Hartman  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Pennsylvania 
emigrants.  His  descendants  are  numerous,  residing  principally  in 
Dansville  and  its  vicinity. 

Hugh  McCurdy,  Esq.,  in  a  statement  made  for  the  author  of  the 
published  reminiscences  of  Dansville,  already  alluded  to,  says :  — 
"  The  first  tanner  and  currier  was  Israel  Vandeventer ;  the  first  black 
smith,  James  Porter ;  the  first  marriage  was  that  of  Wm.  McCartney 
to  Mary  McCurdy  ;  our  first  school  was  taught  by  Thomas  Mac- 
lain  ;  the  first  established  preacher  and  founder  of  a  church  among 
us,  was  the  Rev.  Andrew  Gray ;  the  first  Justice  of  the  peace  was 
Dr.  James  Faulkner,  (uncle  to  the  present  Dr.  James  Faulkner ;) 
the  first  Supervisor  was  Amariah  Hammond  ;  the  first  death  was 
that  of  Captain  Nathaniel  Porter  ;  the  first  P.  M.  was  Israel  Irwin  ; 
the  first  merchant  goods  were  brought  in  by  Captain  Daniel  P. 
Faulkner  ;  the  next  merchant,  Jared  "Erwin.  He  died  of  the  pre 
vailing  fever  during  the  war  of  1812  ;  his  widow  became  the  wife 
of  Col.  James  M'Burney ;  Mrs.  Gansevoort,  of  Bath,  is  his  daugh 
ter." 

Joshua  Shepherd,  L.  Bradner  and  S.  W.  Smith,  were  early  and 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  361 

prominent  merchants  of  Dansville.  Mr.  Shepherd  died  in  1S29  ; 
Mr.  Bradner  is  the  President  of  the  Bank  of  Dansville  ;  Mr.  Smith 
is  a  son  of  the  early  landlord  on  the  main  road  from  Avon  to  Cale 
donia. 

Pioneer  settlers  of  Dansville,  other  than  those  named  : —  Natha 
niel  Porter,  John  Haas,  Thomas  McWhorter,  Samuel  Shannon, 
James  Harrison,  Daniel  Hamsher,  Mathew  Dorr,  Oliver  Warren, 
a  nephew  of  Dr.  Warren,  of  Revolutionary  memory. 

Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester  became  a  resident  of  Dansviile  in  1810, 
purchasing  a  large  tract  of  land,  which  includes  the  greater  portion 
of  the  water  power  now  within  the  limits  of  the  corporation.  The 
old  Williamson  mills  were  embraced  in  his  purchase.  He  added 
to  the  mills,  a  paper  mill,  ther  pioneer  establishment  in  that  line,  in 
all  western  New  York.  *  In  1815,  Col.  Rochester  sold  his  land, 
mills,  and  water  power,  to  the  Rev.  Christian  Endress  from  the 
borough  of  Easton,  Pa.,  and  Mr.  Jacob  Opp,  from  Northampton  Co., 
Pa.  Mr.  Endress  resided  in  Dansville  but  a  year,  when  he  return 
ed,  and  resumed  the  charge  of  a  German  Lutheran  congregation  in 
Easton.  He  died  in  Lancaster,  Pa.,  in  1827.  His  interest  in 
Dansville  was  purchased  by  Dr.  James  Faulkner.  Judge  Endress 
and  Dr.  Endress,  of  Dansville,  are  his  sons.  Mr.  Opp  died  in 
Dansville,  in  1847,  aged  84  years.  Henry  B.  Opp,  of  Dansville,  is 
his  son. 

North  Dansville,  in  which  is  the  site  of  Dansville  village,  was  in 
the  county  of  Steuben,  until  1822,  when  it  was  attached  to  the 
town  of  Sparta,  Livingston  county.  In  1846,  the  old  town  of 
Sparta  was  divided  into  three  towns  —  of  which  the  town  of 
North  Dansville,  three  miles  square,  was  one.  The  town  of  Dans 
ville,  is  still  in  Steuben  county. 

Although  it  is  one  of  the  pioneer  localities,  of  the  Genesee  coun 
try,  and  commenced  in  an  early  period  to  be  a  place  of  considera 
ble  business,  Dansville  was  but  little  known  in  the  northern  por 
tion  of  western  New  York,  until  after  the  completion  of  the  Gene- 
see  Valley  Canal ;  and  even  now,  away  from  the  main  eastern  and 
western  thoroughfares,  as  it  is,  it  may  well  be  presumed  that  this 
work  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  many  readers,  who  have  neither 

*  The  pure  water  at  Dansville  and  fine  water  power,  has  invited  this  branch  of  manu 
factures  there  to  a  great  extent.     There  were  four  large  paper  mills  there  in  1844, 
manufacturing  over  $100,000  worth  of  paper  per  arintirn. 
23 


362  PIIELPS  AND  GOPJIAM'S  rcniciiASE. 

seen  'the  bustling,  prosperous  large  village,  hid  away  among  the 
southern  hills,  nor  perhaps,  read  any  account  of  it.  For  this  rea 
son,  a  brief  topographical  sketch  will  be  given  —  a  departure  from 
the  uniform  purpose  of  the  author,  in  this  history  of  pioneer  set 
tlement. 

Though  some  sixteen  miles  from  the  Genesee  River,  it  is  in  fact 
at  the  head  of  the  Genesee  Valley.*  Coming  down  through  the  nar- , 
row  gorges  of  Allegany  and  the  southern  portion  of  Livingston,  the 
river  has  but  an  occasional  broad  sweep  of  flats,  until  it  reaches  Mt. 
Morris.  The  flats  of  the  river  are  continuous,  and  mostly  of  uni 
form  width,  from  a  few  miles  above  Rochester,  to  Mount  Morris, 
from  which  point  gradually  narrowing,  they  follow  the  course  of  the 
Canascraga  to  Dansville,  where,  after  widening  out,  and  gradually 
rising  in  beautiful  table  lands,  they  come  to  an  abrupt  termination, 
and  are  hemmed  in  by  hills.  The  ^Canascraga,  Mill  Creek,  and 
Stony  Brook,  coming  down  from  the  highlands,  through  narrow 
gorges,  enter  the  valley  and  unite  mainly  within  the  village  limits. 
The  Canascraga  enters  the  valley  through  a  narrow  pass  called 
"  Pog's  Hole,"  through  which,  climbing  along  a  steep  acclivity,  and 
then  descending  to  a  level  with  the  stream,  passes  the  Hornellsville 
road.  Upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  stream  from  the  road,  through 
the  whole  length  of  the  narrow  pass,  is  a  perpendicular  ledge  of 
rocks,  an  hundred  feet  in  height.  Beyond  this  pass,  the  valley 
widens  out  occasionally,  into  small  areas  of  intervale,  but  ranges  of 
highlands  rise  in  near  proximity  on  either  hand.  The  scenery  is 
wild  and  romantic,  at  every  step  reminding  the  contemplative  ob 
server,  of  the  written  descriptions  of  the  passes  of  the  Alps.  Mill 
creek  making  in  irom  another  direction,  has  a  rapid  descent  for  a  con 
siderable  distance,  before  reaching  the  valley,  furnishing  a  succes 
sion  of  hydraulic  facilities,  as  does  the  Canascraga,  where  it  passes 
from  the  highlands,  and  for  a  considerable  distance  below.  The 
aggregate  durable  water  power  of  both  streams,  before  and  after 
their  union,  is  immense  —  largely  improved  now  —  and  equal  to  any 
present  or  prospective  requirements. 

At  the  head  of  the  valley,  is  a  succession  of  promontories,  over 
looking  the  town,  upon  one  of  which  is  a  rural  cemetery,  not  unlike  the 
Mt.  Hope,  at  the  other  extremity  of  the  Genesee  Valley.  Moulder- 

*  The  term  "  vallev  "  is  here  used  not  in  its  enlarged  sense  — the  term  "  flats  "  would 
perhaps  be  better. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S   PUKCHASE.  363 

ing  in  its  shades,  upon  its  slopes  and  summits,  are  all  that  was  earth 
ly  of  nearly  all  the  Pioneers,  who,  entering  that  beautiful  valley, 
when  it  was  a  wilderness,  laid,  amid  toil,  disease,  and  privations,  the 
foundation  of  that  busy  scene  of  enterprise,  prosperity  and  happi 
ness.  Admonished  may  their  successors  and  inheritors  be,  that 
their  spirits  may  be  lingering  upon  that  summit,  guardians  and 
watchers,  over  those  to  whom  they  bequeathed  so  rich  an  inherit 
ance.  Let  that  elevated  city  of  the  dead,  be  to  them  a  Mount  Sinai 
or  an  Horeb,  from  which  to  catch,  as  if  by  inspiration,  a  moiety  of 
the  stern  resolves,  the  moral  courage,  the  patriotism,  of  the  Pioneers. 

The  main  street  of  the  town  is  parallel  with,  and  at  the  base  of 
an  unbroken  range  of  high  land,  rising  to  the  height  of  nearly  five 
hundred  feet  —  steep,  but  yet  admitting  of  cultivation.  Cultivated 
fields  and  woodlands,  rising  one  above  another,  form  the  back  ground, 
or  rural  landscape  ;  in  the  foreground  are  gentle  offsets,  or  table 
lands,  at  the  termination  of  which,  the  Canascraga  winds  along  the 
base  of  another  similar  hill,  or  mountain  range ;  to  the  left  are  the 
headlands,  that  have  been  named,  and  to  the  right,  the  Canascra 
ga,  winding  along  between  the  two  ranges  of  highlands,  flows  to  min 
gle  its  waters  with  the  Genesee,  at4  Mount  Morris. 

The  Genesee  Valley  Canal,  terminates  a  half  mile  from  main  street, 
where  it  is  fed  from  Mill  creek,  and  a  mile  below,  at  Woodville, 
receives  the  waters  of  the  Canascraga.  The  canal  terminating 
too  far  from  the  central  business  locality  of  the  town,  individual 
enterprise  has  supplied  a  side  cut,  or  slip  which  remedies  the  incon 
venience. 

In  reference  to  the  whole  scenery  of  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Genesee  country,  the  upper  vallies  of  the  Genesee,  the  Canascraga, 
the  Allegany,  the  Cattaraugus,  the  Conhocton,  and  the  Canisteo,  it 
may  here  be  remarked,  that  the  traveller  or  tourist  of  what  Mr. 
Williamson  called  the  "  northern  plains, "  who  breaks  out  for  a 
summer  excursion  to  the  east,  the  north  or  the  west,  may  be  told 
that  a  day's  journey  to  the  south,  will  bring  him  to  a  region  of  hill 
and  valley,  rivers  and  creeks,  mountains  and  rivulets,  cultivated 
fields  and  wild  woodlands,  which  should  satisfy  any  reasonable  desire 
for  the  romantic  and  picturesque.  And  if  health  is  the  object  of 
his  summer  wanderings,  no  where  can  he  breathe  "  freer  and  deeper," 
of  a  pure  and  invigorating  atmosphere  —  or  drink  from  purer  springs 
and  streams,  —  than,  in  all  our  local  southern  region. 


364  PHELPS    AJSD  GOEHAH^S   PUECHASE. 

WILLIAM  FITZHUGH. 


He  was  of  a  family,  the  name  and  services  of  which  are  inti 
mately  blended  with  the  history  of  the  stirring  events  of  the  Rev 
olution  in  the  colony  of  Maryland.  The  father,  Col.  William 
Fitzhugh,  held  the  commission  of  Colonel  in  the  British  army, 
retired  upon  half  pay,  when  the  troubles  between  the  colonies  and 
the  mother  country  commenced.  He  resided  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Patuxent,  where  he,  had  a  large  estate,  a  farm,  mills  and  manufac* 
tories.  Exercising  an  unusual  share  of  influence  with  his  fellow 
citizens,  the  British  colonial  Governor  made  him  the  extraordinary 
offer  of  a  continuance  of  his  rank  and  half  pay,  and  the  quiet 
possession  of  his  property  if  he  would  remain  a  neutral  in  the  con 
test.  Though  an  invalid,  by  reason  of  physical  infirmities,  he  re 
jected  the  overture,  surrendered  his  commission  —  (or  rather  left  it 
upon  the  Governor's  table  when  he  refused  to  receive  it)  —  encour 
aged  his  two  sons  to  take  commissions  in  the  "rebel "  army,  taking 
himself  a  seat  in  the  Executive  council  of  Maryland,  to  assist  in 
devising  ways  and  means  for  his  country's  deliverance.  His  fine 
estate,  easy  of  access  from  its  locality,  was  of  course  doomed  to  pil 
lage  and  the  torch.  In  the  absence  of  the  father  and  sons,  a  small 
British  party  landed,  but  resistance  came  from  an  unexpected  source. 
The  Revolutionary  wife  and  mother,  Mrs.  Fitzhugh,  armed  the  slaves 
upon  the  estate,  and  carrying  herself  cartridges  in  her  apron,  went 
out  to  meet  the  invaders,  and  intimidated  them  to  a  hasty  retreat. 
It  was  however,  but  a  warding  off  of  destiny  for  a  brief  season.  A 
stronger  party  came  and  ruthlessly  executed  their  mission,  the 
family  fleeing  to  an  asylum  fifty  miles  up  the  river  where  it  remain 
ed  until  the  contest  ended.* 

The  son,  Col.  Peregrine  Fitzhugh,  was  first  commissioned  in  a 
corps  of  light  horse,  but  in  a  later  period  of  the  war  was  enrolled  in 
the  military  family  of  Washington.  [Cf3  See  Sodus.  William, 
the  more  immediate  subject  of  this  brief  sketch,  served  as  a  Colonel 
in  a  division  of  cavalry,  and  after  the  war,  was  a  member  of  the 
Maryland  Legislature.  Previous  to  1800  Col.  Peregrine  Fitzhugh 
had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Williamson,  and  had  visited  the 


Principally  from  Mrs.  Ellet's  "Women  of  the  Revolution." 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  365 

Genesee  Country.  When  Col.  William  Fitzhugh  first  visited  the 
country  in  1800  in  company  with  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester,  Major 
Charles  Carroll,  and  several  others,  he  brought  a  letter  of  introduc 
tion  to  Mr.  Williamson  from  his  brother,  for  himself  and  Col.  Roches 
ter  ;  Major  Carroll  as  would  seem  from  the  reading  of  the  letter, 
having  previously  known  him.  During  this  visit,  in  addition  to  a 
third  interest  in  the  "100  acre  Tract"  at  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee,  pur 
chased  in  company  with  Messrs.  Rochester  and  Carroll,  jointly  with 
Mr.  Carroll  he  purchased  on  the  Canascraga,  in  Groveland  and  Spar 
ta,  12,000  acres  of  Mr.  Williamson,  paying  $  209  per  acre.*  Their 
tract  embraced  the  old  site  of  Williamsburg,  Mr.  Williamson  having 
abandoned  his  enterprise  of  forming  a  town  there  after  the  failure 
with  his  German  colony.  Leaving  their  property  in  the  care  of  an 
agent.  Messrs.  Fitzhugh  and  Carroll  did  not  emigrate  with  then 
families  until  1816,  when  a  division  of  the  joint  purchase  was 
made. 

Col.  Fitzhugh  died  in  1839,  aged  78  years;  his  wife,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  Col.  Daniel  Hughes,  of  Washington  county,  Md.,  died  in 
1829,  aged  56  years.  The  surviving  sons  and  daughters  are :  — 
Wm.  H.  Fitzhugh,  residing  upon  the  old  homestead  in  Maryland  ; 
Dr.  D.  H.  Fitzhugh,  residing  upon  the  Canascraga  four  miles  from  Mt. 
Morris;  James  Fitzhugh,  in  Ohio  county,  Ky.;  Richard  P.  Fitzhugh, 
on  the  Canascraga  near  his  brother  Daniel ;  Henry  Fitzhugh,  in 
Oswego ;  Mrs.  Dr.  Frederick  F.  Backus,  of  Rochester ;  Mrs. 
James  G.  Birney,  of  Kentucky  ;  Mrs.  Gerrit  Smith  of  Peterboro  ; 
Mrs.  John  T.  Talman,  of  Rochester ;  Mrs.  Lieut.  J.  W.  Swift, 
of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  residing  at  Geneva.  A  son,  Judge  Samuel 


*  Their  tract  was  principally  up  lands  ;  a  strange  choice  it  was  thought  at  the  time, 
when  they  were  offered  the  Mt.  Morris  tract,  with  its  beautiful  sweeps  of  flats,  at  $3,00 
per  acre.  But  they  had  come  from  a  region  where  timber  was  scarce,  and  they  had 
learned  to  appreciate  its  value  and  with  reference  to  intrinsic  relative  value  of  soil ; 
time,  and  improved  systems  of  cultivation  are  fast  demonstrating  that  their  choice  of 
lands  was  far  less  injudicious  than  it  used  to  be  considered.  The  late  Major  Spencer 
told  the  author  that  the  up  lands  upon  his  fine  farm  were  worth  as  much  per  acre  as  his 
flats. 

NOTE. —  The  Shaker  settlement  at  the  junction  of  the  Kishaqua  creek  with  tha 
Canascraga  a  few  miles  above  Mt.  Morris,  where  the  Genesee  Valley  canal  enters  the 
valley  of  the  Canascraga,  is  a  part  of  the  original  Fitzhugh  and  Can-oil  tract.  The 
society  purchased  of  Dr.  Fitzhugh,  a  few  years  since,  1700  acres,  for  which  they  paid 
$y2,000  ;  and  to  which  they  have  added  several  hundred  acres.  Their  organization  is 
after  the  manner  of  the  societies  at  Niskayuna  and  New  Lebanon  ;  they  are  enterpri 
sing  and  prosperous  ;  themselves  and  their  beautiful  location  one  of  the  many  objects 
?f  interest  in  the  southern  portion  of  our  local  region. 


366      PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Fitzhugh,  residing  at  Mt.  Morris,  died  in  1849  ;  and  a  younger  son, 
Robert,  died  in  Groveland,  in  1836.  There  are  over  80  descend 
ants  of  Col.  Wm.  Fitzhugh. 


CHARLES  CARROLL. 


His  connection  with  Messrs.  Rochester  and  Fitzhugh,  and  his 
advent  to  this  region  with  them  in  1800,  will  have  been  noticed. 
He  had  previously  in  the  year  1798,  with  a  brother,  Daniel  Carroll, 
been  here  upon  a  tour  of  exploration.  They  came  via  the  Susque- 
hannah  route,  with  pack  mules,  made  a  general  survey  of  the  coun 
try,  were  pleased  with  it,  but  made  no  investments  as  will  be  ob 
served,  until  1800.  Their  residence  in  Maryland  was  at  Bellevue, 
near  Hagerstown ;  the  earlier  home  of  the  family  had  been  upon 
the  site  of  the  city  of  Washington ;  the  capital  of  the  United  States, 
now  occupies  a  portion  of  the  estate  of  their  father,  Charles  Carroll, 
who  was  a  cousin  of  "  Charles  Carroll  of  Carrollton." 

The  author  has  little  of  the  history  of  Major  Carroll,  disconnected 
with  that  of  his  associates,  Messrs.  Rochester  and  Fitzhugh.  He 
died  at  his  residence  in  Groveland,  in  1837,  aged  60  years.  His 
living  sons  are :  —  Charles  Carroll,  the  occupant  of  the  homestead, 
recently  the  representative  in  Congress  of  the  Livingston  and  On 
tario  district,  and  a  State  Senator;  Dr.  Daniel  J.  Carrol  of  New 
York ;  William  T.  Carroll,  a  clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Henry  Fitzhugh, 
of  Oswego  ;  Moses  Tabbs,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Dr.  Hardage 
Lane  of  St.  Louis.  The  eldest  son  was  the  private  Secretary  of 
Mr.  Clay,  at  Ghent ;  becoming  soon  after  the  clerk  of  his  father, 
who  held  the  office  of  Receiver  at  Franklin,  Missouri,  he  was  killed 
in  an  affray  which  occurred  in  that  town. 


There  came  to  the  Genesee  country  with  Messrs.  Fitzhugh, 
Rochester  and  Carroll,  or  at  about  the  same  time,  Col.  Jonas  Hog- 
mire,  of  Washington  county,  Md.,  Wm.  Beal,  and  John  Wilson,  of 
Frederick  county.  Col.  Hogmire  purchased  of  Mr.  Wads  worth, 
on  the  river,  in  Avon,  1500  acres  of  land,  upon  which  his  sons  Con- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  367 

rad  and  Samuel  Hogmire  now  reside.  The  father  never  emigrated. 
Messrs.  Beal  and  Wilson  purchased  a  large  tract  on  the  Canascraga, 
in  Sparta. 


AVON". 


Gilbert  R.  Berry,  was  the  first  permanent  settler  in  what  is  no 
Avon.*  He  was  from  Albany.  He  married  the  daughter  of  the 
early  Indian  trader,  Wemple,  who  has  been  named  in  connection 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kirkland.  Engaging  in  the  Indian  trade,  he 
located  first  at  Geneva,  and  in  1789,  removed  to  the  Genesee  river, 
erected  a  log  house  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  near  the  present 
bridge,  opened  a  trade  with  the  Indian  village  of  Canawaugus,  es 
tablished  a  ferry,  and  entertained  the  few  travellers  that  passed 
through  on  the  old  Niagara  trail.  He  died  in  '96  or  '7,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  widow.  The  Holland  Purchase  being  opened  for 
settlement  soon  afterwards,  the  "Widow  Berry's"  tavern  was 
widely  know  in  all  early  years,  west  of  the  river ;  and  besides  fur 
nishing  a  comfortable  resting  place  for  early  Pioneers,  in  her  prim 
itive  tavern,  some  of  the  best  wives  and  mothers  of  the  Genesee 
country,  were  reared  and  fitted  for  the  duties  of  life.  Her  daughters 
became  the  wives  of  Geo.  Hosmer,  Esq.,  of  Avon,  E.  Clark  Hickox, 
the  early  merchant  of  Batavia  and  Buffalo,  John  Mastick,  Esq.,  the 
Pioneer  lawyer  of  Rochester,  and  George  A.  Tiffany,  whose  father 
was  one  of  the  early  printers  of  Canandaigua. 

Capt.  John  Ganson,  was  the  pioneer  settler  following  Mr.  Berry. 
Holding  a  commission  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  he  had  accompanied 

*  This  is  assumed  from  the  best  information  the  author  has  been  able  to  obtain. 
"William  Rice  was  at  Avon  in  the  same  year,  and  must  have  settled  there  soon  after 
Mr.  Berry.  Morgan  and  William  Desha,  were  upon  the  "  Desha  Flats,"  as  early  as 
1789,  claiming  under  an  Indian  grant ;  but  the  title  failing,  they  removed  to  Canada. 
There  Vvrere  there  in  that  year,  besides,  several  heads  of  families,  who  are  supposed  not 
to  have  been  permanent  settlers.  The  son  of  the  "Wm.  Rice  named  above,  was  the 
first  born  upon  the  Phelps  and  Gorham's  Purchase.  He  was  named  "Oliver  Phelps 
Rice."  Judge  Phelps  gave  him  an  100  acres  of  land  in  Livonia,  which  he  occupied 
when  he  became  of  age.  Mrs.  "Rice  was  a  good  specimen  of  the  strong  minded,  ener 
getic  women,  who  were  the  ]  loneer  mothers  of  this  region.  Skilled  as  a  midwife  and 
nurse,  she  went  from  settlement  to  settlement,  and  from  log  cabin  to  log  cabin,  often 
supplying  the  place  of  a  physician.  Her  many  acts  of  kindness  are  gratefully  remem 
bered  by  the  early  Pioneers.  Mrs.  Gould  of  Lima,  and  Mrs.  Rhodes  of  Geneseo,  are 
her  daughters. 


368  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

the  expedition  of  Gen.  Sullivan.  Before  the  treaty  was  concluded, 
in  1788,  he  revisited  the  country,  and  selected  a  fine  tract  of  land 
on  the  river,  about  two  miles  below  Avon.  His  sons  John  and 
James  wintered  in  a  cabin  in  1788,  '9,  upon  the  premises;  and  the 
father  and  family  came  on  in  the  fall  of  1789.  During  the  follow 
ing  winter  they  erected  a  rude  "  tub  mill "  on  the  small  stream  that 
puts  into  the  river  on  the  Markham  farm.  It  was  a  small  log 
building;  no  boards  could  be  had;  the  curb  was  made  of  hewed 
plank  ;  the  spindle  was  made  by  straightening  out  a  section  of  a  cart 
tire ;  the  stones  were  roughly  carved  out  of  native  rock.  There 
was  no  bolt,  the  substitute  being  hand  sieves,  made  of  splints.  It 
was  a  rude,  primitive  concern ;  but  it  would  mash  the  corn  a  little 
better  than  a  wooden  mortar  and  pestle  ;  and  was  quite  an  acquisi 
tion  to  the  country.  It  preceded  the  Allan  mill  a  few  months,  and 
if  we  shall  call  it  a  mill,  it  was  the  first  in  the  Genesee  Valley.  The 
buckwheat  that  has  been  mentioned,  produced  upon  Boughton  Hill, 
was  ground  or  mashed  in  it,  having  been  carried  there  twenty  miles 
through  the  woods,  by  Jared  Boughton,  in  the  fall  of  1789 ;  and  the 
producer,  and  mill  boy  (or  man)  lives  to  eat  buckwheat  cakes,  now  in 
the  winter  of  1850,  '51.  Borrowing  the  language  of  Shakspeare,  and 
applying  it  to  this  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  that  early  period,  may 

"  Good  digestion  wait  on  appetite, 
And  health  on  both." 

Capt.  Ganson'had  claimed  title  either  under  the  Indian  grant,  or 
under  the  Lessees,  which  failed,  and  Col.  Wm.  Markham  became 
his  successor.  He  resided  for  several^  years  afterwards,  four  miles 
east  of  Avon,  on  the  main  road.  As  early  as  1788,  about  the  period 
of  the  commencement  of  surveys  upon  the  Holland  Purchase,  Capt. 
Ganson,  had  pushed  on  to  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  purchased 
the  pioneer  tavern  stand  of  Charles  Wilbur,  on  the  then  verge  of 
civilization,  one  mile  east  of  the  present  village  of  Le  Roy.  In  this 
location  he  was  widely  known  in  early  years.  His  house  was  the 
home  of  early  land  agents,  surveyors,  explorers  and  pioneer  settlers. 
He  was  both  loved  and  feared  by  the  Indians ;  they  came  to  him 
for  counsel  and  advice ;  and  when  they  became  turbulent  in  their 
drunken  frolics  and  threatened  outrage,  he  would  quell  them  by  his 
determined  will,  or  with  his  strong  arm.  He  was  even  ultra  in  his 
Revolutionary  principles.  When  he  came  upon  the  river,  he  and 
the  Butler  Rangers  —  the  tories  of  the  Revolution,  were  far  from 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  369 

being  agreeable  neighbors ;  he  was  impatient  to  see  the  last  of  them 
on  their  way  to  Canada. 

Township  10,  R.  7,  (Avon,)  was  sold  by  Mr.  Phelps  to  "  Wads- 
worth,  Lewis  &  Co."  Those  interested  in  the  purchase,  were  :  — 
William  Wadsworth,  of  Farmington,  Conn.,  (a  cousin  of  James 

and  William,) Wells  of  Hartford,  Isaiah  Thompson,  Timothy 

Hosmer,  and Lewis.  The  price  paid  was  Is  6d,  N.  E.  cur 
rency  per  acre ;  "  a  high  price  at  the  period,  in  consequence  of  the 
large  amount  of  open  flats."  Dr.  Hosmer,  and  Thompson,  were  the 
only  ones  of  the  proprietors  who  became  residents.  Major  Thomp 
son,  who  had  not  brought  his  family,  died  the  first  season,  of  billious 
fever.  His  son  Charles  afterwards  became  a  resident,  and  died  in 
Avon,  many  years  since.  Mrs.  Tompkins,  of  Batavia  is  a  grand 
daughter  of  Major  Thompson. 

Dr.  Timothy  Hosmer  was  a  native  of  West  Hartford,  Conn. 
With  a  little  more  than  an  ordinary  academical  education,  he  be 
came  a  student  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Dickinson,  of  Middleton. 
But  recently  settled  in  practice  in  Farmington,  at  the  breaking  out 
of  the  Revolution,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  colonies,  as  a  sur 
geon,  in  the  Connecticut  line.  Serving  in  that  capacity  through 
the  eventful  crisis,  he  retired,  happy  in  the  recollection  of  its  glori 
ous  result,  but  like  most  of  those  who  had  achieved  it,  poor  and 
pennyless,  a  growing  family  dependent  on  his  professional  services 
for  support.  In  the  army  he  had  acquired  a  high  reputation  in  his 
profession ;  especially  for  his  successful  treatment  .of  the  small  pox, 
at  Danbury,  where  an  army  hospital  had  been  established  for  patients. 
The  discovery  of  Jenner,  having  been  but  recently  promulgated  in 
Europe,  its  efficacy  was  a  mooted  question ;  with  a  professional 
boldness  which  was  characteristic  of  the  man,  he  espoused  the  new 
discovery,  and  used  it  with  great  success.  His  mate,  in  the  army, 
was  Dr.  Eustis,  afterwards  Secretary  of  War. 

Personally  acquainted  with  Mr.  Phelps,  and  hearing  of  his   pur 
chase  in  the  Genesee  country,  partly  from  a  love  of  adventure  and 


NOTE.  —  James  and  John  Ganson  the  sons,  were  early  landlords  at  Le  Roy  and 
Stafford.  Mrs.  Warren  residing  near  Lockport,  is  a  daughter.  James  Garison  is  still 
living,  a  resident  of  Jackson,  Michigan;  his  sons,  are  John  S.  Ganson,  of  Buffalo, 
President  of  the  Bank  of  Attica ;  Joseph  Ganson,  a  merchant  of  "Brockport,  Hiram, 
Cornelius  and  Cornell,  residents  of  Michigan,  and  another  son  resides  in  Milwaukee. 
The  sons  of  John  Ganson,  are  Dr.  Holt  on  Ganson  of  Batavia ;  John  Ganson,  an  Attor 
ney  in  Buffalo ;  and  James  Gansoii,  Cashier  of  the  Marine  Bank  of  Buffalo. 


370  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

new  enterprise,  and  partly  to  escape  from  a  large  practice  that  was 
requiring  too  much  of  constant  toil,  in  1790,  he  visited  this  region 
in  company  with  Major  Thompson,  with  whom,  for  themselves  and 
associates,  he  made  the  purchase  of  a  township.  Spending  the 
summer  of  '90  in  Avon;  in  '91  he  brought  on  his  two  sons,  Fred 
erick  and  Sydney ;  erecting  a  log  house,  the  first  dwelling  on  the 
present  site  of  Avon,  where  Mr.  Merrill's  house  now  stands.  His 
whole  family  joined  him  in  1792.  Coming  into  the  wilderness,  with 
other  objects  in  view,  he  was  forced  by  necessity  —  by  the  absence 
of  others  of  his  profession,  to  engage  in  practice,  which  he  contin 
ued  until  relieved  by  others-  Among  the  old  pioneers  who  in  those 
primitive  days,  were  in  detached  settlements  throughout  a  wide 
range,  you  will  hear  him  spoken  of;  and  especially  do  they  remem 
ber  his  disregard  of  fatigue,  his  long,  night,  wood's  rides,  prompted 
more  by  a  spirit  of  benevolence  than  professional  gain ;  his  good 
humor,  and  the  kind  wrords  he  always  had  to  cheer  the  desponding 
settler,  who  was  wrestling  with  disease,  or  the  hardships  of  pioneer 
life.  The  Indians  early  learned  to  appreciate  his  professional  skill, 
and  personal  good  offices.  They  named  him  "  At-tta-gus,"  the  healer 
of  disease.  In  a  period  of  doubt  as  to  their  relations  with  the  new 
settlers,  he  helped  to  reconcile  them  and  averl.  a  threatened  danger. 

When  Ontario  was  organized  he  became  one  of  its  Judges,  and 
succeeded  Mr.  Phelps  as  first  Judge,  which  office  he  held  until  he 
was  sixty  years  of  age,  the  constitutional  limitation.  He  possessed 
naturally  a  fine  literary  taste  ;  and  'his  well  selected  library  was  an 
anomaly  in  the  backwoods.  In  his  correspondence  with  Messrs. 
Wadsworth  and  Williamson,  which  the  author  has  perused,  there  are 
indications  of  the  scholar,  the  poet,*  and  always,  of  ardent,  enlight 
ened  patriotism. 

He  died  in  November,  1815,  aged  70  years.     His  surviving  sons, 

*  His  early  poetic  effusions  may  be  found  in  the  files  of  the  old  Connecticut  Courant. 
In  a  letter  to  James  Wadsworth,  intended  to  reach  him  on  the  eve  of  his  departure 
from  New  York  to  Europe,  after  wishing  him  "a  happv  and  prosperous  voyage,"  he 
congratulates  him  on  the  "pleasing  prospect,"  then  "opening  to  the  cause  of  freedom;" 
and  adds  :  — "  May  the  resplendent  day  of  Liberty  pervade  the  universe,  and  radiate 
every  region  where  man  is  found.  It  has  ever  been  my  opinion  that  the  spark  of 
freedom,  which  was  kindled  in  Boston,  in  1775,  and  spread  with  great  rapidity 
throughout  the  United  States,  would  not  be  circumscribed  in  its  limits  to  the  shores  of 
the  Atlantic.  The  men  of  reflection,  in  Europe,  find  that  the  extensive  territory  of 
the  United  States,  can  be  governed  with  the  greatest  facility,  and  with  a  degree  of  hap 
piness,  unknown  to  eastern  countries,  without  the  pompous  nothing,  called  a  King, 
the  dissipated  pageantry  of  a  licentious  court,  or  the  enormity  of  a  civil  list  computed 
by  millions  ;  and  it  is  therefore  not  a  matter  of  surprise,  to  see  France,  whose  armies 


PHELPS  AOT)  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

most  of  whom  came  to  the  country  as  junior  pioneers,  are  William 
T.,  of  Meadville,  Pa.;  George,  of  Avon,  who  in  early  years  occu 
pied  a  conspicuous  position  at  the  bar  of  W.  N.  York,  the  father 
of  Wm.  H.  C.  Hosmer,  the  author  of  "  Yonnondio,"  "  Themes  of 
Song,"  and  other  poems ;  who  is  justly  entitled  to  the  position  that 
has  been  awarded  him  in  the  front  rank  of  American  scholars  and 
poets.  Geo.  Hosmer  pursued  his  early  studies  under  the  tuition  of 
the  Rev.  Ebenezer  Johnson  of  Lima ;  in  1799  entered  the  law 
office  of  the  Hon.  Nathaniel  W.  Ho  well,  as  a  student ;  and  in  1802 
was  admitted  to  practice,  opening  his  office  in  Avon,  then  the  only 
lawyer  west  of  Canandaigua.  In  the  war  of  1812  he  was  upon  the 
frontier  as  the  aid  of  Gen.  Hall.  He  is  now  G9  years  of  age. 
Timothy,  the  early  and  widely  known  landlord  at  Avon,  resides  at 
the  Four  Mile  creek,  near  Fort  Niagara ;  Sylvester,  in  Caledonia ; 
Albert  in  Hartland,  Niagara  co.  An  only  daughter  of  Judge  Hos 
mer  is  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Flavel  F.  Bliss,  of  Churchville.  Fred 
erick  Hosmer,  deceased,  was  a  son  of  Judge  Hosmer ;  he  was  the 
first  merchant  at  Avon  ;  another  son,  A.  Sydney  Hosmer,  was  long 
known  as  a  tavern  keeper  at  Le  Roy ;  he  emigrated  to  Wisconsin, 
where  he  died  in  1835. 

Colonel  William  Markham,  who  had  first  settled  at  Bloomfield, 
moved  to  Avon  in  1790.  In  Bloomfield  he  had  purchased  an  hundred 
acres  of  land,  and  paid  for  it  with  the  proceeds  of  one  acre  of  po 
tatoes.  With  the  proceeds  of  that  land,  he  purchased  and  paid  for 
the  fine  farm  on  the  river,  now  owned  by  his  son,  Guy  Markham, 
which  has  rented  for  81,000  per  year.  He  became  a  useful,  public 
spirited  citizen,  and  his  name  is  mingled  with  the  reminiscences  of  the 
town,  in  all  early  years.  He  died  in  1827,  or '8.  His  surviving  sons 
are  :  Guy  and  Ira,  of  Rush,  Wayne,  on  Ridge  Road,  near  Clarkson, 
Vine,  in  Michigan.  Daughters  :  —  Mrs.  Whitney,  Michigan ;  Mrs. 
Boughton  and  Mrs.  Dr.  Socrates  Smith,  of  Rush. 

Gad  Wadsworth  was  a  distant  connexion  of  James  and  William, 
and  came  in  with  them,  in  their  primitive  advent  in  1790,  in  care, 
personally,  pf  the  stock.  James  and  William  having  become,  by 
purchase  from  first  hands,  land  proprietors  in  Avon,  he  settled 


have  fought  the  battle  of  Independence,  in  America,  victorious  over  the  minions  of  des 
pots.  And  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  privilege  of  a  prediction,  I  shall  have  but  little 
hesitation  in  pronouncing,  that  the  extirpation  of  tyrants  and  tyranny  from  Europe, 
is  but  a  small  remove  from  the  present  era." 


372  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

there  in  1792,  his  farm  being  what  are  now  the  farms  of  his  son, 
Henry  Wadsworth,  and  Asa  Nowlen,  upon  which  are  the  Avon 
springs.  He  died  soon  after  1820,  nearly  80  years  old.  Another 
so-n  of  his,  Richard,  inhabited  that  part  of  the  farm  upon  which  the 
springs  are  sitftated,  and  sold  to  Mr,  Nowlen.  He  emigrated  to 
Sandusky. 

Major  Isaac  Smith  was  the  early  and  widely  known  landlord,  four 
miles  west  of  the  river,  commencing  there  as  early  as  1800.  Un 
der  his  roof,  a  large  proportion  of  the  Pioneers  west  of  the  river, 
have  found  rest  and  refreshment ;  and  from  under  it,  it  may  also  be 
added,  have  come  not  less  than  half  a  dozen  excellent  wives  and 
mothers.  They  were  :  —  Mrs.  Isaac  Sutherland,  and  Mrs.  E.  Kim- 
berly,  of  Batavia,  Mrs.  John  M'Kay,  of  Caledonia,  Mrs.  A.  Sidney 
Hosmer,  formerly  of  Le  Roy,  Mrs.  Faulkner,  of  Dansville,  and 
Mrs.  Sylvester  Hosmer,  of  Caledonia.  S.  W.  Smith,  of  Dansville, 
and  Nelson  Smith,  of  Michigan,  are  sons  of  the  early  landlord. 

The  next  landlord  at  Avon,  after  Gilbert  R.  Berry,  was  Nathan 
Perry.  He  built  a  framed  house,  north  side  of  square,  on  the  site 
now  occupied  by  the  dwelling  of  Mr.  Curtis  Hawley.  Perry  emi 
grated  to  the  Connecticut  Reserve,  and  was  succeeded  by  Sydney 
Hosmer,  who  made  additions  to  the  house.  In  1806  James  Wads- 
worth  built  the  hotel  on  the  corner,  and  soon  after  sold  it  to  Sidney 
and  W.  T.  Hosmer,  after  which  it  was  long  known  as  the  Hos 
mer  Stand.*  During  the  war,  and  for  many  years  after,  it  was 
kept  by  Timothy  Hosmer.  The  old  landlord  and  landlady  are  still 
alive,  the  owners  and  occupants  of  one  of  the  finest  farms,  in  that 
region  of  fine  farms,  Niagara  county.  The  first  school  house  was 
a  log  one,  erected  a  little  north  of  the  Episcopal  church.  Judge 
Hosmer  and  the  Wadsworths,  built  saw-mills  on  the  Conesus,  as 
early  as  1796.  The  first  meetings  were  held  in  the  log  shool  house. 
Judge  Hosmer  usually  reading  the  Episcopal  service.  Mr.  Crane, 
an  Episcopal  clergyman,  and  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills,  were  early 
itinerant  ministers. 

Jehiel  Kelsey  yet  survives,  of  the  early  Pioneers  of  Avon.  He 
has  reached  his  80th  year.  The  old  gentleman  speaks  familiarly  of 
early  events,  of  the  period  when  not  over  twenty  or  twenty-five 

*  Previous  to  the  sale,  however,  David  Findlay  and  Joshua  Lovejoy  were  occupants. 
Lovejoy  removed  to  Buffalo.  $%g~  See  account  of  the  massacre  of  Mrs.  Lovejoy,  at 
the  destruction  of  Buffalo,  in  History  of  Holland  Purchase. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUKOHASE.  373 

men  could  be  raised  in  all  the  Genesee  valley,  to  put  a  log  bridge 
over  Deep  Hollow,  in  the  now  city  of  Rochester.  In  1798  he 
brought  the  first  cargo  of  salt  that  came  from  Onondaga,  by  water, 
and  around  the  Portage,  at  Genesee  Falls.  He  paid  for  each  bushel 
of  salt,  a  pound  of  pork,  and  sold  his  salt  at  $10  per  barrel.  He 
well  remembers  seeing  companies  of  surveyors  fittirig  out,  and  load 
ing  their  pack  horses  at  Avon,  to  break  into  the  Holland  Purchase. 

In  1805,  a  Library  was  established  at  Avon.  The  trustees  were  : 
A.  Sidney  Hosmer,  Job  Pierce,  Joshua  Lovejoy,  Jehiel  Kelsey, 
Elkanah  Whitney,  James  Lawrence,  Wm.  Markharn,  George  Hos 
mer,  Stephen  Rodgers. 

In  1810,  "  a  number  of  persons  being  stated  hearers  of  Rev.  John 
F.  Bliss,  of  Avon,"  met  and  organized  "  Avon  Religious  Society." 
Samuel  Bliss  and  Asa  Clark  presided.  Trustees  : —  John  Pierson, 
George  Hosmer,  Nathaniel  Bancroft,  John  Brown,  Ezekiel  Mosely, 
William  Markham. 


AVON  SPRINGS. 


The  rapidly  increasing  celebrity  of  Avon  Springs,  as  a  summer  resort  for 
invalids,  pleasure  parties,  and  tourists  ;  invited  as  well  by  the  healing  water?, 
as  by  charming  scenery,  the  broad,  cultivated  fields,  and  beautiful  forests,  that 
surround  them,  will  perhaps  render  some  early  reminiscences  of  them  not  un 
interesting  :  —  They  were  known  to  the  Jesuit  Missionaries,  and  Joncaire,  un 
der  French  dominion,  and  they  recognized  their  use  by  the  Indians,  for  medi 
cinal  or  healing  purposes.  The  Seneca  name  for  them  was  "  Can-a-wau-gus," 
(feet id,  bad  smelling  water,)  and  thence  the  name  of  their  village,  in  the  im 
mediate  neighborhood.  When  settlement  commenced,  sixty  years  since,  they 
were  surrounded  by  a  dense  cedar  marsh.  The  waters  of  the  springs  flowed 
into  a  basin  or  pond,  covering  a  space  of  several  acres,  the  margin  of  which, 
was  pure  white  sand,  thrown  up  by  the  action  of  the  water.  The  waters  were 
clear  and  transparent,  and  shaded  by  the  dark  forest,  the  spot  had  a  secluded 
and  romantic  aspect.  It  was  first  noticed  as  a  resort  of  the  wild  pigeon. 
Indian  paths  were  found  leading  to  the  spot,  from  the  old  Niagara  trail,  and 
from  tli e  branch  trails;  and  the  Indians  told  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  efficacy 
of  the  waters  in  cutaneous  diseases.  At  an  early  period  in  the  settlement  of 
the  country,  as  many  will  remember,  the  measles,  (as  it  was  called*)  was 

*  If  tlie  medical  faculty  will  excuse  a  non-professor  for  the  introduction  of  a  new 
name,  in  their  vocabulary,  it  was  the  "  Genesee  itch,"  to  which  men  as  well  as  animals 
were  subject  in  this  region,  when  first  coming  here  —  endemical  in  its  character  —  or 
rather  incidental  to  forest  life  here.  The  Jesuit  missionaries  were  afflicted  with  it. 


374       PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

prevalent  among  the  hogs.  It  was  observed,  that  when  thus  afflicted,  they 
would  go  and  wallow  in  the  mud  and  sulphur  water,  penetrating  the  forest  appa 
rently  for  that  object.  In  early  years,  Miss  Wemple,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Berry, 
upon  the  recommendation  of  Dr.  Hosmer,  bathed  in  and  drank  the  waters,  and 
was  relieved;  and  other  similar  cases  occurred.  Soon  after  the  war  of  1812, 
visitors  from  abroad  began  to  resort  to  the  Springs,  and  Richard  Wadsworth, 
at  the  suggestion,  and  with  the  aid  of  George  Hosmer,  Esq.,  erected  a  small 
bathing  establishment,  and  shower  bath.  After  the  purchase  of  the  property 
by  Mr.  Nowlen,  and  the  erection  of  a  boarding  house  by  Mr.  Houghton,  a 
new  impetus  was  given  to  improvements ;  visitors  began  to  increase,  from  year 
to  year,  improvements  have  been  progressive ;  until  sick  or  well,,  there  is  no  spot 
more  inviting  in  western  New  York.  But  a  pioneer  history  was  only  intended. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  GEORGE  HOSMER. 


Mr.  Hosmer  confirms  the  position,  that  the  domestic  hog  will  go  back  tc 
his  native  state,  soon  after  he  has  re-entered  a  forest  life.  In  early  years  of 
settlement,  there  were  droves  of  hogs,  generally  roaming  over  the  uplands 
along  the  Genesee  river,  the  immediate  progenitors  of  which. had  been  thos< 
domesticated  by  the  Indians,  and  those  brought  here  by  Butler's  Rangers 
They  were  wild,  as  are  those  now  seen  by  California  adventurers  in  crossing 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama.  They  were  untameable,  and  when  wanted  fo 
pork,  or  when  ravaging  badly  fenced  fields,  were  hunted  and  shot  like  othe: 
wild  game. 

In  1795,  Frederick  Hosmer,  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Williamson,  went  t< 
reside  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Erecting  a  log  shantee,  he  kept  a  fev 
goods  to  barter  with  the  Indians  for  furs,  and  trade  with  the  batteaumen  tha 
used  to  make  that  a  stopping  place.  George  Hosmer  was  frequently  witl 
him.  British  deserters  from  Niagara  would  frequently  come  down  the  Lake 
Upon  one  occasion,  some  deserters  were  followed  by  a  young  Lieutenant  am 
a  guard  of  8  men  in  a  boat.  Arriving  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  hear 
ing  nothing  of  the  refugees,  the  Lieutenant  hunted  and  fished;  lending  hi 
fowling  piece  to  two  of  his  soldiers  who  were  going  up  to  the  Falls,  the; 
too  deserted.  The  Lieutenant  pursued  them  to  Orange  Stone's,  in  Brighton 
where  he  heard  of  them,  but  they  were  fleeing  to  some  new  settlement  in  th 
"  land  of  liberty,"  so  rapidly,  that  he  gave  up  the  chase,  and  returned  to  For 
Niagara,  minus  two  of  his  guard,  added  to  the  deserters.  The  imfortunat 
Lieutenant  was  the  afterwards  Lord  Hill  of  the  Peninsular  war,  the  hero  a 
the  storming  of  Badajos. 

Desertion  from  the  then  British  Fort,  Niagara,  was  frequent  as  soon  as  th 
soldiers  knew  that  there  were  new  settlements  in  this  quarter —  places  of  re 
fuge ;  —  Indians  were  hired  by  the  British  officers  to  pursue  them,  and  failinj 
to  arrest,  to  shoot  them.  White  hunters,  and  citizens  visiting  the  Fort 

The  French  soldiers  of  De  Nonville's  army,  were  attacked  with  the  "  rheum."  Th 
families  of  early  settlers  in  some  localities,  before  the  forest  was  cleared  away  wouL 
be  attacked  with  a  cutaneous  disease,  more  inveterate,  and  otherwise  materially  differ 
mg  from  the  common  "  itch.' ' 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  375 

and  intending  to  pass  through  the  wilderness  to  the  eastward,  were  furnished 
with  a  medal,  or  a  token,  to  show  the  Indians  thus  employed,  to  prevent  ar 
rest  "  Tuscarora,"  or  "  Stiff-armed  George,"  was  thus  employed,  and  he 
was  one  of  the  worst  specimens  of  his  race;  a  terror  wherever  he  was  known. 
He  shot  and  scalped  several  deserters,  carrying  his  trophies  to  Foil  Niagara 
for  reward.  Upon  one  occasion,  when  George  Hosmer  was  left  to  take  care 
of  the  shantee  in  the  absence  of  his  brother  Frederick,  George  demanded 
rum,  which  being  refused,  the  Indian  pushed  him  back  against  a  post,  and 
striking  at  his  head  with  his  tomahawk,  the  blow  was  averted,  making  an 
impression  upon  the  post  which  evidenced  the  intention  of  the  revengeful 
savage.  Mr.  Hencher  and  his  hired  man  came  to  the  rescue.  * 

Ebenezer  Allan  was  rather  imposing  in  his  appearance,  usually  mild  and 
gentlemanly,  but  he  had  a  bold  and  determined  look ;  could  easily  put  on  the 
savage  character.  He  had  acquired  a  distaste  for  civilized  life.  Mrs.  Dugan, 
his  sister,  was  mild  and  amiable  —  somewhat  accomplished. 

The  "  On-ta-gua,"  or  Horse  Shoe  Pond,  a  mile  and  a  half  below  Avon 
village,  abounded  in  line  fish,  especially  large  black  bass,  in  an  early  day ; 
and  it  was  also  the  favorite  resort  of  ducks,  geese,  and  other  wild  water  fowl. 
Speckled  trout  were  plenty  in  the  river,  and  in  all  the  tributary  streams. 
There  was  no  pickerel,  or  pike,  above  the  Genesee  Falls,  until  1810,  when 
William  Wadsworth,  and  some  others,  caught  pickerel  in  Lake  Ontario,  and 
other  Lake  fish,  and  put  them  into  Conesus  Lake;  and  pickerel  abound  there 
now ;  have  been  taken  weighing  20  Ibs.  As  the  pickerel  came  down  from 
the  Lake  into  the  Genesee  river,  the  trout  disappeared. 

The  most  troublesome  wild  animals  in  early  days,  other  than  bears  and 
wolves,  were  the  foxes  ancl  wild  cats  preying  upon  the  fowls,  pigeons  preying 
upon  the  newly  sowed  crops,  chipmucks,  ravens,  hawks,  owls,  wood  chucks, 
and  black  squirrels.  There  were  a  few  turkey  buzzards  upon  the  river,  and 
a  few  turkeys  upon  the  uplands;  several  panthers  were  killed.  The  crow, 
the  grey  squirrel,  the  quail,  came  in  with  civilization.  New  species  of  birds 
have  been  coming  in  almost  yearly.  The  opossum  is  a  new  comer. 


LIMA. 


Paul  Davison,  in  the  summer  of  1788,f  about  the  period  that  Mr. 
Phelps  was  negotiating  his  Indian  purchase,  in  company  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Jonathan  Gould,  came  from  the  valley  of  the  Sus- 
quehannah,  to  look  out  a  new  home  in  the  Genesee  country.  Passing 


*  He  finally  met  his  deserts.     Enlisting  as  an  ally  of  the  western  Indians  against 
Wayne,  lie  was  among  the  killed. 

t  If  the  author's  informant  is  correct  in  the  year,  this  was  the  first  advent  of  an 
household  west  of  the  Adam's  settlement,  in  Bloomfield. 


376  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  last  white  habitation  at  Geneva,  they  pursued  the  Indian  trail 
to  the  present  town  of  Lima ;  where,  finding  a  location  to  suit  them, 
they  erected  a  cabin  and  commenced  making  an  opening  in  the 
forest.  Going  to  the  Indian  lands  at  Canawaugus,  they  planted  and 
raised  a  patch  of  corn  and  potatoes.  Their  location  was  about  one 
mile  south  of  the  Indian  trail,  near  the  west  line  of  the  town.  Af 
ter  some  improvements  upon  their  cabin,  such  as  the  luxury  of  a 
bark  roof,  and  a  hewed  plank  floor,  and  gathering  the  small  crop 
they  had  raised  upon  Indian  lands,  they  returned  to  the  Susquehan- 
nah,  and  in  the  spring  of  1789,  Mr.  Davison,  with  his  family,  con 
sisting  of  his  wife  and  her  mother,  and  two  children,  came  to  make 
his  permanent  home  in  the  wilderness.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Asahel  Burchard,  The  family  and  household  implements  were  con 
veyed  in  an  ox  cart,  Mr.  Davison  and  his  companion  sleeping  under 
the  cart,  and  the  family  in  the  cart,  during  the  whole  journey. 
Their  route  was  Sullivan's  track,  the  whole  distance  from  the  Sus- 
quehannah  to  where  the  Indian  trail  bore  off  in  the  direction  of 
Canawaugus.  They  had  bridges  to  build  occasionally,  and  logs  to 
cut  out,  before  they  left  the  track  of  Sullivan ;  after  that,  they  had 
their  own  road  to  make  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way  to  the  place 
of  their  destination.  The  journey  consumed  three  weeks.  Mr. 
Davison  raised  a  crop  of  oats  and  turnips,  the  first  of  any  kind  raised 
in  Lima ;  and  in  that  and  a  few  succeeding  years,  cultivated  Indian 
lands  at  Canawaugus.  For  two  years,  the  family  pounded  all  their 
corn  in  a  stump  mortar,  getting  their  first  grinding  done  at  the  Al 
lan  mill.  Captain  Davison  and  some  of  his  Pioneer  neighbors,  took 
six  or  seven  bushels  of  corn  to  Canawaugus,  hired  an  Indian  canoe, 
and  took  it  down  to  the  mill.  On  their  return  up  the  river,  their 
canoe  upset,  and  their  meal  became  wet  and  unfit  for  use ;  a  small 
matter  to  make  a  record  of,  some  readers  will  say,  and  yet,  let  them 
be  assured,  it  wras  no  small  matter  with  those  new  beginners  in  the 
wilderness.  In  1790,  Mrs.  Davison's  mother  died;  it  being  the 
second  death  in  the  Genesee  country  after  settlement  commenced. 
A  daughter  of  Captain  Davison,  who  became  the  wife  of  James 
Otis,  of  Perry,  Wyoming  county,  was  the  first  born  white  female 
west  of  Geneva.  Captain  Davison  died  in  1804.  aged  41  years, 
after  having  become  a  successful  farmer,  and  the  owner  of  a  large 
farm.  Mrs.  Davison  died  in  1844,  aged  80  years. 

Dr.  John  Miner  and  Abner  Migells,  had  settled  in  Lima,  in  the 


PHELPS  AND  GCRHAM'S  PURCHASE.  377 

summer  of  1790 ;  and  it  is  presumed  that  Mr.  Burchard  had  then 
brought  in  his  family  ;  as  his  name,  as  the  head  of  a  family,  occurs 
in  the  census  of  that  period.  He  still  survives  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
of  his  early  enterprise  and  life  of  toil.  "  He  was,"  says  a  corres 
pondent  of  the  author,  "always  a  kind  and  good  neighbor,  and  much 
esteemed  by  the  early  settlers." 

Lima  was  called,  in  an  early  period,  "  Miles'  Gore,"  the  fraction 
of  a  township  having  been  purchased  in  the  name  of  Abner  Miles, 
or  Abner  Migells,  as  the  author  finds  it  on  some  of  the  early  records. 
According  to  the  recollections  of  William  Hencher,  he  must  have 
{eft  Lima  soon  after  settlement  commenced  there  ;  as  he  was  early 
engaged  with  his  father  in  trading  trips  to  Canada,  and  erected  a 
public  house  at  Toronto  in  the  earliest  years  of  settlement  there. 

The  brothers,  Asahel  and  Matthew  Warner,  Miles  Bristol,  and 
others,  who  were  early  and  prominent  Pioneers  in  Lima,  the  author 
hopes  to  be  able  to  speak  of  in  another  connection.  At  present,  he 
has  not  the  necessary  datas. 

Reuben  F.  Thayer  must  have  settled  in  Lima  before  the  close  of 
1790.  The  venerable  Judge  Hopkins,  of  Niagara  county,  was  in 
the  fall  of  1789,  with  a  number  of  companions,  returning  to  New 
Jersey,  after  a  trading  excursion.  Passing  Canawaugus,  they  as 
sisted  Gilbert  R.  Berry  in  erecting  his  first  log  house  ;  and  the  next 
day,  finding  a  "  settler  just  arrived  by  the  name  of  Thayer,  with 
logs  ready  for  a  house,"  they  stopped  and  assisted  him. 

Wheelock  Wood  came  to  Lima  in  the  winter  of  1795,  locating 
upon  the  present  site  of  the  college,  where  he  commenced  clearing, 
and  erected  a  log  cabin.  He  remained  there  a  few  years,  and  re 
moved  to  Livonia,  and  from  there,  in  1807,  to  Gainesville,  Wyoming 
county.  He  died  in  1834. 

In  an  early  period  of  settlement  in  Lima,  ancient  remains,  and 
relics  of  French  occupancy  were  to  be  seen  in  various  localities. 
The  "Ball  Farm,"  so  prolific  in  these,  and  so  often  alluded  to  by  an 
tiquarians,  is  within  the  town.  Upon  the  farm  of  Miles  Bristol,  a 
short  distance  west  of  Lima  village,  upon  a  commanding  eminence, 
the  embankments  and  ditches  of  an  ancient  Fort  were  easily  traced. 
In  ploughing  upon  his  farm,  in  early  years,  Mr.  Bristol  picked  up 
several  hundred  pounds  of  old  iron,  chiefly  French  axes. 

James  K.  Guernsey,  in  connection  with  the  Nortons,  of  Bloom- 
field  and  Canandaigua,  and  afterwards  upon  his  own  account,  was 
24 


378  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  early  prominent  merchant  of  Lima.  He  removed  'to  Pi.ttsford, 
where  he  died  in  1839.  George  Guernsey,  of  Michigan,  is  his  son  ; 
Mrs.  Mortimer  F.  Delano,  of  Rochester,  is  his  daughter.  For  many 
years,  his  store  in  Lima  commanded  the  trade  of  a  wide  region. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


PIONEER    EVENTS    IN    WHAT    IS    NOW   WAYNE    COUNTY. 


IN  the  winter  of  1788,  '9,  John  Swift  and  Col.  John  Jenkins,  pur 
chased  T.  12,  R.  2,  now  Palmyra,  and  commenced  the  survey  of  it 
into  farm  lots,  in  March.  Jenkins  being  a  practical  surveyor,  built 
a  camp  on  the  bank  of  Ganargwa  creek,  about  two  miles  below  the 
present  village  of  Palmyra.  His  assistants  were  his  nephew,  Al- 

pheus  Harris,  Solomon  Earle, Baker,  and  Daniel  Ransom.    One 

morning  about  2  o'clock,  the  party  being  asleep  in  their  bunks,  their 
fire  giving  light  enough  to  show  their  several  positions,  a  party  of  fonr 
Tuscarora  Indians  and  a  squaw  stealthily  approached,  and  the  Indi 
ans -putting  their  guns  through  the  open  spaces  between  the  logs,  se 
lected  their'victims  and  fired.  Baker  was  killed,  Earle,  lying  upon  his 
back,  with  his  hand  upon  his  breast,  a  ball  passed  through  his  hand 
and  breast,  mutilated  his  nose,  and  lodged  under  the  frontal  sinus 
between  his  eyes.  Jenkins  and  Ransom  escaped  unhurt,  and  en 
countering  the  murderers  —  Jenkins  with  his  Jacob  staff,  and  Ran 
som  with  an  axe  —  drove  them  off,  capturing  two  of  their  rifles  and 
a  tomahawk.  In  the  morning  they  buried  their  dead  companion, 
carried  Earle  to  Geneva,  and  gave  the  alarm.  The  Indians  were 
pursued,  and  two  captured  on  the  Chemung  river.  The  nearest  jail 
being  Johnstown,  it  was  feared  they  would  be  rescued ;  if  an  at 
tempt  was  made  to  carry  them  there ;  what  in  later  years  would  be 
called  a  Lynch  court,  was  organized ;  they  were  tried  and  execu 
ted  at  Newtown,  now  Elmira.  The  execution  was  after  the  Indian 
method,  with  the  tomahawk.  They  were  taken  back  into  the 


PHELPS  AM)  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

woods,  and  blindfolded.  One  of  the  executioners  dispatched  his 
victim  at  a  blow;  the  other  failed  ;  the  Indian  being  a  stout  athletic 
fellow,  parried  the  blow,  escaped,  was  followed  by  a  possee,  who 
caught  and  beat  him  to  death  with  stones  and  pine  knots  !  This 
was  the  first  trial  and  execution  in  the  Genesee  country.  Horrid 
and  lawless  as  it  may  now  seem,  it  was  justified  by  then  existing 
exigencies, 

During  the  summer,  John  Swift  moved  into  the  township,  erect 
ing  a  log  house  and  store  house  at  "Swift's  Landing  a  little  north  of 
the  lower  end  of  Main  street,  Palmyra. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  1789,  Webb  Harwood,  from  Adams, 
Berkshire  county,  with  his  wife  came  in  and  erected  a  cabin  on  the 
rise  of  ground  near  first  lock  west  of  Palmyra,  upon  the  farm  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  Dennison  Rogers.  He  was  accompanied 
by  Noah  Porter,  Jonathan  Warner  and  Bennet  Bates,  single  men 
The  author  is  disposed  to  regard  Harwood  as  the  Pioneer,  although 
it  is  generally  supposed  that  Gen.  Swift  had  previously  brought  in  a 
family.  No  family  but  that  of  Mr.  Harwood  and  David  White 


.  The  Indian  party  had  their  hunting  camp  near  the  surveyors,  and  had  seve 
ral  times  shared  their  provisions  ;  the  incentive  was  hunger.  One  of  them  that 
escaped  was  "  Turkey"  well  known  in  after  years  upon  the  Genesee  river.  He  had  a 
scar  upon  his  face,  the  mark  of  a  blow  from  Jenkin's  Jacob  staff.  During  the  war  ot 
1812,  he  contracted  the  small  pox  upon  the  frontier  ;  came  to  Squaky  Hill.  The  In 
dians  dreading  the  spread  of  the  disease,  carried  him  to  a  hut  in  the  pine  woods  near 
Moscow,  where  he  was  left  to  die  alone.  Earl  recovered.  He  was  the  early  ferry  man 
at  the  Seneca  outlet.  There  have  been  many  versions  of  this  affair.  The  author  de 
rived  his  information  from  the  late  Judge  Porter,  and  from  Judge  John  H.  Jones,  whose 
informants  were  Horatio  Jones  and  Jasper  Parrish,  who  were  present  at  the  trial  and 
execution.  He  has  a-lso  a  printed  account  of  it  in  the  Maryland  Journal,  of  April  1789. 
Alpheus  Harris  was  living  a  few  years  since,  if  he  is  not  now,  at  Spanish  Hill,  a  few 
miles  from  Tioga  Point.  He  says  the  Indians  were  "tried  by  committee  law." 

NOTE.  —  John  Swift  was  a  native  of  Litchfield  County  Connecticut.  He  took  an 
active  part  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  at  its  close,  with  his  brother  Philetus,  was 
an  emigrant  to  the  disputed  territory  in  Pennsylvania.  He  held  a  commission,  and 
was  at  the  battle  of  Wyoming  ;  and  was  also  engaged  in  the  "  Pennamite  "  war,  where 
he  set  fire  to  a  Pennamite  block  house.  He  became  a  commissioned  officer  in  the 
earliest  organization  of  the  militia  and  in  the  campaign  of  1814  upon  the  Niagara  Fron 
tier,  he  was  commissioned  as  Brig  Gen.  of  N.  Y.  volunteers.  In  reconnoitering  the 
enemy's  position  and  works  at  Fort  George,  he  captured  a  picket  guard,  and  while  in 
the  act  of  receiving  their  arms,  one  of  the  prisoners  shot  him  through  the  breast  ;  an  at 
tack  from  a  superior  British  force  followed  ;  the  wounded  General  rallied  his  men, 
commenced  a  successful  engagement,  when  he  fell  exhausted  by  his  wound.  "Never" 
says  an  historian  of  the  war,  "was  the  country  called  upon  to  lament  the  loss  of  a  firm 
er  patriot  or  braver  man."  The  Legislature  voted  a  sword  to  his  oldest  male  heir. 
The  gift  fell  to  Asa  R.  Swift  of  Palmyra  who  was  drowned  in  Sodus  Bay  in  1820  or  21 
by  the  upsetting  of  a  boat  while  engaged  in  fishing.  The  sword  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  Henry  C.  Swift,  his  son,  a  resident  o^Phelps.  His  companion  Ashley  Van  Duzer, 
was  also  drowned  ;  his  widow  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Gen.  Brooks,  became  the  wife  of  Gen. 
Mills  of  Mt.  Morris,  and  now  resides  at  Brook's  Grove.  The  Rev.  Marcus  Swift,  of 
Michigan  is  a  son  of  Gen  Swift. 


350  PHELPS  AXD  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

is  enumerated  in  the  census  taken  in  the  summer  of  1790.  Mr. 
Harwood  died  in  1S24.  Win.  Harwood,  of  Ana  Arbor,  Mich 
igan  is  a  son  of  his ;  his  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Isaac  Mace. 
of  Peny..  Wyoming  co;  and Coe:  of  Kirtland,  Ohio. 

The  settlers  that  followed,  in  1790,  91,  '9*2,  in  the  order  in  which 
they  are  named,  or  as  nearly  so  as  the  author's  information  enables 
him  to  arrange  them,  were:  —  Lemuel  Spear,  David  Jackwavs. 
James  Galloway,  Jonathan  Millet,  the  Mattisons  :  Gideon  Duriee 
the  eider,  his  sons  Gideon,  Edward.  Job,  Pardon.  Stephen,  and 
Lemuel :  Isaac  Springer :  William.  James  and  Thomas  Rogers : 
John  Russell,  Nathan  Harris,  David  Wilcox.  Joel  Foster.  Abraham 
Foster,  Elias  Reeves,  Luther  Saniord;  and  to  what  was  Paloiyra. 
now  MacedoD.  in  addition  to  those  that  have  been  named,  Messrs. 
Reid,  Delano,  Packard  Barney,  Brown,  Adam  Kingman,  Hiii.  Lap- 
ham,  Benj.  and  Philip  Woods. 

Lemuel  Spear,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  as  most  of  the 
Pioneer  settlers  of  Palmyra  were.  He  was  from  Cummingtoi.. 
Mas?.  The  family  came  on  runners,  before  the  breaking  up  ot  the 
ground  in  Feb  '"90,  with  two  yoke  of  oxen,  some  cows  and  sheep, 
having  little  more  than  a  bare  track  and  blazed  trees  to  guide  them 
from  Vienna  to  their  destination,  a  miie  above  Palmyra  village,  where 
Mr.  Spear  had  purchased  land  of  Isaac  Hathaway,  ibr  twenty  cents 
per  acre.  The  season  being  mild,  they  turned  their  stock  out  upon 
the  open  flats,  some  of  which  had  been  cultivated  by  the  Indians. 
where  they  got  along  well  through  the  winter  and  spring :  the  fam 
ily  consisting  of  the  parents  and  nine  children,  living  in  a  covered 
skigh  and  in  a  structure  similar  to  the  Indians  camp,  until  they  had 
planted  a  few  acres  in  the  spring,  when  they  buLt  a  log  house 
Brjiging  in  a  year's  provisions,  and  killing  deer  whenever  they 
wanted  fresh  meat,  or  bartering  for  venison  with  the  Indians,  they 
g;»t  along  very  well  until  after  the  harvest  of  their  few  primitive  acres 
of  crops.  In  the  first  winters,  the  Indians  camped  upon  the  flats  ar.d 
were  peaceable,  good  neighbors,  hunting  and  trapping,  occasionally 
getting  a  beaver,  the  last  of  a  colony,  selling  their  furs  and  skins  to 
traders  and  bantering  their  surplus  venison  with  the  new  settlers 
Lemuel  Spear  died  ia  1509  :  his  surviving  sons.,  are:  —  Ebenezer 
Spear,  of  PenSsid,  Abraham  Spear,  of  Jeddo,  Orleans  county. 
Stephen  Sp&sr.  residing  upon  the  oid  homestead.  A  daughter  is 
the  wife  of  Dr.  MaHory,  of  Wisconsin. 


PHELPS  AXD  GOEHAM'S  FTBCHASE.  :  1 

Ebenezer  Spear  is  now  in  his  73th  rear.  Leaving  Palmyra  in 
early  years  he  went  to  sea,  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  Bos 
ton,  returned  to  Palmyra  in  1SO4,  married  for  a  second  wife,  a 

daughter  of  Francis  Postfe,  an  early  tailor  in  Canandaigna  and  Pal 
myra,  from  the  city  of  Prague,  in  Bohemia,  moved  to  North  Pen- 
field  in  1807.  He  was  one  of  the  Carthage  Bridge  company,  and 
opened  a  tavern  at  Carthage,  while  the  bridge  was  constructing. 


REMTSTSCI^CES  OF  131  Mil?.  -:i_?. 


In  1790.  after  we  tad  got  settled  at  Palmyra,  the  wife  of  our  predecessor 

in  the  wilderness.  Webb  Harwood,  in  a  delicate  state  of  health,  preeeiing 
child-birth,  retired  wine,  and  ber  in-lnl^n:  husband  determined  upon  JTC- 
curing  some.  At  his  request.  I  went  to  Cammdaigna,  found  cone  —  to 
Uuoa,  an-i  was  equally  unsuccessful  —  and  ccnthnnng  my  journey  to 
Scheneetady,  procured  sis  quarts  of  wine  of  C  harks  Ksne.  I  was  fennaai 
•lays  making  the  journey  on  foot,  carrying  my  provident  in  a  knapsack. 
sleeping  under  a  roof  but  four  of  thirteen  nights. 

Our  first  boards  came  from  Grangers  saw-mill  on  Flint  Creek,  several  years 
after  we  came  in ;  Captain  Porter  built  the  nrst  framed  born,  and  my  father 
the  nest  one.  I  burned  the  first  lime  kiln  west  of  Seneca  Lake,  tor  General 
Othniel  Taylor,  of  Canandaigua.  In  1724,  or  "5.  Abraham  and  Jacob 
Smith  built  milk  in  Farmingtoiu  on  the  Ganar-rwa  Creek:  previous  to  which, 
we  used  to  go  to  Tte  Friend's  mills  in  Jensalem.  The  first  corn  cankd  to 
nr'll  from  Palmyra,  was  by  Xoah  Porter.  He  went  to  Jerusalem  with  an  01 
team  in  "90,  carrying  com  for  all  the  settler?,  taking  ten  days  in  g  i:  _ 
r-erarnin^.  His  return  to  the  settlement  was  tailed  with  great  joy,  tor  poond- 
izz  com  was  very  hard  work.  Onr  cc-liee  w^s  ma«Ie  of  burnt  corn:  cor  tea, 
of  hcinlock  and  other  bark ;  and  for  chocolate.  drlc>i  evans  rovt  was  frecitieni- 


White  died  in  early  years  —  the  first  death  and  foneral  in 
His  sons  were,  the  late  Gen.  David  White,  of  SylYania, 
Michigan  :  Orrin  White,  a  resident  of  Ann  Arbor.  Michigan;  and 
Drs.  James  and  William  White,  who  reside  at  Black  Rock:  a 
daughter  married  Col.  Otis  Turner,  of  Niagara  Falls.  Bennett 
Bate?  is  still  living  at  Ridge  way.  Orleans  county ;  is  the  fathei 
of  Lyman  Bates,  of  Ridgeway.  and  Orlando  Bates,  of  Jeddo. 
Noah  Porter  died  in  early  years :  he  was  the  father  of  Mrs,  Sey 
mour  Scovell.  of  Lewiston.  and  John  Porter.  Esq..  of  Youngstown. 


382  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Jacob  Gannett  was  an  early  settler,  and  founder  of  the  mills  near 
Macedon  Locks. 

The  Durfee  family,  who  have  been  named,  were  from  Tiverton, 
Rhode  Island.  In  the  summer  of  1790,  Gideon  and  Edward  came 
first  to  Farmington,  and  Gideon  returning  in  the  fall,  represented 
the  country  so  favorably,  that  the  whole  family  resolved  upon  emi 
gration.  Gideon,  with  Isace  Springer,  came  back  in  the  winter  of 
'90,  '91,  with  an  ox  sled,  consuming  17  i  days  in  the  journey. 
Gideon  purchased  of  John  Swift  his  choice  of  1600  acres.  He 
located  it  on  what  was  long  known  as  "  Durfee  Street,"  a  short  dis 
tance  below  Palmyra,  securing  a  large  amount  of  the  flats  on  the 
Ganargwa.  Being  soon  re-joined  by  his  brother  Edward,  the 
brothers  and  Springer  built  a  cabin,  and  clearing  six  acres,  and 
without  the  use  of  a  plough,  planted  it  to  corn.  The  brothers  re 
turned  to  Rhode  Island,  and  brought  out  their  brothers,  Pardon  and 
Job,  with  their  families,  coming  in  a  batteaux,  and  landing  at  their 
new  home  in  the  wilderness,  almost  destitute  of  food.  They  were  re 
joiced  on  their  arrival  to  find  their  corn  fit  for  roasting,  a  forward 
ness  they  have  never  since  known.  It  served  them  the  two-fold 
purposes  of  food,  and  confidence  in  the  soil  and  climate.  The  six 
acres  yielded  50  bushels  to  the  acre,  a  quantity  that  served  their 
own  wants  and  over-stocked  the  market,  as  there  were  few  con 
sumers.  The  remainder  of  the  large  family  came  out  in  the  winter 
of  '91,  '2.  They  had  a  large  crop,  some  of  which  was  marketed 
at  Schenectady,  probably  the  first  that  ever  reached  that  market 
from  as  far  west  as  Palmyra.  Otherwise  prosperous,  sickness  soon 
laid  a  heavy  hand  upon  the  large  household,  17  out  of  22  being 
prostrated  at  one  time  with  fevers.  Their  first  bread  was  made 
from  pounded  corn  ;  their  first  grinding  was  procured  at  Wilder's 
mill,  and  occasionally  at  The  Friend's  mill,  Jerusalem. 

The  descendants  of  the  Pioneer  and  Patriarch,  Gideon  Durfee, 
were  1 1  sons  and  daughters,  96  grand-children,  and  the  whole  num 
ber  are  now  over  200.  The  daughters  became  the  wives  of  the 
Pioneers,  Welcome  Herendeen,  of  Farmington,  Weaver  Osborne, 
Humphrey  Sherman  and  William  Wilcox,  of  Palmyra.  The  only 
surviving  son,  is  Stephen  Durfee,  of  Palmyra,  aged  75  years ;  and 
the  only  surviving  daughter,  is  Ruth  Wilcox,  aged  76  years. 

Elias  Durfee  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Lakey,  of  Marion,  Elihu  Durfee, 
of  Williamson,  William,  Isaac,  Lemuel,  Bailey  Durfee  and  Mrs. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  383 

Brown,  of  Palmyra,  Mrs.  Wicks,  of  Ogden,  Mrs.  Edward  S.  Town- 
send,  late  of  Palmyra,  Charles  Durfee,  of  New  York,  Philo  Durfee, 
of  Buffalo,  Sidney  Durfee,  of  Chicago,  Allen,  Barton  and  Nathaniel 
Durfee,  of  Michigan,  are  among  the  descendants. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  STEPHEN  DURFEE 


There  was  general  prosperity  in  the  early  settlement;  all  were  friendly; 
mutual  dependence  made  us  so ;  and  struggling  with  the  hardships  of  pioneer 
life,  there  was  a  fellow  feeling,  a  sympathy  for  each  other's  misfortunes,  but 
little  of  which  exists  now.  The  first  curse  that  came  upon  us  was  whiskey 
distilleries,  when  the  new  settlers  would  take  their  corn  and  rye,  and  get  them 
converted  to  what  was  the  cause  in  many  instances,  of  their  ruin,  and  that  of 
many  of  their  sons.  There  was  not  only  habitual,  every  day  drinking,  but 
much  intoxication.  I  saw  so  much  of  the  evils  of  intoxication,  that  I  refrain 
ed  entirely,  and  was  almost  alone  in  it.  I  think  the  first  temperance  move 
ment,  practical  one,  in  all  this  region,  was  made  by  me  when  I  raised  my 
house  in  1811.  When  I  invited  my  neighbors  to  the  raising,  I  gave  out  that 
no  liquor  would  be  provided ;  and  although  it  was  a  new  experiment,  I  had 
no  difficulty  in  raising  my  house.  Strict  temperance  was  not  then  a  disci 
pline  with  the  society  of  Friends  to  which  I  belonged,  but  afterwards  be 
came  so. 

In  the  way  of  markets,  our  earliest  grain  mostly  went  to  the  distilleries, 
and  supplied  the  new  settlers.  After  Zebulon  Williams,  the  early  merchant 
established  his  store,  he  commenced  a  barter  trade,  receiving  for  goods,  grain 
and  cattle.  Money  was  scarce ;  those  who  were  pretty  well  off  were  troubled 
many  times,  to  pay  their  taxes,  and  much  property  used  to  be  sacrificed  at 
public  sale.  Williams  was  the  first  cash  purchaser  for  wheat,  but  the  prices 
were  fluctuating;  running  down  sometimes  to  37^-  cents.  One  of  my  neigh 
bors  once  sold  his  wheat  in  Rochester,  for  twenty-five  cents. 

In  early  years  we  could  hardly  believe  that  settlement  would  go  much  be 
yond  the  Genesee  River,  during  our  life  time.  We  thought  we  were  quite 
for  enough  to  the  west ;  as  far  removed  from  markets  as  it  would  answer  to 
venture ;  and  we  that  had  seen  the  hardest  features  of  pioneer  life,  were  surprised 
to  see  or  hear  of  men  attacking  the  dark  heavy  forests  of  the  Holland  Purchase. 

Our  first  commerce  was  the  navigation  of  the  Ganargwa  creek ;  then  came 
the  ''  big  wagons,"  and  then  the  Erie  Canal,  that  gave  us  fair,  steady  prices 
for  produce,  raised  the  value  of  lands,  and  brought  on  a  new  era  of  enterprise 
and  prosperity. 

The  Indians,  were  hunting  and  trapping,  camping  in  our  neighborhood,  in 
all  the  earliest  years.  The  flats  of  the  Ganargwa,  and  the  adjoining  up  lands 
were  favorite  hunting  grounds.  Many  of  the  sons  of  the  early  settlers  were 
trappers.  It  was  about  our  only  means  of  obtaining  any  money.  I  have  re 
alized  from  muskrat  and  coon  furs,  $50  in  a  season.  I  caught  a  beaver  in  a 
trap  that  I  set  for  otter.  Henry  Lovell,  a  famous  hunter  was  here  in  early 


384  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PTTKCHASE. 

years,  he  had  trapped  beaver  for  years.  He  said  he  had  often  tamed  the 
young  ones.  Following  their  instinct  (or  reasoning,)  when  it  rained  they 
would  knaw  up  chairs,  and  other  household  furniture,  and  go  through  with  all 
the  ceremony  of  erecting  dams.  When  suffered  to  go  out,  they  would  com 
mence  dams  upon  the  small  streams. 

All  the  low  grounds  of  Palmyra  were  very  heavily  timbered ;  there  were 
but  small  patches  of  open  flats.  To  look  out  before  we  got  clearings,  we  had  to 
go  upon  the  top  of  "  Wintergreen  Hill."  Upon  this  hill,  just  before  Wayne's 
victory,  we  contemplated  the  erection  of  a  block  house,  fearing  an  outbreak 
of  the  Indians.  But  we  were  soon  quieted  by  events  that  followed. 

I  remember  very  well  the  first  town  meeting.  It  was  held  at  my  father's 
house.  All  were  well  pleased  with  the  idea  that  we  had  got  along  fast  enough 
in  the  "  District  of  Tolland  "  to  have  a  town  organization.  John  Swift  was 
the  Captain  of  our  first  training  —  his  beat,  all  this  north  country.  The 
company  parade  was  at  his  house;  he  gave  out  a  liberal  supply  of  damaged 
powder  —  salutes  were  fired  —  occasionally  an  old  revolutionary  musket  burst ; 
as  holidays  were  scarce  then,  we  used  to  make  the  most  of  them. 

We  began  to  have  apples,  from  the  seed,  soon  after  1800.  Previous  to 
that  we  had  plenty  of  wild  plums,  crab  apples,  cranberries,  &c.  Evans  root 
chocolate  was  a  common  beverage ;  and  we  used  wheat  and  tea  for  coffee. 
Our  nails  cost  us  25  cents  per  lb.,  "hum  hum"  for  shirts,  50  cents  per  yard, 
a  luxury  that  but  few  could  indulge  in.  Our  wool  had  to  be  carded  by  hand, 
in  all  the  early  years.  John  Swift  built  the  first  carding  machine,  on  the 
present  site  of  Goddard's  mill. 

Nathan  Harris  was  the  principal  early  hunter  of  Palmyra;  and  fisherman 
too;  in  1792  he  drew  a  net  across  Ganargwa  creek,  near  the  present  residence 
of  Mrs.  Williams,  and  caught  eighteen  large  salmon.  He  was  the  father  of 
Martin  Harris,  who  was  an  early  convert  to  Mormonism,  and  mortgaged  his 
fine  farm  to  pay  for  the  printing  of  the  "  Gold  Bible."* 


Zebulon  Williams,  who  has  been  mentioned  by  Stephen  Durfee, 
as  the  early  merchant,  died  several  years  since,  his  widow  survives, 
a  resident  at  the  old  homestead.  Platt  Williams,  of  California,  who 
was  early  engaged  in  canal  transportations  at  Albany,  and  Richard, 


*  The  late  Mr.s  Eden  Foster,  of  Batavia,  whose  first  husband  was  Moody  Stone,  of 
Palmvra,  was  an  inmate  of  the  family  of  Dr.  Town.  She  gave  the  author  a  graphic 
description  of  a  husking  frolic  in  '96,  at  the  house  of  Nathan  Harris:  —  "We  had  a 
pot  pie  baked  in  a  five  pail  kettle,  composed  of  13  fowls,  as  many  squirrels,  and  due 
proportions  of  beef,  mutton  and  venison ;  baked  meats,  beans  and  huge  pumpkin  pies. 
Hunting  stories,  singing,  dancing  on  a  split  basswood  floor,  snap  and  catch  'em,  jump 
ing  the  broom  stick,  and  hunt  the  squirrel,  followed  the  feast.  All  joined  in  the  rustic 
sports,  there  was  no  aristocracy  in  those  days."  '*  In  Canandaigna  "  continued  the  old 
lady,  "  the  dances  were  more  fashionable,  but  there  was  no  aristocracy  there ;  though 
a  hired  girl,  in  families  of  Gen.  Taylor,  and  Abncr  Barlow,  I  used  to  attend  the  frolics 
and  dance  with  Peter  B.  and  Augustus  Porter,  Thomas  Morris,  Samuel  and  Judah 
Colt,  Dr.  Atwater,  and  many  others  of  distinction."  The  old  lady  was  even  eloquent 
when  reminiscences  of  the  past,  one  after  another,  would  flash  upon  her  memory, 


PHELPS   A1STD    GORHAM's   PTJKCHASE.  385 

Homer  and  Zebulon  Williams,  are  his  sons  ;  Mrs.  Hiram  P.  Thayer, 
of  Buffalo,  is  his  daughter. 

Stephen  Phelps  was  the  early  landlord  in  the  village  ;  afterwards 
the  surrogate  of  Ontario  county.  The  site  he  occupied,  is  now  that 
of  Nottingham's  Eagle  Tavern.  He  emigrated  to  Illinois  in  1820. 
Enoch  Lilley  was  another  early  landlord  ;  his  wife  was  the  daughter 
©f  the  Rev.  Eleazor  Fairbanks.  Preceding  either,  however,  was 
Dr.  Azel  Ensworth,  who  was  a  brother-in-law  of  William  Rodgers, 
and  had  come  into  the  country  in  '92,  and  first  settled  in  his  imme 
diate  neighborhood.  After  keeping  a  public  house  in  early  years, 
in  Palmyra,  in  the  early  start  of  Rochester,  he  was  the  founder  of 
the  Eagle  Tavern,  and  for  a  long  period  he  and  his  son  were  its 
landlords.  He  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Buffalo,  with  his  son-in- 
law,  Benjamin  Campbell.* 

Silas  Stoddard  was  from  Groton,  Conn. ;  had  been  at  sea,  in  the 
merchant  service,  emigrated  to  Palmyra  in  1801,  landing  first  at 
Sodus.  He  died  in  July  last,  at  the  age  of  91  years;  his  intellect 
and  physical  constitution  but  little  impaired  previous  to  his  last  ill 
ness.  Col.  James  Stoddard,  known  of  late  years  as  an  intelligent 
horticulturist,  is  his  son ;  now  a  resident  of  Palmyra,  aged  66  years. 
He  served  an  apprenticeship  with  Col.  Samuel  Green,  of  the  New 
London  Gazette,  and  emigrated  to  Palmyra  with  his  father.  From 
him  the  author  obtained  many  early  reminiscences.  In  1804,  he 
was  in  the  employment  of  Major  Samuel  Colt,  who  had  commenced 
merchandizing  in  Palmyra,  and  had  charge  of  two  Durham  boats, 
which  Major  Colt  owned  at  Palmyra.  Loading  them  with  flour 
and  pork,  he  went  down  the  Ganargwa  creek  to  Lyons,  and  from 
thence  to  Schenectady.  Among  his  companions,  were  Gilbert 
Howell,  Cooper  Culver,  John  Phelps,  and  Wm.  Clark.  The  party 
were  one  month  going  and  one  month  returning ;  having  merchan 
dise  for  their  return  freight.  About  the  time  of  the  building  of 
these  boats,  says  Col.  Stoddard,  land  transportation  looked  discour 
aging  ;  the  merchants  of  Geneva,  Canandaigua,  Palmyra,  Ithica,  in 
fact  all  who  did  not  depend  on  the  Susquehannah  as  an  avenue  to 
market,  held  a  consultation,  and  concluded  that  business  must  be 
done  via  the  Rivers,  Oneida  Lake,  and  the  Mohawk ;  and  to  en- 


*  At  the  Pioneer  Festival  in  Rochester,  in  1850,  he  was  present,  and  the  medal  was 
awarded  to  him  as  being  the  earliest  Pioneer  present. 


386  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

courage  them,  stone  locks  had  been  built,  at  Rome  and  Little  Falls, 
Many  boats  were  built ;  for  a  few  years  business  was  brisk,  but  it 
proved  too  tedious  and  expensive  ;  too  dependant  upon  high  and 
low  water.  Even  land  transportation,  over  bad  roads,  successfully 
competed  with  it. 

"  The  first  trip  we  made,"  says  Col.  Stoddard,  "  in  passing  through 
Oneid'a  Lake,  we  stopped  at  Vanderkemp's  settlement,  now  Con- 
stantia.  Mr.  Vanderkemp  had  erected  an  expensive  dam,  a  large 
saw  mill  and  grist  mill,  and  there  were  eight  or  ten  framed  and 
some  log  dwellings ;  but  one  single  family  however,  all  the  rest  hav 
ing  been  driven  off  by  sickness.*  When  I  landed  with  my  father's 
family  at  Sodus,  Mr.  Williamson's  settlement  had  much  declined, 
and  there  were  many  deserted  tenements  between  Sodus  and  Pal 
myra  ;  sickness  having  driven  off  the  occupants.  I  have  known 
periods  when  a  majority  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Ganargwa 
valley  were  prostrated  by  fevers." 

Henry  Jessup  was  the  early  tanner  in  Palmyra,  and  still  survives, 
his  sons  being  his  successors  in  business.  His  partner  for  many 
years  was  George  Palmer,  of  Buffalo. 

William  Rogers  came  in  with  his  brothers,  James  and  Thomas, 
in  1792,  a  widower,  and  his  brother  James  dying  in  early  years,  he 
married  his  widow.  The  family  were  from  Rhode  Island.  William 
was  one  of  the  early  Judges  of  Ontario,  one  of  its  representatives 
in  the  Legislature,  and  a  magistrate ;  prominently  identified  with 
the  history  of  Palmyra  and  Ontario  county.  He  died  in  1836,  aged  82 
years.  Major  William  Rogers,  so  favorably  known  to  the  travel 
ling  public  in  the  early  years  of  canal  navigation,  as  a  packet  master, 
the  father-in-law  of  Pomeroy  Tucker,  editor  of  the  Wayne  Sen 
tinel,  is  a  surviving  son.  He  is  now  the  occupant  of  a  fine  farm 
near  Pultneyville ;  as  stirring  and  energetic  as  when  he  used  to 
sing  out :  —  "  Hurra,  is  the  lock  ready  ?  "  —  or  beat  up  the  quarters 
of  the  sleepy  drivers  in  dark  and  rainy  nights.  A  daughter  of  his 
was  the  wife  of  Noah  Porter.  Gen.  Thomas  Rodgers,  and  Denni- 
son  Rodgers  of  Palmyra,  are  surviving  sons  of  James  Rodgers. 
Thomas  Rodgers  preceded  his  brother,  and  assisted  in  the  survey 
of  the  town ;  of  his  family,  only  his  son  David  remains  in  Palmyra. 

•The  founder  of  this  settlement  was  the  father  of  John  J.  Vanderkemp,  of  Phila 
delphia,  the  general  agent  of  the  Holland  Co.  He  soon  abandoned  the  enterprise,  and 
removed  to  Oldenbaxneveldt,"  [Trenton,]  Oneidaco. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PTJKCHASE.  387 

The  first  winter  after  Judge  Rodgers  came  in,  the  neighborhood 
was  without  salt.  Learning  that  some  had  been  brought  up  as  far 
as  Lyons,  with  a  hired  man,  and  an  ox  team,  he  cut  his  own  sled 
path,  and  after  three  days  hard  labor,  returned  with  his  salt. 

Zackariah  Blackman  was  the  early  blacksmith.  John  Hurlburt, 
a  brother  of  Judge  Hurlburt,  who  was  the  Pioneer  of  Arkport,  on 
the  Canisteo,  became  a  resident  of  Palmyra  in  1795.  His  widow 
is  now  living  at  the  age  of  81  years.  He  set  up  a  distillery  as  ear 
ly  as  '96.  He  died  in  1813.  *  William  Jackway,  who  came  in 
with  Gen.  Swift,  died  in  1849,  aged  91  years.  John  Russell,  who 
was  one  of  the  front  rank  of  Pioneers,  upon  whose  original  farm 
a  portion  of  the  village  has  grown  up,  removed  to  Henrietta  in  1821, 
where  he  died  but  a  few  years  since,  from  the  effects  of  the  kick  of 
a  horse.  John  Russell  was  the  step-father  of  Augustus  Southworth, 
of  Holley ;  Mrs.  Russel  now  resides  in  Rochester. 

Reuben  Town  was  the  earliest  settled  Physician  in  Palmyra. 
He  removed  to  Batavia  in  early  years.  He  was  followed  by  Dr. 
Gain  Robinson,  as  early  as  1800.  Dr.  Robinson  was  from  Cum- 
mington,  Massachusetts.  He  married  the  daughter  of  Col.  John 
Bradish,  the  father  of  Gov.  Bradish,  who  was  one  of  the  early  set 
tlers  of  Palmyra.  He  continued  in  practice  until  his  death,  in  1830, 
enjoying  a  large  share  of  professional  eminence,  and  highly  esteem 
ed  in  the  wide  circle  of  his  practice.  There  have  gone  out  from 
under  his  instruction  a  large  number  who  hare  conferred  credit  up 
on  their  early  mentor ;  among  them  may  be  named  :  —  His  nephew, 
Dr.  Alexander  Mclntyre,  who  for  many  years  practiced  with  him, 
and  is  now  his  local  successor ;  Drs.  James  and  William  White  ; 
Dr.  West,  of  Cayuga  county ;  Dr.  Isaac  Smith,  of  Lockport, 
(deceased;)  Dr.  Whippo,  (now  an  engineer;)  Dr.  Durfee  Chase, 
of  Palmyra;  Dr.  Gregory  of  Michigan.  The  surviving  sons  of 
Dr.  Robinson,  are  :  —  Clark,  Darwin,  and  Rollin,  of  Buffalo. 
Daughters  : —  Mrs.  Philip  Grandin,  of  New  York ;  her  husband 
was  an  early  merchant  in  Palmyra ;  and  Mrs.  Judge  Tiffany,  of 
Adrian,  Michigan;  Mrs.  Hiram  Niles,  of  Buffalo;  and  Mrs.  Geo. 
Pomeroy.  f 

*  A  toast  of  the  early  Pioneer,  in  one  of  the  early  years,  at  a  Fourth  of  July  cele 
bration,  is  worthy  of  preservation.  The  wish  has  been  fully  realized:  —  "May  we 
cultivate  the  vine  and  sheaf  in  this  new  world,  and  furnish  the  old  with  bread." 

t  Judge  Tiffany  is  a  son  of  the  early  printer  at  Niagara,  C.  W.,  and  Canandaigua. 
Mr.  Pomeroy  is  one  of  the  founders  of  Wells  &  Porneroy's  Express. 


388  PHELPS  AOT>  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

The  first  lawyer  in  Palmyra,  was  John  Comstock,  who  also  mar 
ried  a  daughter  of  Col.  Bradish.  He  survives,  a  resident  near 
Adrian,  Michigan. 

In  the  year  1789,  Joel  Foster,  Elias  Reeves  and  Luke  Foster,  of 
Long  Island,  became  the  agents  of  a  company  that  had  been  form 
ed  in  Connecticut,  New  Jersey  and  Long  Island,  for  the  purpose  of 
leasing  lands  of  the  Indians ;  an  organization  similar  to  the  Lessee 
Company  of  this  State.  Proceeding  to  Fort  Pitt,  where  they  were 
joined  by  others,  they  traversed  the  wilds  of  Virginia,  and  return 
ing  to  the  north,  struck  the  Ohio  river,  and  followed  it  down  to  the 
desirable  location  called  Turkey  Bottom,  where  they  purchased  a 
claim  to  a  large  tract,  and  left  Luke  Foster  to  keep  possession  for 
the  winter,  Joel  Foster  and  Elias  Reeves  returning  to  take  on  a 
colony  of  settlers  in  the  spring.  An  act  of  Congress  interfering 
with  their  title  or  possession,  frustrated  the  enterprise.  "  Turkey 
Bottom,"  in  process  of  time,  became  Cincinnati,  the  queen  city  of 
the  west. 

Thus  disappointed,  and  Indian  wars  growing  more  threatening  at 
the  west,  the  Long  Island  adventurers  turned  their  attention  to  the 
Genesee  country.  Elias  Reeves,  Abraham  Foster,  William  Hop 
kins,  Luther  Sandford  and  Joel  Foster,  in  the  summer  of  1791, 
bought  5,500  acres  on  the  Ganargwa  Creek,  in  East  Palmyra ; 
spotting  a  tree  and  planting  some  apple  seeds,  an  earnest  of  their 
intended  occupancy.  In  April,  1792,  they  built  a  sail  boat,  launched 
it  in  Heady  Creek,  embarked  with  their  families,  towing  down  the 
stream  to  South  Bay,  and  sailing  up  to  New  York,  and  from  thence 
to  Albany,  where  they  took  their  boat  out  of  water,  transported  it 
on  wheels  to  Schenectady,  launched  it  in  the  Mohawk,  and  from 
thence  came  to  Lyons ;  and  obtaining  a  smaller  boat,  ascended  the 
Ganargwa  Creek  to  their  new  wilderness  home.  The  journey  con 
sumed  28  days.  Most  of  those  named,  became  prominent  founders 
of  settlement,  and  have  left  numerous  descendants. 


NOTE. — For  the  facts  connected  with,  the  pioneer  enterprise  of  this  Long  Island 
colony,  the  author  is  indebted  to  a  sermon  delivered  at  Palmyra  on  Thanksgiving  day, 
1846, 'by  the  Itev.  Nathaniel  W.  Fisher,  Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  who  de 
rived  his  information  from  Mr.  Henry  J.  Foster,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  Pioneers. 
Mr.  Fisher  was  one  of  the  victims  of  the  cholera  at  Sandusky,  in  the  summer  of  1848. 
The  author  makes  an  extract  from  the  sermon,  in  which  the  Rev.  gentleman  bestows 
no  more  than  a  deserved  eulogy  upon  the  Pioneer  mothers,  who  accompanied  this  ex 
pedition  :  —  "  Especially  do  we  admire  the  character  of  those  noble  women,  whose 
sacrifices,  prayers  and  labors,  aided  ill  laying  the  foundations  of  society  and  those 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.  389 

It  is  stated  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher,  that  a  Presbyterian  church 
was  organized  in  1793,  hi  Palmyra.  If  this  is  so,  it  was  the  first  or 
ganized  church  west  of  Seneca  Lake.  Mrs.  Tice,  a  daughter  of  John 
Hurlburt,  says  their  first  religious  meetings  were  conversational  or 
social  meetings,  not  sectarian,  generally  held  at  the  house  of  John 
Swift.  It  is  recorded  that  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Palmyra  was 
organized  in  Sept.,  1797  ;  the  trustees  elected :  —  Jacob  Gannett, 
Stephen  Reeves,  David  Warner,  Jedediah  Foster,  Jonah  Howell. 
The  first  settled  minister  was  the  Rev.  Eleazor  Fairbanks,  who  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Bell. 

Jonah  Howell  erected  the  first  mill,  a  mile  east  of  the  village,  on 
the  Vienna  road ;  this  was  followed  by  one  erected  by  Gen.  Swift, 
on  the  site  occupied  by  Goddard's  mill. 

The  first  death  in  Palmyra  was  that  of  David  White  ;  the  first 
wedding  was  that  of  William  Wilcox  and  Ruth  Durfee ;  the  first 
male  child  born  in  town,  was  Asa  R.  Swift,  a  son  of  John  Swift; 
the  first  female,  the  daughter  of  David  Wilcox,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Alva  Hendee. 


WILLIAM  HOWE  CUTLER. 

His  father,  John  Cuyler,  of  Greenbush,  had  been  (at  what  period 
the  author  is  unable  to  state,)  a  General  in  the  British  service. 
He  was  a  resident  of  Greenbush,  opposite  Albany,  an  attorney  at 
law.  It  is  presumed,  that  when  Mr.  Williamson  arrived  in  this 
country,  upon  his  agency,  he  found  in  him  an  old  acquaintance,  as 
he  is  one  of  the  first  with  whom  he  held  correspondence,  and  he 
was  one  of  his  first  legal  advisers.  As  early  as  1793,  his  son,  Rich 
ard,  was  in  the  employment  of  Mr.  Williamson,  as  was  his  son  Wm. 
Howe  Cuyler,  several  years  previous  to  1800. 

Soon  after  1800,  Wm.  Howe  Cuyler  became  a  resident  of  Pal 
myra,  having  become  the  local  agent  of  Mr.  Williamson,  for  the 

blessed  institutions  which  are  now  the  support  and  ornament  of  community.  The 
legends  of  those  times  are  adorned  with  the  names  of  females  that  should  descend  to 
posterity,  and  be  embalmed  in  their  most  grateful  recollections.  We  often  wonder  if 
the  mantle  of  those  venerated  matrons  have  fallen  upon  the  wives  of  the  present  day  ; 
with  all  the  improvements  in  modern  education,  are  they  better  qualified  to  make 
happy  homes  ?  Have  they  larger  hearts,  better  minds,  purer  patriotism,  warmer  zeal, 
in  every  good  work  ?" 


390  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

sale  of  lands  in  the  north-east  portion  of  what  is  now  Wayne 

county.  Sawyer,  the  brother-in-law  of  John  Swift,  who 

had  an  interest  with  him  in  the  original  purchase  of  the  town,  wish 
ing  to  return  to  Georgia,  where  he  had  formerly  resided,  sold  his 
property  to  Major  Cuyler,  in  1805.  Included  in  this  sale,  was  the 
old  Cuyler  farm,  upon-  which  a  considerable  portion  of  the  village 
of  Palmyra  has  grown  up. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812,  Major  Cuyler  was  early 
upon  the  frontier,  as  the  aid  of  General  Swift.*  Stationed  at 
Buffalo,  he  was  the  active  co-operator  with  Lieut.  Elliott,  in  the 
preparations  for  the  gallant  exploit  of  capturing  the  British  vessels, 
from  under  the  walls  of  Fort  Erie,  on  the  8th  of  October,  1812. 
In  anticipation  that  the  expedition  would  return  with  wounded  men, 
he  had  been  engaged  through  the  night  in  making  preparations  for 
their  reception.  Anxious  for  the  fate  of  men  who  had  engaged  in 
so  hazardous  an  enterprise,  before  day  light  in  the  morning,  he  had 
rode  down  upon  the  beach,  towards  Black  Rock,  when  a  chance 
grape  shot,  from  a  British  battery,  at  Fort  Erie,  passed  through  his 
body,  breaking  the  spine,  and  killing  him  instantly. f  It  was  the  first 
sacrifice  of  the  war,  on  the  Niagara  frontier ;  the  first  and  one  of 
the  dearest  of  the  many  sacrifices  of  western  New  York,  in  all  that 
contest.  And  it  may  also  be  added,  that  Gen.  Scott  being  near 
him,  it  was  his  first  introduction  to  the  terrible  realities  of  war,  of 
which  he  was  destined  to  see  so  much  through  a  long  and  brilliant 
military  career.J  After  the  war,  his  remains  were  removed  to 
Palmyra,  and  are  now  entombed  in  the  rural  cemetery,  which  the 
citizens  of  that  village,  with  much  of  good  taste  and  public  spirit. 
have  within  a  few  years  added  to  their  flourishing  village. 

In  civil  life,  Major  Cuyler  was  a  man  of  much  energy  and  enter- 


*  The  author  has  an  early  evidence  of  his  military  spirit  and  ambition.  When  some 
of  the  earliest  military  organizations  were  going  on  in  Steuben,  he  was  a  resident  at 
Bath,  a  clerk  of  Mr.  Williamson.  Mr.  Williamson  being  in  Albany,  the  young  aspirant 
to  military  distinction,  -wrote  to  him  :  —  "  You  are  the  only  field  officer  in  the  Regi 
ment,  and  on  you,  of  course,  will  devolve  the  duty  of  making  proper  recommendations. 
I  shall  only  observe  that  I  have  been  a  military  man  for  about  twelve  years  past,  and 
have  never  rose  above  the  halberd,  and  that  I  now  look  for  promotion.  I  should  like 
to  Lave  the  office  Mr.  Porter  formerly  held  —  that  of  Brigade  Major  and  Inspector  — as 
the  duty  of  Adjutant  General  in  the  several  brigades,  now  devolve  on  that  officer." 

t  The  shot  is  now  in  possession  of  his  sister,  Mrs.  Smith,  of  Auburn. 

t  He  had  just  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieut.  Colonel,  and  had  arrived  at  Black 
Rock,  in  command  of  two  companies  of  U.  S.  Artillery. 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PUECHASE.  391 

prise  ;  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Ontario  Woolen  Manu 
facturing  Company.*  He  married  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Shekell, 
of  Manchester,  who  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Brooklyn,  with  her 
daughter  by  a  second  marriage.  Major  Cuyler  left  two  sons,  George 
W.  and  William  Howe  Cuyler ;  the  former  a  banker,  and  the  lat 
ter  a  merchant,  in  Palmyra. 


LYCWS. 


The  early  advent  of  the  Stansell's  and  Featherly,  the  building  of 
mills,  the  primitive  commencement  generally,  at  Lyons,  have  been 
noticed  in  connection  with  Mr.  Williamson. 

James  Otto  came  in  1796,  was  employed  in  the  erection  of  the 
mills,  and  in  '98,  marrying  the  daughter  of  Capt.  Dunn  who  settled 
where  the  Mead's  now  reside  on  the  Geneva  road,  he  moved  upon 
his  farm  south  of  Lyons  village,  where  he  now  resides,  in  his  81st 
year.  He  has  been  the  father  of  eight  sons  and  eight  daughters, 
thirteen  of  whom  are  now  living  in  Lyons  and  the  western  states. 

The  old  gentleman  says  it  was  so  sickly  about  the  village  of  Lyons 
in  early  years  that  many  who  attempted  to  settle  there  got  discour 
aged  and  left.  Dr.  Prescott  of  Phelps,  was  the  first  physcian.  Dr. 
Willis  settled  where  the  village  of  Lyons  now  is,  but  getting  sick 
himself,  and  sick  of  the  country,  returned  to  Vermont.  In  the 
winter  of  '99  and  1800,  there  was  an  unusal  deep  snow ;  there  came 
a  rain  making  a  crust,  and  the  wolves  destroyed  the  deer  to  such  an 
extent  that  their  carcasses  were  strewn  over  the  woods  tainting  the 
whole  atmosphere. 

Judge  Evert  Van  Wickle,  who  has  been  mentioned  in  connec 
tion  with  early  operations  in  Allegany,  came  to  Lyons  soon  after 
Mr.  Williamson  had  commenced  improvements  there,  and  was  in 
his  employ  as  a  surveyor.! 

Judge   Daniel  Dorsey  from  Frederick  county,  Maryland,  came 


*  He  introduced  the  first  Merino  buck  into  -western  New  York,  purchasing  it  of  one 
of  the  Livingstons,  in  Albany,  paying  """' 


t  In  one  of  Mr.  "Williamson's  letters,  in  1798,  ho  says  :  —  "A  promising  settlement, 
composed  of  people  from  Jersey  and  Maryland,  is  begun  here  this  June ;  a  Mr.  Van 
Wickle  from  the  Jerseys,  moved  in  along  with  forty  persons." 


392       PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

to  Lyons  in  1801,  with  his  family.  Two  years  previous  he  had  ex 
plored  the  country  and  purchased  of  Mr.  Williamson  nearly  one 
thousand  acres,  mostly  on  the  east  side  of  the  outlet,  immediately 
adjoining  the  village  of  Lyons,  on  either  side  of  the  Lyons  and 
Geneva  Plank  Road.  It  included  the  farm  that  had  been  commen 
ced  by  Mr.  Cameron,  as  agent  for  Mr.  Wiliamson,  and  the  improve 
ments  ;  had  been  reserved  in  anticipation  of  what  would  grow  up 
at  the  confluence  of  the  streams  —  mostly  the  head  of  navigation ; 
but  was  sold  to  Judge  Dorsey  as  an  inducement  to  emigration. 
He  had  a  large  family  —  ten  children  —  and  a-considerable  number 
of  slaves,  that  were  soon  liberated,  principally  for  the  reason  that 
in  that  case  as  well  as  in  all  other  similar  experiments  that  were  tried 
in  this  region,  slave  labor  was  unprofitable. 

The  strong  handed  emigrant  immediately  commenced  clearing 
and  improving  his  fine  possessions.  Soon  after  1800  he  commen 
ced  merchandizing,  bringing  his  goods  from  Baltimore.  A  fcrge 
proportion  of  his  early  trade  was  with  the  Indians,  who  were  en 
camped  along  the  banks  of  the  outlet  and  at  Sodus.  There  used  to 
be  as  many  as  thirty  Indian  huts  along  where  William  street,  of 
Lyons  village,  crosses  the  canal. 

Thomas  Dorsey,  a  son  of  the  early  Pioneer,  now  occupies  a  por 
tion  of  the  old  homestead.  The  author  transcribes  from  memoran 
dums  of  a  conversation  had  with  him,  some  early  reminiscences  of 
that-  locality:  — 

Durham  boats  used  to  arrive  frequently  from  Schenectady  with 
emigrants  and  goods*  and  with  salt  from  Salt  Point.  It  was  only 
in  freshets  that  they  could  go  as  high  up  as  Palmyra  and  Manches 
ter.  Salmon  were  very  plenty  in  the  streams ;  at  the  forks  I  have 
known  fifteen  and  twenty  taken  with  one  spear  in  a  night ;  weigh 
ing  from  fifteen  to  twenty  pounds.  It  was  not  uncommon  to  see 
herds  of  deer  grazing  on  the  flats. 

When  the  Dorsey  family  arrived  at  Lyons,  there  was  settled  in 
village  and  immediate  vicinity,  other  than  those  already  named :  — 
John  Biggs,  who  kept  a  tavern  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Bar 
ton's  tavern,  in  a  log  house.  He  was  the  Pioneer  landlord,  and  is 
yet  living  near  the  village.  Richard  Jones,  a  saddler,  had  a  shop 
on  what  is  now  Broad  street,  in  a  log  building.  He  died  in  1832. 
George  Carr,  a  mason  by  trade,  lived  on  Broad  street  in  a  log  house. 
William  Gibbs  lived  a  little  south  of  the  village,  on  the  farm  now 


PHELPS  AHD  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.       393 

owned  by  Harvey  Geer.  John  Perrine  lived  on  the  Canandaigua 
outlet  one  mile  from  the  village.  He  was  an  early  magistrate  and 
Supervisor  of  the  town ;  removed  to  Michigan,  where  he  died  in 
183G.  The  progress  of  the  village  was  slow  in  all  the  early  years, 
and  in  fact  until  the  location  and  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal 
In  1818  there  was  but  a  small  cluster  of  buildings  ;  two  taverns,  one 
kept  by  Ezekiel  Price,  and  another  by  Elias  Hull ;  the  store  of 
Leach  &  Demmon ;  a  few  dwellings;  a  few  mechanic  shops; 
a  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  church.  John  Cole,  the  father  of 
Joseph  Cole,  was  the  first  local  minister,  and  organized  the  first 
Methodist  society.  He  died  in  1810.  The  first  religious  meetings 
were  attended  by  Judge  Dorsey,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Meth 
odist  church,  and  occasionally  an  exhorter. 

The  village  of  Lyons  had  a  rapid  start  after  the  completion  of 
the  canal ;  many  enterprising  men  were  attracted  there  ;  substantial 
business  establishments  were  started  one  after  another ;  private 
residences,  in  beauty  of  location,  and  in  all  their  appointments  vie- 
ing  with  those  of  any  of  its  neighboring  villages  and  cities  in  West 
ern  New  York,  were  founded  one  after  another ;  new  streets  were 
laid  out  with  the  accompaniments  of  fine  walks  and  long  lines  of 
shade  trees ;  substantial  and  neat  public  edifices  were  erected ; 
until  now,  in  1851,  there  are  few  spots  in  all  this  wide  region,  hold 
ing  out  more  inducements,  either  for  residence,  or  business  pur 
suits.  The  tourist,  in  western  New  York, who  does  not  wander 
from  the  rail  road  route,  misses  at  least  two  beautiful  and  flourishing 
villages  —  Palmyra  and  Lyons.  But  things  as  they  were,  not  as 
they  now  are,  are  the  subjects  in  hand. 

Daniel  Dorsey  died  in  1823,  at  the  age  of  65  years.  His  survi 
ving  children  are  :  —  Upton  Dorsey,  Esq.,  of  Geneva ;  Thomas  E. 
Dorsey,  residing  on  the  old  homestead  at  Lyons  ;  Nelson  R.  Dorsey, 
residing  in  Calhoun  county,  Michigan ;  Mrs.  Cyrus  Chapin,  of  Gen 
eva  ;  Mrs.  Lawrence  Riley,  in  Ohio  ;  Mrs.  Thomas  Rook,  of  Lyons, 
Mrs.  Wm.  Hudson,  of  Geneva ;  Mrs.  Michael  Miller,  of  Calhoun 
cu.,  Michigan ;  Mrs.  Milton  Barney,  of  Chicago ;  and  two  sons 
have  died  after  arriving  at  adult  age ;  eleven  in  all.  The  early 
Pioneer  had  held  a  Captain's  commission  in  the  Maryland  line  during 
the  Revolution,  and  after  his  advent  to  this  region,  was  an  early 
Judge  of  the  courts  of  Ontario. 
25 


394  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

SODUS. 

After  the  advent  of  Mr.  Williamson  in  that  region,  the  erection 
of  his  mills,  large  tavern  house,  wharf  and  store  house  —  all  the  im 
provements  under  his  auspices  —  there  followed  long  years  of  de 
cline  ;  but  an  occasional  hardy  adventurer  dropping  into  the  wil 
derness,  along  on  the  Lyons  and  Palmyra  roads,  encountering  dis 
ease  and  privation  —  some  of  them  wrestling  with  them  until  dis 
couraged,  leaving  their  log  cabins  untenanted  —  a  forbidding  indi 
cation  to  new  adventurers.  All  that  Mr.  Williamson  had  done  was 
premature.  A  fine  public  house,  good  mills,  a  pleasure  boat  upon 
the  beautiful  Bay,  would  have  been  well  conceived  enterprises  in  a 
settled  country,  but  sadly  out  of  place  in  a  wilderness,  with  here 
and  there,  miles  apart,  in  small  openings  of  the  forest,  a  Pioneer 
settler,  half  resolving  to  leave  the  country,  and  give  up  his  enter 
prise  as  a  bad  job.  Of  those  that  were  connected  with  the  im 
provements,  but  few  remained  long  after  they  were  completed. 

In  1801,  Ami  Els  worth  came  from  East  Windsor,  Conn.,  and  set 
tled  on  the  road  leading  from  the  Ridge  to  the  village  Mr.  W  illiam- 
son  had  founded  upon  the  Lake  and  Bay.  There  was  then  on  the 
road  leading  to  Palmyra,  no  settler  nearer  to  where  he  located  than 
Daniel  Russell,  9  miles  distant.  At  the  Point,  (village)  Moses  Sill 
was  in  the  tavern  house  ;  and  there  were  two  or  three  families  be 
side,  most  of  whom  lived  by  fishing  and  hunting.  On  the  Lake 
shore,  seven  miles  above  the  Point,  was  a  solitary  settler  by  the 
name  of  Amos  Richards.  *  Elijah  Brown  was  an  early,  but  not  a 
permanent  settler  on  the  Lake  shore,  four  miles  above  the  Point,  f 

*  Connected  with  him  or  his  family,  is  a  tale  of  pioneer  life,  well  worthy  of  record. 
Mr.  Richards  had  been  in  but  a  few  years,  and  made  but  a  little  opening  in  the  forest, 
when  he  died,  leaving  a  wife,  and  a  daughter  twenty  years  old ;  both  uncommonly  en 
dowed  with  health  and  strength.  In  their  solitary  home,  far  away  from  neighbors, 
the  mother  and  daughter  took  the  laboring  oars  in  out  of  door  work,  chopped  and 
cleared  land,  added  a  comfortable  log  barn  upon  their  premises,  planted  an  orchard, 
harrowed,  ploughed,  sowed,  reaped  and  harvested ;  dispensing  entirely  with  the  labor 
of  men.  In  winters,  they  had  their  own  roads  to  make  to  the  settlements,  their  stock 
to  fodder  and  brouse  ; — in  fact,  women  as  they  were,  they  contended  successfully  with 
all  the  endurances  of  pioneer  life,  and  in  the  end,  with  pretty  good  success.  There 
was  an  entire  new  feature  in  the  old  lady's  domestic  economy  :  —  She  trained  a  cow 
to  carry  burdens,  and  especially  her  grain  to  mill,  upon  her  back.  Mrs.  Richards  died 
in  1849,  aged  93  years.  The  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Jeduthan  Moffatt. 

t  He  was  a  Pioneer  upon  the  Holland  Purchase,  at  the  mouth  of  Oak  Orchard 
Creek,  as  early  as  1804.  In  1805  or  '6,  he  came  down  the  Lake  from  his  new  loca 
tion  to  mill  at  Sodus,  in  a  skiff.  Returning,  he  was  taken  sick,  and  on  going  on  shore, 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.  895 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ellsworth  still  survive,  at  an  advanced  age.  They 
have  fifty  living  descendants  in  the  town  of  Sodus. 

The  old  gentleman  says  that  his  neighborhood,  in  an  early  day, 
was  more  than  usually  the  haunt  of  deer,  bears  and  wolves ;  wild 
ducks  were  abundant  in  the  Bay,  and  some  seasons  of  the  years, 
pigeons  were  so  plenty,  that  it  was  difficult  to  protect  the  crops 
from  their  depredations.  At  one  period,  they  had  their  roosts  on 
the  Lake  shore,  their  nests  occupying  the  trees  upon  hundreds  of 
acres.  Some  trees  would  have  sixty  and  seventy  nests  upon  them. 
The  backwoods  settlers  carried  away  cart  loads  of  the  young 
squabs.  On  another  occasion,  an  unusual  quantity  of  beach  nuts 
and  mild  weather,  attracted  myriads  of  them  to  the  neighborhood  ; 
the  weather  suddenly  changing  to  severe  cold,  the  woods  were 
strewed  with  those  that  had  been  frozen  to  death. 

Elijah  Gibbs  was  the  first  settled  physician  in  the  neighborhood. 
He  died  in  1829.  Several  of  his  sons  are  masters  of  vessels  upon 
the  Lake.  Elisha  Matthews  was  an  early  physician  ;  a  son  of  his 
resides  in  Rochester. 

Mr.  Ellsworth  was  sick  for  five  of  the  first  years  after  settling  at 
Sodus ;  his  then  young  wife,  transferred  to  the  wilderness  from  a 
comfortable  New  England  home,  had  her  husband  and  young  chil 
dren  to  take  care  of,  and  much  of  the  out  door  labor  to  perform. 
A  payment  upon  their  land  became  due :  their  dependence  to  meet 
it  was  a  sum  due  them  in  Connecticut ;  Mrs.  E.  made  the  long 
journey  to  Windsor  upon  horseback,  and  obtained  it.  The  history 
of  their  pioneer  years  has  the  harshest  features  of  backwood's  life ; 
but  with  them,  as  with  others,  the  scene  has  changed ;  the  dense 
forests  have  melted  away ;  in  the  midst  of  their  descendants,  sur 
rounded  by  fruitful  fields,  they  are  spending  the  evening  of  their 
days,  and  calmly  awaiting  the  close  of  the  mission  upon  earth, 
they  have  so  well  performed. 


PEREGRINE  FITZHUGH. 

See  William  Fitzhugh,  page  364.     He  emigrated  to  this  re 
gion  in  1799.     Residing  three  years  at  Geneva,  he  was  engaged  in 

died  at  Irondequoit.  John  G.  Brown,  of  Hudson,  Michigan,  and  Paul  Brown,  of  Pal 
myra,  Wayne  county,  are  his  sons.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Edward  Durfee, 
and  William  Wilcox,  of  Palmyra,  and  Gilbert  Howell,  of  Oak  Orchard. 


396  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

improving  a  large  purchase  he  had  made  at  Sodus,  until  his  removal 
there  in  1803.  But  little  had  been  done  there  before  his  advent, 
in  the  way  of  farm  improvements.  Mr.  Williamson's  fine  tavern 
house  loomed  up  on  the  Bay,  on  either  hand,  a  few  log  cabins, 
most  of  them  deserted;  while  the  background  was  a  thickly  wood 
ed  forest,  upon  the  beautiful  swell  of  land  between  the  Bay  and 
the  Lake ;  cut  up  into  "  inner  "  and  "  outer  "  town  lots ;  the  stakes 
and  blazed  trees  of  the  surveyors  being  the  only  marks  of  improve 
ment. 

Col.  Fitzhugh  came  into  the  country  strong  handed;  his  was  the 
Pioneer  advent  of  the  "  Marylanders,"  and  was  a  marked  event, 
He  came  over  Mr.  Williamson's  Northumberland  road,  with  a  for 
midable  cavalcade;  large  Pennsylvania  wagons,  drawn  by  27 
horses ;  his  family,  including  slaves,  consisting  of  over  forty  per 
sons.  The  cavalcade  was  five  weeks  in  making  the  passage,  the 
wholer«camping  in  the  woods  two  nights  on  the  way. 

The  enterprising  adventurer  from  the  shores  of  the  Chesepeake 
Bay,  chose  for  his  home  one  of  the  finest  regions  of  the  Genesee 
country,  as  time  and  improvements  are  now  rapidly  demonstrating, 
but  one  beset  with  many  early  difficulties  and  hindrances — dis 
ease,  isolation,  in  reference  to  the  directions  that  business  and  the 
progress  of  improvement  took  ;  destined  to  slow  settlement,  and 
long  untoward  years.  He  died  in  the  midst  of  his  enterprises,  in 
1810.  The  owner,  by  inheritance,  of  slaves,  he  introduced  them 
into  a  region  unfitted  for  slave  labor,  and  in  his  case,  as  well  as  with 
all  others  who  made  the  experiment,  it  was  a  failure.  He  had 
made  most  of  them  free  before  his  death. 

Mrs.  Fitzhugh,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Lloyd  Chew,  of 
Ann  Arundel,  Md.,  still  survives,  a  resident  at  the  old  homestead,  at 
the  advanced  age  of  84  years.  She  has  lived  to  see  her  descend 
ants  of  the  fifth  generation.  The  surviving  sons  of  Col.  Peregrine 
Fitzhugh,  are :  —  Samuel  Fitzhugh,  who  has  been  a  clerk  in  the 


NOTE  — An  experiment  of  local  colonization,  or  separate  settlement  of  free  blacks, 
commence';  in  an  early  day  at  Sodus.  The  mamumitted  slaves  of  most  of  the 
Maryla-ndefs  —  many  of  them  those  of  Mr.  Fitzhugh  —  were  allowed  to  go 
upon  the  Pulteney  lands,  near  the  Bay,  the  ten,  fifteen,  and,  twenty  acre 
lots  that  had  been  laid  out  by  Mr.  Williamson  upon  his  towwn  plat.  They 
numbered  at  one  time,  about  80  in  all.  The  settlement  began  to  disperse  after  a 
few  years;  they  proved  illy  adapted  for  making  themselves  a  home  upon  new  lands; 
those  that  remained  were  idle  and  unthrifty,  and  their  locality  is  now  a  sad  specimen 
of  the  self  reliance,  or  independent  existence,  of  their  race. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  397 

General  Post  Office,  at  Washington,  for  nearly  thirty  years ;  and 
Bennett  C.  Fitzhugh,  a  resident  at  Sodus  Point.  Daughters  be 
came  the  wives  of  William  Pulteney  Dana,*  whose  mother  was  a 
niece  of  Sir  William  Pulteney ;  of  William  Haylartz,  of  Sodus ; 
of  William  Edwards,  of  Sodus ;  an  unmarried  daughter  resides  at 
the  old  homestead. 


WILLIAM  NIXON  LOOMIS. 

He  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey.  After  a  collegiate  education, 
he  studied  medicine,  attended  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Rush,  at  Philadel 
phia.  His  ambition  as  a  student,  is  indicated  by  the  fact,  that  he 
took  copious  notes  of  the  whole  course  of  lectures  of  that  eminent 
man,  which  fill  several  quarto  volumes,  and  are  the  only  report  ex 
tant,  of  that  course.  An  acquaintance  thus  formed,  between  mas 
ter  and  pupil,  they  afterwards  maintained  a  correspondence  of 
intimacy  and  friendship.  Commencing  the  practice  of  medicine 
in  Philadelphia,  he  continued  there  until  a  declining  health,  conse 
quent  upon  an  attack  of  the  yellow  fever,  induced  him  to  seek  a 
change  of  climate. 

He  came  on  a  tour  of  exploration  to  the  Genesee  country  soon  after 
1800.  In  a  trip  by  water,  with  some  friends,  they  were  overtaken 
by  a  storm,  off  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river.  The  party  landed, 
and  went  up  to  view  the  Falls.  Upon  the  present  site  of  Roches 
ter,  they  came  to  a  solitary  log  cabin,  knocked,  and  were  bid 
to  come  in.  Upon  entering,  they  found  that  in  the  absence  of 
the  family,  a  parrot  had  been  the  hospitable  representative.  The 
family  returned  soon,  however,  and  gave  them  a  supper  of  potatoes 
and  milk  ;  the  best  that  the  site  of  a  now  city  of  40,000  inhabit 
ants,  then  afforded.  Deciding  upon  making  Sodus  Point  his  home, 
he  made  considerable  investments  in  lands  there,  and  soon  removed 
his  family  to  their  new  home.  He  resided  at  the  Point,  until  the 
commencement  of  the  war  of  1812,  when  he  removed  two  miles 
farther  up  the  Lake,  where  he  had  purchased  lands,  and  erected  a 
flouring  mill.  His  house  at  the  Point  was  burned  when  the  British 

*  He  came  to  this  country  soon  after  his  relative  had  become  a  proprietor  here  ;  his 
wife  dying,  he  returned  to  England  in  early  years.  Mrs.  Daniel  H.  Fitzhugh,  of  Grove- 
land  is,  a  daughter  of  his. 


398  P1IELPS  AXD    GOEHAM?S   PURCHASE. 

force  made  their  landing  there.  To  the  flouring  mill,  in  his  new 
locality,  he  added  a  saw  mill,  an  iron  forge,  and  several  other  branch 
es  of  business;  besides  improving  the  land,  dividing  it  into  farms, 
and  building  several  houses  for  tenants.  The  little  settlement  was 
called  "  Maxwell."  Leaving  Philadelphia  with  the  design  of  aban 
doning  his  profession,  his  practice  was  only  such  as  the  exigencies 
of  the  new  region  demanded,  and  mostly  gratuitous.  He  bestowed 
much  of  his  time  and  talents  in  the  cause  of  internal  improvements. 
If  not  the  projector,  he  early  and  zealously  espoused  the  opening 
of  a  communication  between  Lake  Ontario  and  the  Erie  Canal,  by 
means  of  a  branch  canal,  terminating  at  Sodus  Bay.* 

To  indefatigable  industry  and  perseverance,  he  added  extraordi 
nary  business  talents ;  and  to  a  vigorous  intellect  he  added  a  thor 
ough  education,  cultivated  literary  tastes  and  pursuits,  in  hours  of 
relaxation  from  the  sterner  duties  of  life,  which  made  him  an  agree 
able  and  instructive  companion.  He  died  in  1833,  at  the  age  of  58 
years.  An  inscription  upon  his  tomb  stone,  in  the  rural  cemetery, 
at  Sodus  village,  pays  the  following  tribute  to  his  memory ;  —  "He 
was  one  of  the  Pioneer  Border  settlers.  His  enterprising,  vigor 
ous,  and  active  mind,  aided  esssentially  in  the  improvements  of  this 
country,  and  commanded  for  him  universal  esteem." 

The  first  wife  of  Dr.  Lummis  died  in  early  years.  His  second 
wife  was  a  daughter  of  Captain  John  Maxwell,  and  the  niece  of 
General  William  Maxwell,  both  of  whom  are  honorably  mentioned 
in  Revolutionary  annals.  The  surviving  sons  of  Dr.  Lummis, 
are  :  —  Benjamin  Rush  Lummis,  residing  on  the  east  side  of  Sodus 
Bay ;  William  M.  and  Dayton  Lummis,  merchants,  New  York. 
An  only  surviving  daughter  is  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ellet,  the  wife  of  Dr. 
William  H.  Ellet,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Columbia  College,  N. 
York  ;  The  amiable  and  gifted  authoress  of  "  The  Women  of  the 
American  Revolution,"  and  "  Domestic  History  of  the  American 
Revolution." 


Dr,  Thomas  G.  Lawson,  an  Englishman,  leaving  home  on  ac 
count  of  some  domestic  difficulties,  came  to  Sodus  Point,  in  early 

*  A  project  revived  in  later  years,  principally  under  the  auspices  of  another  public 
spirited  individual —  Gen.  "Wm.  H.  Adams  —  with  slow  and  untoward  progress  at  first ; 
but  now,  with  the  aid  of  recent  legislation,  likely  to  be  consummated. 

NOTE  • —  Mrs.  Ellet  is  now  about  38  years  of  age.  Her  first  published  literary  effort 
was  written  at  the  age  of  thirteen  ;  an  "Ode"  written  on  the  occasion  of  La  Fayetto's 
Visit  at  Geneva  where  she  was  attending  school. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.       399 

years,  purchasing  a  large  number  of  Mr.  Williamson's  "out  lots,"  a 
mile  from  the  Point,  fixing  his  residence  there.  Possessed  of  consid 
erable  wealth,  he  practiced  his  profession  only  occasionally,  spending 
his  money  freely  in  improvements  of  his  possessions.  He  returned 
to  England,  where  he  died  in  1833. 

Elder  Seba  Norton  was  the  the  pioneer  clergyman,  at  Sodus,  set 
tling  there  as  early  as  1805.  After  four  years'  service  in  the 
Revolution,  which  included  a  participation  in  the  battles  of  Mon- 
mouth  and  Saratoga,  he  united  with  the  Baptist  church,  and  soon  took 
upon  himself  the  office  of  a  minister,  with  a  limited  education,  but 
with  a  native  strength  of  mind,  and  a  devotion  to  his  profession, 
which  insured  a  long  career  of  usefulness.  He  was  the  founder 
of  the  first  meeting  house  in  the  township.  He  died  in  1835,  in 
the  76th  year  of  his  age. 

In  reference  to  the  slow  growth  of  Sodus,  the  early  fluctuations  of  its 
population,  Judge  By  ram  Green  remarks :  —  "A  large  portion  of  the 
early  settlers  about  the  Bay,  were  but  transient  residents,  fishermen 
and  hunters.  They  would  come  to  the  Bay,  invited  by  the  abun 
dance  of  deer  in  the  forest,  wild  ducks  in  the  Bay,  and  fish  in  the 
Bay  and  Lake,  and  erect  their  huts  on  the  Islands  in  the  Bay,  or  the 
main  land.  There  they  would  hunt  and  fish  for  a  season,  some  a 
few  years,  and  leave  the  place.  Soon  another  set  would  come,  and 
occupy  the  vacant  and  common  ground.  And  thus  a  floating  pop 
ulation  was  coming  and  going,  like  the  rolling  waves  upon  the  Lake, 
until  more  enterprising  men  purchased  and  occupied  the  ground, 
subdued  the  forest,  and  cultivated  the  soil." 


RIDGE  ROAD  AND  SODUS  BAY- 


Secluded,  in  referenc  to  the  main  thoroughfares,  the  northern  portions  of 
Monroe  and  Wayne  counties  are  less  known  than  most  of  the  Genesee  coun 
try.  Sodus  Bay,  especially,  a  marked  spot  in  the  topography  of  the  Genesee 
country,  and  in  fact  in  all  our  Lake  region,  has  never  been  seen  by  many, 
otherwise  familial*  with  the  whole  region.  These  considerations  will  excuse  a 
seeming  partiality,  in  making  them  an  exception  to  a  general  rule,  in  this  his 
tory  of  pioneer  settlement. 

Passing  Irondequoit  Bay,  and  going  east,  the  Ridge  Road  becomes  as  well 
denned,  as  uniformly  elevated,  as  upon  any  portion  of  it  between  the  Genesee 
and  the  Niagara  rivers.  It  passes  through  the  towns  of  Webster,  in  Monroe, 


400  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECITASE. 

Ontario,  Williamson,  and  Sodus,  in  Wayne,  terminating  at  the  head  of  the 
Bay,  or  rather  losing  there  its  regular  and  distinctive  character.  Starting 
from  Irondequoit,  passing  the  fine  swells  of  uplands  and  broad  plains  —  the 
constant  succession  of  magnificent  farms,  of  the  town  of  Webster,  the  flour 
ishing  rural  village,  that  bears  the  name  of  the  town  —  there  is  a  great  uni 
formity  in  nature's  own  highway,  upon  which  you  are  traveling ;  its  gradual 
slope  in  the  direction  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  gentle  swells  and  rolling  lands 
on  the  other  hand  —  a  sameness  of  landscape  —  until  you  arrive  at  Wil 
liamson,  or  Poppino's  corners,  where  the  main  pases  roads  from  Palmyra  to 
Pultney  ville.  Here  the  scene  changes  gradually,  the  slope  and  the  Ridge  becom 
ing  more  irregular,  and  at  the  south  knobs  and  sugar  loaf  hills  become  frequent, 
to  add  to  the  variety  of  scenery,  not  to  form  an  exception  to  the  every  where 
desirable  farms,  and  prosperous  agricultural  region.  No  where  in  all  this 
region  of  progress,  has  the  hand  of  improvement  effected  a  more  rapid 
change,  or  found  a  soil  making  better  returns  for  its  labor.  And  here  it  may 
be  remarked,  that  with  reference  to  the  staple  grain  product,  wheat,  there  is 
no  region  of  country  on  earth,  that  contains  in  its  soil  more  of  its  elements, 
than  the  slope  from  the  Ridge  Road  to  Lake  Ontario,  in  its  whole  extent. 

Passing  from  Poppino's  Corners  to  Sodus  village  —  seven  miles  —  on  either 
hand  are  broad  wheat  fields,  clear  of  stumps,  many  of  them  looking  like  vast 
onion  beds  ;  the  Ridge  gently  curving,  and  then  straight  for  miles,  with  a 
regular  elevation,  you  are  gradually  bearing  towards  the  Lake,  until  for  a  con 
siderable  distance  you  catch  giimpes  of  its  blue  waves,  through  vistas  of  the 
forest,  schooners  with  sails  spread,  or  perhaps  a  magnificent  steamboat  —  a 
floating  palace  —  will  cross  the  line  of  vision. 

Sodus  village  has  grown  up  on  the  Ridge  —  hardly  within  a  pioneer  period 
—  a  flourishing,  brisk  country  village,  having  a  pleasant  rural  aspect  ;  its  site, 
where  the  road  from  Lyons  to  Sodus  Point,  crosses  the  Ridge.  A  walk,  or 
ride,  of  four  miles  through  a  fine  farming  region,  of  ridges  and  valleys,  brings 
you  to  the  Point,  or  the  old  site  of  Mr.  Williamson's  magnificently  projected 
town. 

If  you  question  his  judgement,  or  say  that  his  plans  were  premature,  you 
will  be  obliged  to  pay  homage  to  his  taste  ;  for  no  where  in  all  this  region  is 
there  a  finelr  site  for  a  village  or  a  city.  The  bold  shore  of  the  Lake  forms 
an  elevated  and  beautiful  terrace  on  the  one  hand,  while  the  ground  gradually 
descends  to  the  waters  of  the  Bay  upon  the  other.  As  the  Point  gradually 
widens  out  in  the  back  ground,  it  rises  slowly,  and  is  interspersed  with 


N"OTE. —  In  the  years  1818,  '19,  the  author,  a  youth,  serving  his  apprentiship  in  a 
newspaper  office  at  Palmyra,  travelled  through  this  region  each  fall,  as  the  clerk  of 
a  blind  newspaper  earner.  It  was  a  most  unpromising  region  of  log  cabins,  stinted 
improvements,  of  chills  and  fevers.  The  owls  hooted  from  tops  of  the  hemlock  trees, 
wolves  howled,  and  foxes  barked  in  the  dark  forests  ;  the  saucy  hawk  would  be 
perched  upon  trees  in  close  proximity  with  solitary  log  cabins,  ready  to  pounce  upon 
truant  chickens  that  strayed  a  few  rods  from  the  coop  before  the  door.  Thirty  years 
passed  over,  and  he  revisited,  the  region  in  connection  with  this  present  work.  What 
a  change  !  Comfort,  luxury,  abundance,  had  taken  the  place  of  those  rugged  scenes 
of  pioneer  life !  Recognizing  a  pioneer  mother,  that  he  used  to  see  there  in  those 
primitive  days,  he  observed  to  her  :  —  "I  used  to  pity  you  that  were  obliged  to  live 
here;  now  I  almost  pity  those  that  cannot." 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUKCHASE.      401 

swells  of  land,  slopes  and  vallies,  forming  sites  for  residences  overlooking  Lake 
and  Bay,  arid  every  way  inviting. 

The  Bay  enters  a  cove  of  tlie  Lake,  which  is  protected  on  either  hand  by 
headlands.  It  is  about  half  a  mile  across  its  neck,  gradually  widening  out  to 
the  extent  of  four  miles.  In  length  from  north  to  south,  it  is  nearly  seven 
miles.  A  small  Island  in  the  Lake,  lying  opposite  the  entrance  to  the  Bay,  a 
pier  connects  it  with  the  main  land,  and  another  is  extended  into  the  Lake. 
These  public  improvements,  added  to  natural  advantages,  renders  it  the  finest 
harbor  upon  ail  our  Lake  coasts.  It  is  said  of  the  magnificent  Bay  of  San 
Francisco,  that  "  all  the  navies  of  the  world  might  ride  at  anchor  in  it  at 
one  time,  with  safety."  It  may  be  said  of  Sodus  Bay,  that  all  the  craft  that 
will  ever  navigate  our  Lakes,  wrould  find  ample  room  there ;  good  anchorage, 
and  protection  from  the  severest  gales.  Its  mostly  deep,  still  waters  might  at 
times,  be  passed  over  safely  in  a  canoe,  when  a  tempest  was  tossing  the  waters 
of  the  Lake.  The  scenery,  especially  upon  the  east  side  of  the  Bay,  is  less 
bold  and  rugged,  but  its  promentories  remind  one  of  the  descriptions  of  the 
Bay  of  Naples.  With  an  eye  for  the  picturesque  and  romantic  —  a  feeling  of 
enthusiasm  in  reference  to  all  this  region,  —  Mr.  Williamson  wrote  to  a  friend 
in  England  ;  —  "The  town"  (Sodus,)  "stands  on  arising  ground  on  the 
west  point  of  the  Bay,  having  the  Lake  on  the  north,  to  appearance  as  bound 
less  as  the  ocean,  and  the  Bay  to  the  east  romantically  interspersed  with  Islands, 
and  parts  of  the  main  land  stretching  into  it.  The  first  view  of  the  place, 
after  passing  through  a  timbered  country  from  Geneva,  twenty-eight  miles, 
strikes  the  eye  of  the  beholder,  as  one  of  the  most  magnificent  landscapes 
human  fancy  can  picture ;  and  the  beauty  of  the  scene,  is  not  unfrequently 
heightened,  by  the  appearance  of  large  vessels  navigating  the  Lake." 


The  "  District  of  Sodus/'  was  erected  in  the  primitive  division 
of  Ontario  county  into  Districts,  in  1789.  The  earliest  record  of  a 
town  meeting  is  in  1799.  The  district  then  embraced  all  of  the 
present  town  of  Sodus  and  Lyons.  The  town  or  district  meeting 
was  held  at  the  "  house  of  Evert  Van  Wickle"  in  Lyons  village. 
The  officers  chosen  were  as  follows :  —  Azariah  Willis,  supervisor, 
Joseph  Taylor,  town  clerk  ;  other  town  officers  :  —  Norman  Merry, 
Samuel  Caldwell,  Chas.  Cameron,  Moses  Sill,  E.  Van  Wickle, 
Timothy  Smith,  Joseph  Wood,  David  Svveezy,  Daniel  Russell, 
Henry  Love  well,  Wm.  White,  Reuben  Adams,  Samuel  Nelson, 
David  Sweezy,  and  John  Van  Wickle. 

At  a  special  town  meeting  in  1799,  held  "at  the  house  of  John 
Briggs,"  John  Perrine,  Timothy  Smith,  and  Samuel  Caldwell  were 
chosen  school  commissioners. 

There  was  at  this  period  on  the  tax  roll,  the  names  of  50  persons, 
some  of  whom  were  non-residents ;  the  settlers  would  seem  to  have 


402  PHELPS  AOT>  GOEHAM'S  PTJEOIIASE. 

been  located  in  Lyons  village,  on  the  road  from  Lyons  to  Sodus 
Point,  at  the  Point,  and  on  the  Palmyra  road,  with  the  exception  of 
Brown  and  Richards,  on  the  Lake  shore  between  the  Point  and 
Pulteneyville.  In  1800,  Timothy  Smith  was  supervisor.  In  this 
year  the  first  records  of  roads  were  made.  Two  dollars  bounty 
was  voted  for  wolf  scalps  "with  the  skin  thereon ; "  and  it  was  also 
voted  that  "  hog  yokes  be  eight  inches  above  the  neck."  It  was 
also  voted  that  Elias  Dickinson,  who  it  is  presumed  was  a  Justice  of 
the  peace  in  Phelps,  "be  allowed  83  for  opening  town  meetings 
two  years  past." 

In  1799,  the  District  gave  Charles  Williamson  and  Nathaniel 
Norton,  candidates  for  Assembly,  each  23  votes.  In  1800  Thomas 
Morris  had  the  unanimous  vote  of  the  district,  68,  for  representative 
of  the  Western  District  in  Congress. 

In  1801  the  district  "neglected  to  hold  town  meeting,"  but  three 
justices  of  the  county,  Wm.  Rogers,  Darius  Comstock  and  Ezra 
Patterson,  met  at  the  house  of  Oliver  Kendall,  and  appointed  John 
Perrine,  supervisor,  and  Richard  Jones  town  clerk. 

Pulteneyville  is  upon  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  at  the  mouth  of 
Little  Salmon  creek.  The  waters  of  the  fine  pure  stream  that  have 
been  collecting  upon  the  slope  in  Marion  and  Williamson,  on  ap 
proaching  the  Lake,  seem  to  have  been  coy  and  hesitating  in  fall 
ing  into  its  embrace ;  meandering  along  for  a  considerable  distance, 
nearly  parallel  with  the  Lake  shore,  a  ridge  elevated  from  35  to  40 
feet,  affords  fine  building  ground  overlooking  the  Lake.  Two  prom 
ontories  put  out  above  and  below  the  entrance  of  the  cre'ek  into  the 
Lake,  which,  with  a  bluff  shore,  affords  the  means  of  making  a  very 
good  harbor  with  a  small  comparative  expenditure  of  money.  It 
was  a  prominent  locality  in  long  years  of  French  and  English  do 
minion  —  the  frequent  stopping  place  for  the  small  craft  that  coasted 
along  the  Lake  shore.  Although  the  locality  was  marked  by  Mr. 
Williamson  in  his  plans  of  improvement,  and  is  mentioned  in  his 
correspondence  with  his  principals,  no  commencement  was  made 
there  under  his  auspices. 

Previous  to  1806,  William  Waters  was  the  only  resident  there. 
In  that  year,  Capt.  Samuel  Throop,  changed  his  residence  from 
Manchester  to  Pulteneyville,  accompanied  by  his  father-in-law, 
Jeremiah  Selby,  who  had  settled  at  Palmyra  as  early  as  1801. 
They  erected  a  saw  mill  and  grist  mill  on  Little  Salmon  creek. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  403 

Capt.  Throop  kept  the  first  public  house  at  Pulteneyville.  Russel 
Whipple,  becoming  a  resident  there  in  early  years,  built  the  schooner 
"  Laura/  which  was  sailed  by  Capt.  Throop.  The  widow  of  Capt. 
Throop,  is  now  the  wife  of  Major  William  Rodgers,  of  Pulteneyville. 
In  addition  to  the  son  named  in  a  note  attached,  Capt.  Washington 
Throop,  of  Pulteneyville,  is  another  son.  Daughters  became  the 
wives  of  W.  H.  Rodgers  and  Capt.  Andrew  Rolling,  of  Pulteneyville. 
Joseph  Colt,  the  early  merchant  at  Canandaigua  and  Geneva, 
was  the  pioneer  merchant  at  Pulteneyville.  Jacob  W.  Hallett,  late 
of  New  York,  was  an  early  resident  of  Pultneyville,  as  was  Samuel 
Ledyard,  who  is  a  resident  there  now ;  of  both  whom,  especially 
of  the  latter,  whose  family  was  early  identified  with  all  the  region 
west  of  Utica,  the  author  is  in  hopes  to  be  able  to  say  something  in 
another  connection. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


PIONEER    EVENTS    IN  WHAT  IS    NOW  MONROE. 


IN  December,  1789,  the  Shaeffer  family  became  the  pioneer  set 
tlers  in  all  the  region  west  of  the  Genesee  river,  and  in  fact  of  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Genesee,  if  we  except  those  who  had  blended 
themselves  with  the  Indians,  were  Indian  traders,  or  had  become 
squatters  upon  Indian  lands,  in  their  flight  from  the  Mohawk  and 
Susquehannah,  during  the  border  wars.  With  reference  to  pe  -ma- 
nent  settlement  and  improvement,  they  must  be  regarded  as  the 
Pioneers  of  the  Genesee  Valley. 


.  —  A  singular  train  of  Lake  disasters  and  deaths,  is  connected  with  this  pio 
neer  family  :  —  Capt.  Throop  himself  was  drowned  from  the  schooner  Lark,  of  which 
he  was  master,  while  attempting  to  enter  Sodus  Bay,  in  a  gale,  in  1819.  Previous  to 
which,  Mrs.  Throop  with  two  young  children,  in  a  skiff  with  her  husband,  Jeremiah 
B.  Sulby  and  George  Armstrong,  ,were  going  a  few  miles  up  the  Lake  ;  the  skiff 
filled,  the  children  were  drowned,  and  Mrs.  Throop  barely  escaped.  At  the  early 
age  of  18,  the  present  well  known  Capt.  Horatio  N.  Throop,  of  the  steam  boat  Onta 
rio,  became  a  navigator  of  the  Lake,  as  the  master  of  a  small  schooner,  which  he  had 
built  himself.  In  1825  on  his  way  to  Oswego,  a  cargo  of  corn  with  which  ho  was 
laden  became  clamp,  swelled,  the  vessel  suddenly  bursting  and  sinking.  Two  lads  on 
board  drowned,  and  Capt.  Throop  himself  escaped  by  swimming  to  the  shore,  four 
miles,  on  a  door  that  had  become  detached. 


404          PHELP3  AND  GORHAM's  PURCHASE. 

Peter  ShaefFer,  the  elder,  was  a  native  of  Berks  county,  Pa.,  but 
emigrated  from  Lancaster  to  this  region,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
85  years.  His  family  who  became  permanent  residents,  consisted 
of  himself  and  his  sons  Peter  and  Jacob.  In  July,  1789,  they  came 
first  to  Geneva,  and  then  to  Ganargwa  creek,  in  Bloomfield,  where 
they  purchased  1200  acres  of  land  of  Gen.  Fellows.  Remaining 
there  until  December,  the  old  gentleman  apportioned  that  tract 
among  his  three  daughters,  and  went  upon  the  river  with  his  sons. 
They  found  Ebenezer  Allan,  the  owner  of  the  fine  tract  of  flats  and 
upland  at  the  mouth  of  Allan's  creek,  adjoining  the  present  village 
of  Scottsville.  He  had  a  comfortable  log  house,  upon  a  gentle 
swell  of  land,  which  may  be  observed  a  short  distance  from  the 
confluence  of  the  creek  and  river.  He  was  living  then  with  a 
young  white  wife,  whose  name  had  been  Lucy  Chapman.  Her 
family  on  their  way  to  Canada,  had  stopped  with  him,  and  by  the 
solicitations  of  Mrs.  Dugan,  (Allan's  sister,)  Lucy  remained  to  keep 
her  company.  A  sham  magistrate  came  along  soon  after  and  made 
her  a  joint  partner  with  some  half  dozen  natives,  in  the  affections 
of  the  then  lord  of  the  Genesee  Valley.  Mrs.  Dugan,  had  come 
on  some  years  previous,  with  her  husband  and  joined  her.  brother, 
and  had  been  his  housekeeper.  Allan  had  acquired  three  hundred 
acres  of  land  by  gift  from  the  Indians,  to  which  he  had  added  one 
hundred  and  seventy  by  purchase,  from  Phelps  and  Gorham.  He 
had  a  stock  of  goods  for  the  Indian  trade.*  He  had  50  or  60  acres 
of  open  flats  under  the  plough,  20  acres  of  wheat  upon  the  ground; 
some  horses  and  cattle.  A  few  years  previous  he  had  wintered 
seventy  head  of  cattle  on  rushes,  f 

The  Shaeffers  became  the  purchasers  of  his  fine  tract  of  land, 
paying  him  the  then  high  price  of  82,50  per  acre ;  though  it  must 


*  And  "thereby  hangs  a  tale  : "  —  Theso  goods  were  obtained  of  John  Butler,  Brit 
ish  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  at  Niagara.  They  were  taken  from  the  King's 
store  house,  and  were  evidently  intended  for  Indian  presents  upon  the  Genesee  river ; 
to  keep  the  Indians  favorable  to  the  British  interests,  and  strengthen  the  British  claim 
to  dominion  over  the  whole  of  the  western  portion  of  this  State.  But  the  agent  mis 
applied  his  trusts;  he  bought  furs  with  the  goods ;? — they  became  oftener  gifts  of  gal 
lantry  than  those  of  diplomacy.  Butler  made  a  business  matter  of  it ;  demanded  pay  for 
the  goods ;  Allan  contested  the  claim,  but  it  was  finally  compromised  by  the  interven 
tion  of  James  Wadsworth,  Esq. 

t  After  coming  upon  the  Genesee  river,  he  had  become  a  grazer  and  drover.  But 
ler's  Rangers  and  the  Indians  would  steal  cattle  from  the  Mohawk  and  the  Susquehan- 
nah,  and  drive  them  to  him.  After  keeping  them  upon  the  river,  until  they  became  good 
beef,  they  would  command  a  ready  sale  at  high  prices,  at  Fort  Niagara  and  in  Canada. 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.  405 

be  considered  that  sixty  acres  of  improvement  was  then  a  valuable 
acquisition.  Allan  included  in  the  sale,  one  acre  of  wheat  upon  the 
ground  and  a  sow  pig.*  The  father  and  sons  added  to  Allan'  house 
hold  for  the  winter,  subsisting  upon  the  milk  of  two  cows  they 
brought  in,  and  Indian  pudding  that  Mrs.  Dugan  cooked  for  them. 

Allan  had  erected  the  saw  mill  at  the  Falls,  (now  Rochester)  in 
the  summer  previous,  and  had  his  timber  out  for  the  gristmill.  The 
money  that  he  realized  for  his  farm,  enabled  him  to  push  forward  his 
enterprise.  The  grist  mill  was  raised  the  forepart  of  winter.  The 
frame  was  26  by  30,  of  heavy  timber.  All  the  able  bodied  white 
men  in  the  Genesee  valley  were  invited  to  the  raising  —  and  they 
numbered  fourteen,  all  told.  It  took  them  two  days.  A  trading 
boat  happening  to  enter  the  mouth  of  the  river,  while  they  were 
raising,  some  rum  was  procured,  and  the  backwoodsmen  had  a 
dance  in  the  mill,  and  a  rejoicing  at  the  prospect  of  something  better 
to  prepare  meal  for  their  bread  than  the  stump  mortar. 

The  Shaeffers  brought  apple  seeds  with  them  from  Pennsylvania, 
and  planted  them  in  December,  1799.  These  were  the  first  apple 
seeds,  (other  than  the  old  French  orchard  at  Schlosser,)  planted  in 
the  Genesee  country,  west  of  the  river. 

After  Allan  had  sold  his  farm  to  the  Shaeffers,  he  went  back  to 
Mt.  Morris,  purchased  goods  at  Philadelphia,  bringing  them  in  from 
the  back  settlements  of  Pennsylvania,  on  horseback.  In  the  season 
of  '90,  he  sowed  100  acres  of  wheat,  besides  raising  considerable 
corn.  Like  Alexander  Selkirk,  he  was  "  lord  of  all  he  surveyed  ;" 
commanded  the  services  of  the  Indians  to  work  his  fields  for  rum 
and  trinkets,  occasionally  pressing  into  his  service  the  Butler  Ran 
gers,  who  had  stopped  in  the  valley,  in  their  flight  from  the  Mohawk 
and  the  Susquehannah ;  paying  them  sometimes,  but  often  arbitrarily 
adjusting  their  services  to  suit  himself,  as  there  wras  then  no  au 
thority  superior  to  his  own.  His  gallantries,  truthfully  related,  would 
equal  the  tales  of  eastern  romance ;  the  "  turbaned  turk  might  have 
yielded  to  him  supremacy ;  it  extended  even  to  the  employment  of 
a  purveyor,  in  the  person  of  a  Dutchman,  Andrews.  About  this 
time,  alternating  in  his  tastes  between  his  own  and  another  race, 


*  That  same  sow  pig  cost  a  night's  lodging  in  the  woods.  She  took  to  the  woods 
early  in  the  spring,  and  had  to  be  looked  up  when  winter  came  again.  In  the  search, 
the  present  Peter  Shaeffer  got  benighted  and  slept  in  a  hollow  log  through  a  winter 
night 


406  PHELPS  AJSTD  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

he  took  another  white  wife,  the  daughter  of  a  Ranger,  named  Greg 
ory,  who  lived  upon  the  Canascraga  flats,  near  Dansville.* 

Mr.  Shaeffer  contradicts  the  story  of  Allan's  murder  of  the 
Dutchman,  Andrews,!  but  he  says  that  he  murdered  a  boy  that 
lived  with  him,  and  points  out  the  grave,  near  the  site  of  Allan's 
residence,  on  the  Shaeffer  flats.  The  boy  was  sent  for  a  bucket  of 
water,  and  playing  by  the  way,  Allan  met  him,  took  the  bucket 
from  him,  and  beat  him  to  death  with  it. 

He  was,  says  Mr.  Shaeffer,  mild  and  conciliating,  when  he  had  a 
selfish  end  to  accomplish ;  but  always  severe  and  harsh  with  his 
dependents.  A  refugee,  a  negro  slave,  had  during  the  Revolution, 
come  from  the  Mohawk  to  the  Genesee  river,  and  domiciled  with 
the  Indians.  He  was  called  "Captain  Sun  Fish."  He  was  shrewd, 
intelligent,  became  a  trader  in  cattle,  selling  in  Canada,  and  at  Fort 
Niagara,  took  a  squaw  wife,  and  acquired  considerable  money.  At 
one  time  he  was  settled  at  the  mouth  of  Tonawanda  creek.  Cov 
eting  his  money,  and  wishing,  perhaps,  in  the  way  of  matrimony  to 
try  a  third  race,  Allan  married  one  of  his  daughters.  Getting  pos 
session  of  the  money,  however,  he  discarded  the  mixed  negro  and 
Indian  wife ;  but  as  if  there  were  some  redeeming  traits  in  his  char 
acter,  he  pensioned  the  old  negro,  and  allowed  him  a  hut  upon  his 
Allan's  creek  farm.  Sun  Fish  finally  went  to  Tonawanda,  where 
his  descendants  now  reside. 

Jacob  Schoonover  and  his  family  had  preceded  the  Shaeffers  a 
few  months,  and  settled  near  the  mouth  of  Dugan's  creek.  Peter 
Shaeffer  married  his  daughter,  in  1790.  He  and  his  wife  died  in 
1838,  '9,  at  the  ages  of  93  and  94.  Mrs.  Shaeffer  died  in  1835,  aged 
63  years. 

The  whole  valley  of  the  river  below  Mr.  Shaeffer's,  was  slow  in 
settling.  The  first  settler  was  Joseph  Morgan,  his  farm  adjoining 
the  Shaeffer  farm,  in  '92 ;  a  daughter  of  his,  Mrs.  Early,  now  occu 
pies  the  place.  His  son,  Joseph  Morgan,  presides  on  the  river,  a  short 

*  "When  he  emigrated  to  Canada,  he  undertook  to  lessen  the  number  of  his  white 
wives,  by  procuring  the  drowning  of  this  last  one.  Two  men  that  were  hired  for  the 
purpose,  took  her  down  in  a  canoe,  and  purposely  ran  over  the  falls  near  the  present 
aqueduct;  swimming  ashore  themselvas,  but  leaving  her  to  go  over  the  main  falls. 
She,  however,  disappointed  them,  saving  herself,  and  soon  appearing  in  the  presence 
of  her  faithless  lord,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  a  dripping  water  nymph.  She  follow 
ed  him  to  Canada,  and  became  one  of  his  new  household  there. 

t  He  went  over  the  Genesee  Falls,  when  taking  mill  irons  down  for  the  old  Allan 
mill ;  the  boat  and  irons  were  found  below  the  Falls. 


PHELPS  AND  GOPJIAM'S  PURCHASE.  407 

distance  below.  In  some  of  the  earliest  years, Peabody 

erected  a  distillery,  first  at  Handford's  Landing,  and  afterwards,  on 
the  Joseph  Morgan  place ;  Wm.  Peabody,  of  Scottsville,  is  a  son  of 
his.  Andrew  Wortman  was  a  settler  upon  the  river,  as  early  as 
'94  or  '5,  occupying  the  farm  that  belonged  to  Samuel  Street,  of 
Chippewa,  who  was  his  brother-in-law.  Caleb  Aspinwall,  Peter 
Conkle,  Frederick  and  Nicholas  Hetzteller,  were  early  in  the  Shaef- 
fer  neighborhood.  Reuben  Heth,  a  Vermonter,  stopping  first  at 
Bloomfield,  came  upon  the  river,  in  early  years,  worked  for  Mr. 
Shaffer,  without  a  change  of  his  buckskin  breeches  and  buckskin 
coat,  until  he  had  earned  enough  to  pay  for  a  farm.  He  died  about 
twenty  years  since,  a  man  of  wealth,  and  the  founder  of  a  highly 
respectable  family.  Eldridge  Heth,  of  Wheatland,  is  a  son  ;  Mrs. 
Hyde,  Mrs.  Nettleton,  and  Mrs.  Halsted,  are  his  daughters. 

The  two  story,  venerable  looking  farm  house,  near  which  is  the 
old  apple  orchard,  on  the  Genesee  Valley  canal,  a  short  distance 
below  Scottsville,  is  the  residence  of  Peter  Shaeffer.  The  fine  flats 
spread  out  before  it,  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  with  long  lines 
of  wire  fence,  are  those  he  purchased  from  "  Indian  Allan."  In  a 
romantic  spot,  at  the  end  of  the  ridge,  that  will  be  observed  rising 
upon  the  flats,  and  terminating  near  the  river  and  creek,  stood  the 
log  dwelling,  which  served  the  purposes  of  a  farm  house,  a  store,  and 
a  harem,  for  this  singular  man,  who  fled  from  civilization,  first  to 
become  the  scourge  of  his  own  race  and  kindred,  and  afterwards  to 
repay  the  confidence  and  hospitality  of  another  race,  by  a  career 
among  them,  marked  throughout  by  selfishness  and  sensuality. 

It  will  hardly  do  to  talk  of  antiquity,  in  a  country  where  our  race 
have  been  occupants  but  sixty  years,  in  allusion  to  any  relic  of 
their  advent.  But  the  old  Shaeffer  home,  with  all  its  historical  as 
sociations,  may  be  said  to  look  antiquated.  It  was  built  in  1789,  be 
fore  the  new  discovery,  the  cut  nail,  was  in  use,  and  all  the  doors  had 
to  be  made  consequently  with  wrought  nails.  Its  strap  door  hinges, 
its  locks,  handles  and  latches  were  made  by  a  blacksmith,  who  had 
come  into  the  country ;  none  other  could  then  be  procured.  It  was 
the  first  framed  farm  dwelling,  in  all  the  region  between  Genesee  river 
and  Lake  Erie.  When  it  was  building,  the  surveyors  were  making 
the  preliminary  surveys  of  most  of  all  the  territory  now  comprised  in 
the  counties  of  Orleans,  Niagara,  Erie,  Genesee,  Wyoming,  Allega- 
ny,  Cattaraugus,  and  Chautauque ;  Buffalo  contained  three  los 


408          PHELPS  AND  GORHAM  S  PURCHASE. 

dwellings,  and  Mr.  Ellicot  was  making  an  opening  to  erect  the  first 
log  dwelling  at  Batavia.  For  ten  years  after  that  house  was  com 
pleted,  and  twenty  years  after  its  venerable  surviving  occupant  was 
cultivating  large  fields ;  when  those  apple  trees  had  become  bear 
ers,  from  the  seeds  he  had  planted,  the  site  of  a  city  of  40,000  in 
habitants,  was  a  rugged  and  forbidding  wilderness !  The  orchard 
was  planted  six  years  before  the  British  gave  up  all  claim  to  W.  N. 
York,  and  surrendered  Fort  Niagara,  and  the  house  built  but  two 
years  afterwards. 

The  father  and  brother  of  Peter  ShaefFer  died  in  early  years, 
The  fine  start  which  the  improvements  gave  him  —  the  ready  mar 
ket  he  found  for  his  early  large  crops  of  corn  —  the  facilities  he  en 
joyed  for  exchanging  provisions  for  labor,  with  the  new  comers 
that  dropped  in  around  him,  were  advantages  he  well  improved  ;  and 
to  which  he  soon  added  grazing  and  droving ;  his  market,  Fort  Niag-- 
ara  and  Canada.  He  added  to  his  original  land  purchase,  by  degrees, 
until  he  had  a  large  possession;  and  a  competence  of  wealth  has 
rewarded  his  early  enterprise.  He  is  now  in  his  88th  year;  his 
faculties  not  materially  impaired,  his  memory  of  early  events  reten 
tive  and  intelligent ;  and  with  the  exception  of  a  diseased  ankle,  his 
physical  constitution  holds  out  remarkably  for  one  of  his  age.  In 
his  younger  days,  he  used  spirituous  liquors  moderately ;  none  for 
tli3  last  twenty  years ;  and  as  an  example  to  old  tobacco  chewers,  it 
may  be  added,  that  he  was  one  of  them  for  half  a  century,  but  is  not  of 
them  now.  He  has  been  the  occupant  of  different  town  offices,  and 
has  always  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens.  The  Scotch 
settlers  who  became  his  neighbors,  in  indigent  circumstances,  and 
the  pioneers  of  different  neighborhoods,  in  the  western  part  of 
Monroe  county,  many  of  them  speak  of  his  kindness  in  early  years, 
in  furnishing  them  with  grain  and  pork,  upon  credit;  and  in  return 
the  old  gentleman  pays  a  high  compliment  to  the  honesty  of  the 
primitive  settlers,  by  saying  that  of  the  numerous  debts  thus  con* 
tracted,  he  recollects  no  instance  where  he  ultimately  failed  to  re 
ceive  his  pay.  He  speaks  of  the  gratification  it  used  to  give  him,  to 
supply  with  a  few  bushels  of  grain,  some  potatoes,  or  pork,  perhaps, 
settlers  in  the  backwoods,  (to  be  carried  off,  generally,  upon  their 
backs,)  who  he  has  lived  to  see  become  the  owner  of  broad  fields  and 
crowded  granaries.  The  surviving  sons  of  Peter  Shaeffer,  are  :  — 
Peter,  Levi,  Daniel,  George ;  the  last  of  whom  is  the  owner  and 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  409 

occupant  of  the  old  homestead,  and  one  of  the  best  farmers  and  stock 
breeders  in  the  Genesee  valley.  Mrs.  Philip  Garbut  and  Mrs. 
Caleb  Allen,  are  his  daughters.  His  children  all  reside  in  Wheat- 
land  and  Chili. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  PETER  SHAEFFER. 


It  was  several  years  after  settlement  commenced  upon  the  river,  before  the 
Ridge  Road  was  known ;  an  Indian  trail  wyent  from  the  mouth  of  the  River 
to  Fort  Niagara,  keeping  near  the  Lake  shore ;  and  another  trail  was  along 
the  west  bank  of  the  river  from  Canawagus  to  mouth  of  river.  Peter  and 
Jacob  Shaeffer  laid  out  a  road  from  Allan's  creek  to  the  Falls,  in '9 2;  had 
no  compass;  took  ranges  from  trees;  but  the  road  as  it  now  exists,  is  mainly 
on  the  old  route.  It  was  improved,  the  streams  bridged  with  logs,  so  that 
teams  could  pass  in  the  winter  of  '93,  '4. 

Deer  were  plenty ;  bears  and  wolves  made  it  troublesome  to  keep  sheep  or 
hogs ;  but  the  raccoon  was  the  most  troublesome  animal  we  had  to  contend 
with.  To  save  their  corn,  the  new  settlers  were  obliged  to  hunt  them,  but 
their  fur  sold  readily,  and  paid  for  the  hunting.  At  some  seasons  the  pigeons 
were  very  abundant ;  they  could  be  taken  in  large  numbers,  by  the  use  of  nets ; 
the  breasts  were  cut  out,  salted,  and  they  made  very  good  eating.  Trout 
were  so  plenty  in  Allan's  creek,  that  a  string  of  an  hundred  and  an  hundred 
and  fifty,  could  be  taken  without  changing  ground.  At  Dumplin  Hill,  on 
one  occasion,  a  panther  was  a  victim  to  his  voracious  appetite.  Killing  a  deer, 
he  gorged  himself,  became  stupid,  an  Indian  found  him  helpless,  and  shot  him. 

Up  to  1794,  there  was  a  constant  intercourse  kept  up  between  the  British 
at  Fort  Niagara,  and  in  Canada,  and  the  Indians  upon  the  river.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  Indians  inclined  to  the  British  interests,  and  by  means  of 
runners,  and  speeches  sent  from  Gov.  Simcoe  and  Lord  Dorchester,  the  idea 
was  constantly  inculcated  that  the  British  would  soon  want  their  aid  against 
the  United  States.  Just  before  the  victory  of  Gen.  Wayne,  believing  as  they 
were  made  to  believe,  from  some  source,  that  he  would  be  defeated,  they 
were  menacing  and  insolent.  When  a  large  party  of  them  were  encamped 
on  the  flats  of  Allan's  creek,  on  their  way  to  become  allies  against  Wayne, 
some  of  the  painted  warriors  gave  out  that  they  would  return  with  help  enough 
to  drive  off  the  whites.  The  victory  created  a  better  state  of  things,  but  there 
was  not  a  feeling  of  perfect  security  until  the  surrender  of  Fort  Niagara,  in 
1796. 

"1  have  been  the  commissary  of  an  army,"  said  Mr.  Shaeffer,  and  he  ex 
plained  :  —  When  the  American  troops  were  on  their  way  up  the  Lake  to  take 
possession  of  Fort  Niagara,  in  batteaux,  they  met  with  head  winds,  put  back 
into  the  Genesee  river,  where  their  provisions  failed.  Hearing  of  Mr.  Shaeffer, 
they  came  up  the  river,  quartered  in  his  barn,  and  he  supplied  them  with 
pork  and  Indian  meal,  taking  the  officer's  note.  When  they  broke  up  their 
quarters,  Mr.  Shaeft'er  piloted  them  to  Caledonia  Springs,  put  them  upon  the 
26 


410  PIIELPS  A^D  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

trail,  and  amving  at  Tonawanda,  Poudry  piloted  them  to  Fort  Niagara,  where 
they  were  the  first  to  raise  the  American  flag.  The  next  winter,  Mr.  Shaeffer 
drove  cattle  to  Canada,  visited  Fort  Niagara,  and  received  his  pay. 

Mary  Jemison  once  staid  at  Mr.  Shaeffer's  over  night,  on  her  way  with  a 
hunting  party,  to  the  mouth  of  the  river.  She  related  the  story  of  her  cap 
tivity,  and  said  she  was  happy  in  her  Indian  relations,  and  preferred  to  remain 
rather  than  to  rejoin  her  friends. 


William  Hencher  was  a  native  of  Brookfield,  Mass.,  a  soldier  of 
the  Revolution,  he  afterwards  became  a  partizan  of  Shay,  in  the 
Massachusetts  rebellion.  While  transporting  some  provisions  to 
the  insurgents,  he  was  overtaken  by  some  of  the  opposing  military, 
fled,  leaving  his  teams,  and  sought  refuge  in  the  then  wild  regions 
of  western  New  York.  He  came  first  to  Newtown  Point,  remained 
there  one  year,  was  joined  by  his  family,  and  located  in  the  neigh 
borhood  of  Col.  Sterrett,  on  Big  Flats.  In  August,  1791,  he  and 
his  son  William,  then  eleven  years  of  age,  went  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Genesee  river,  where  they  found  Walker,  the  Ranger,  located  in  a 
log  hut  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  near  its  mouth,  the  solitary  oc 
cupant,  short  of  Irondequoit  Bay,  Orange  Stones,  and  Peter 
Shaeffers.  Determining  upon  a  settlement,  Mr.  Hencher,  with  the 
help  of  his  son,  went  up  to  Long  Pond,  cut  wild  grass  for  the  stock 
they  intended  to  bring  on,  erected  a  hut  on  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  and  returned  to  Big  Flats ;  carrying  with  them,  however,  a 
sufficient  amount  of  the  fever  and  ague  to  last  them  nearly  through 
the  winter. 

In  February,  '92,  he  moved  in  by  the  way  of  Seneca  Lake  and 
Catherine's  Town,  upon  ox-sleds.  At  Irondequoit,  was  the  end  of 
any  road.  Mr.  Hencher  cut  his  road  before  his  teams,  striking  the 
river  above  the  Falls,  and  then  down  on  the  east  side  to  Walker's, 
where  the  family  remained  until  the  last  of  March,  when  they 
crossed  the  river  and  occupied  the  hut  they  had  erected  in  the  fall, 
the  roof  of  which  was  dry  wild  grass.  This  was  the  first  hut  of  a 
white  man  erected  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  between  the 
Genesee  river  and  Fort  Niagara.  The  family  consisted  of  the 
father,  mother,  one  son,  and  seven  daughters.  Clearing  a  few  acres 
the  first  season,  and  planting  a  few  acres  that  Walker  had  cleared, 
they  got  some  summer  crops  ;  and  also  erected  a  comfortable  log 
house.  The  place  was  much  frequented  by  emigrants  and  boat 
men,  who  came  to  camp  on  shore.  Mr.  Hencher  soon  commenced 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PTJECHASE,  411 

traffic  with  boatmen,  emigrants  and  Indians,  to  which  business  he 
soon  added  a  brisk  trade  in  fish.  He  and  his  son,  having  procured 
a  boat,  would  cross  Lake  Ontario  to  the  river  Credit,  and  purchase 
fresh  salmon,  and  sometimes  catch  them  in  the  Oak  Orchard  and 
the  Irondequoit.  These  he  would  carry  back  into  the  settlements, 
and  exchange  for  butter  and  cheese,  which  he  would  market  in 
Canada,  making  large  profits.  Purchasing  six  hundred  acres  of 
land,  he  supported  a  large  family,  and  paid  for  the  land  twice,  the 
first  title  proving  defective.  The  old  gentleman  died  soon  after  the 
war  of  1812,  his  wife  surviving  until  1843,  when  she  died  at  the 
age  of  93  years.  The  eldest  daughter  married  Thomas  Lee;  she 
survives,  and  is  a  resident  at  Pittsford.  Hers  was  the  first  marriage 
that  took  place  upon  the  west  side  of  the  river,  except  that  of  Peter 
ShaefTer.  Another  sister  married  Bartholomew  May  bee,  and  is 
yet  living  in  Ohio  ;  another,  Stephen  Lusk,  of  Pittsford,  and  is  yet 
living;  another,  Jonathan  Leonard,  of  Parma,  and  is  yet  living; 
another,  Donald  M'Kenzie,  of  Caledonia,  and  is  yet  living.  Two 
others,  Mrs.  Clement,  of  Cleveland,  and  Mrs.  Abel  Rowe,  of  Parma, 
are  dead.  Seven  Pioneer  wives  and  mothers  came  from  under  one 
roof!  Of  the  eight  children,  six  are  living ;  and  yet,  they  have 
passed  through  the  most  rugged  scenes  of  pioneer  life,  and  their 
location  was,  in  early  years,  deemed  the  most  unhealthy  of  all  the 
new  settlements  !  The  eldest  is  80,  and  the  youngest  65.  The  old 
gentleman  lived  to  see  all  of  his  children  married  and  settled.  The 
only  son,  William  Hencher,  is  71  years  of  age  ;  resides  in  Andover, 
Allegany  county,  with  faculties  unimpaired,  his  memory  enabling 
him  to  relate  early  events  with  minuteness  and  accuracy. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  WM.  HENCHER,  2d. 


For  two  years  after  we  came  to  the  month  of  the  Genesee  river,  many  of 
the  Indians  were  ugly,  threatening-  and  quarrelsome.  Pending  the  victory 
of  Wayne,  my  father  had  made  up  his  mind  to  leave  the  country,  if  the  re 
sult  had  been  adverse;  but  his  courage  was  renewed  when  the  Senecas  came* 
back  from  the  fight,  tame  and  spiritless,  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  their 
British  allies  in  shutting  themselves  up  in  a  fort,  and  not  coming-  to  their  res 
cue,  as  they  had  been  made  to  believe  they  would.  We  all  expected  that  if 
Wayne  was  defeated,  the  western  Indians  would  come  down  and  aid  the 
Senecas  in  a  war  upon  the  whites  in  this  region.  The  mouth  of  the  Genesee 
River,  Braddock's  Bay,  and  Irondequoit  Bay,  were  hunting,  trapping,  and 


412  PHELPS  Am>  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

fishing  grounds  of  the  Senecas,  and  at  times,  the  Mississaguas  from  Canada 
would  be  encamped  about  them  in  large  numbers. 

Some  of  the  first  hogs  that  my  father  brought  in  became  wild ;  a  boar,  es 
pecially,  became  almost  the  lord  of  the  forest.  Huddling  his  Mock  together, 
he  would  alone  fight  and  conquer  bears  who  attempted  to  attack  them ;  and 
he  was  more  than  a  match,  with  his  long  tusks,  for  all  the  dogs  of  the  coun 
try.  On  one  occasion,  he  treed  an  Indian,  and  kept  liirn  up  until  he  was  re 
lieved  by  others. 

Indian  Allan  came  down  and  staid  with  us  for  several  days,  when  he 
moved  to  Canada,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  a  boat  from  Niagara,  which  he  had 
chartered.  He  had  a  boat  load  of  effects,  one  Squaw  and  two  white  wives. 

When  the  British  held  Fort  Niagara  and  Oswego,  a  mail  used  to  be  carried 
between  them  by  water  in  summer,  and  by  a  runner  in  winter,  travelling  on. 
snow  shoes.  Elislia  Scudder,  who  lived  at  Irondequoit,  was  crossing  the  Bay 
in  a  canoe  —  saw  a  bear  swimming —  struck  at  him  —  missed,  the  axe  going- 
out  of  his  hands  into  the  water.  The  bear,  tired  of  swimming,  mounted  into 
the  canoe,  and  remained  in  it  till  it  reached  the  shore ;  stepping  out,  and 
marching  off  deliberately,  without  even  thanking  the  ferryman.  John 
Parks,  the  hunter,  made  my  father's  house  his  head  quarters.  Near  Ironde 
quoit  Bay,  wounding  a  bear,  the  animal  turned  and  attacked  him ;  bear  and 
hunter  clenched,  and  a  desperate  fight  ensued.  Parks  conquered,  killing  the 
bear  with  his  knife,  but  was  dreadfully  bitten  and  lacerated.  He  crawled  to 
our  house,  several  miles,  on  his  hands  and  knees.  Dr.  Hosmer  came  down 
and  dressed  his  wounds. 

Parks  and  the  mulatto  Dunbar,  who  lived  at  Irondequoit,  were  out  after 
coons  upon  the  Lake  shore.  Their  dogs  treed  one,  as  they  supposed.  It  was 
dark ;  Dunbar  climbed  the  tree,  until  he  discovered  a  pair  of  eyes  larger  than 
coons  usually  have,  and  backed  down.  They  built  up  fires,  remained  until 
morning,  when  they  found  their  game  a  large  panther,  which  they  shot. 

The  dens  of  the  rattle  snakes  were  all  along  in  the  banks  of  the  river  be 
low  the  Falls.  In  the  first  warm  days  in  the  spring,  they  would,  come  out? 
roll  and  entwine  themselves  in  large  coils,  with  their  heads  sticking  out ;  so 
torpid,  you  could  kill  them  easily.  This  would  continue  until  the  weather 
was  settled ;  then  they  would  go  out  upon  their  summer  rambles,  not  returning 
to  their  dens  until  cold  weather  came  again.  I  have  killed  forty  in  a  day. 
On  one  occasion,  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  we  got  together  all  we  could  raise, 
went  up  the  river  in  canoes,  and  killed  300  in  one  day.  I  have  no  doubt  of 
the  snake's  power  of  charming  his  victim.  I  have  killed  rattle  snakes  that 
had  swallowed  chipmucks  and  birds,  and  have  often  seen  birds  fluttering  over 
black  snakes,  with  apparently  no  power  to  get  away  until  1  had  disturbed  the 
snake,  when  they  would  quickly  take  the  wing. 

The  next  summer  after  we  came  in,  John  Love,  who  had  married  a  daugh 
ter  of  Dr.  Adams  of  Geneva,  came  and  lived  with  us.  Dr.  Adams  had  pur 
chased  land  upon  the  Lake  shore,  of  Mr.  Williamson.  My  father  and  Love 
went  up  to  Esq.  Shaeffers  and  bought  some  corn,  took  it  down  to  the  Allan 
mill  in  a  canoe,  ground  it  themselves,  backed  it  over  the  portage  down  to  a  point 
a  little  above  Handford's  Landing,  where  they  made  ropes  of  bark  and  let  it 
down  in  a  canoe. 

Deer  were  abundant.  I  Have  killed  six  in  one  hour.  Braddock's  Bay  was 
a  famous  place  for  trapping  otters,  muskrats  and  minks.  Geese  arid  ducks 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  413 

bred  in  the  Bay,  in  the  pond,  in  Irondequoit  Bay.     We  could  procure  their 
eggs  in  any  desired  quantity. 

Our  early  route  up  the  river  was  an  old  Indian  trail  that  bore  off  from  the 
river  to  avoid  Deep  Hollow,  and  carne  upon  it  again  at  Scottsville ;  and  it 
was  many  years  before  we  had  any  thing  but  a  wood's  road  through  the  pre 
sent  city  of  Rochester. 

A  very  likely  Indian  —  Tuscarora  Charles  —  and  his  Squaw,  were  almost 
constantly  encamped  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  Braddock's  Bay.  When 
Walker  went  to  Canada  in  '93,  Charles  went  with  me  to  drive  his  cattle. 
On  our  return,  arriving  at  a  camping  ground,  where  the  village  of  Cary- 
ville,  Genesee  county,  now  is,  we  found  Joseph  Brant,  with  a  white  waiter, 
on  his  way  to  Canada.  He  was  well  dressed,  after  the  fashion  of  white  men; 
but  before  we  parted,  he  changed  his  dress  entirely,  putting  on  an  Indian 
dress,  and  getting  Charles  to  paint  him  like  an  Indian  warrior.  This  was  be 
fore  reaching  Tonawanda,  and  I  fancied  that  he  preferred  appearing  among 
his  own  people  like  one  of  them. 

There  was  a  great  change  when  the  British  gave  up  Oswego  and  Niagara : 
navigation  of  the  Lake  was  brisk ;  surveyors  and  emigrants  on  their  way  to 
New  Connecticut,  often  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  river. 

We  had  but  little  sickness  in  our  family;  called  Dr.  Hosmer  on  one  or  two 
occasions.  He  used  but  little  medicine ;  he  recommended  to  my  mother  the 
use  of  the  extract  of  butternut  root,  as  an  ordinary  cathartic,  and  she  was 
well  convinced  of  its  effiacy. 

During  the  Revolution,  Butler's  Rangers  that  did  not  go  to  Canada,  were 
scattered  along  among,  the  Indians,  on  the  Susquehannah  and  Tioga  rivers, 
Seneca  Lake,  and  Genesee  river.  To  arrest  the  march  of  Sullivan,  Butler 
and  Brant  came  from  Canada,  Butler  to  head  the  Rangers,  and  Brant  to 
head  the  Indians.  When  they  were  defeated  and  driven  before  Sullivan's 
army,  Brant  with  his  Indian  allies,  took  the  Niagara  trail  for  Canada;  and 
Butler  and  his  Rangers  went  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river,  after 
sending  Walker  as  a  runner  to  Niagara  to  have  boats  sent  down.  They  en 
camped,  made  no  fires  for  fear  the  smoke  would  betray  them,  fired  no  guns, 
kept  as  quiet  as  possible,  fearing  that  Sullivan's  scouts  would  discover  their 
retreat.  There  were  several  days  delay  of  the  boats,  and  when  Walker  ar 
rived  with  them,  Butler  and  his  men  were  nearly  famished  for  the  want  of 
food. 

Mr. Hunt,  the  Pioneer  at  Johnson's  Creek,  Niagara  county,  was  a 

prisoner  at  Fort  Niagara  during  the  Border  Wars.  Walker  was  then  on  the 
other  siflQ,  and  one  day  was  sent  by  Col.  Butler  over  to  enquire  of  the  com 
manding  officer  of  the  Fort  if  he  had  any  news  ?  "  Tell  Col.  Butler,"  said 
the  British  commandant,  "that  there  is  bad  news;  the  d — d  rebels  have 
carried  the  day,  and  there  will  be  no  place  left  for  us  but  Nova  Scotia,  where 
it  is  colder  than is  hot."  * 


*  This  was  just  after  the  battle  of  Yorktown.  The  reader  may  fill  the  blank  with 
the  name  of  the  warmest  locality  he  can  think  of.  The  Walker  alluded  to  by  Messrs. 
Shaefter  and  Hencher,  was  from  Minisink.  Becoming  a  Butler  Ranger,  in  the  flight 
of  that  corps  to  Canada  after  the  unsuccessful  attempt  to  arrest  the  march  of  Sullivan, 
he  stopped  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  riyer,  on  the  east  side,  erected  a  log  cabin,  and 
lived  there  uiitil  his  removal  to  Canada.  He  will  have  to  be  considered  the  first  of 


414  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Isaac  Scott  was  the  first  owner  and  occupant  of  the  present  vil 
lage  of  Scottsville.  He  emigrated  from  Vermont,  in  company 
with  Aaron  and  Jessee  Beach,*  in  1790,  to  Avon,  and  they  located 
at  the  mouth  of  Allan's  creek  soon  after,  if  not  in  the  same  year. 
Scott  died  in  1818;  many  of  his  descendants  resident  Whitewater, 
Indiana.  Other  early  settlers  there  not  named  in  other  connections  : 
—  Hinds  Chamberlin,  Samuel  Cox,  Israel  Hall,  William  Frazier, 
James  Woods,  D.  S.  Winter,  John  Smith,  who  was  an  early  sur 
veyor  employed  by  Messrs.  Phelps,  Williamson  and  Wads  worth, 
Robert  and  Thomas  Smith,  of  Chili,  are  his  sons. 

Samuel  Street  of  Niagara  Falls,  C.  W.,  purchased  soon  after 
1790,  (of  Ebenezer  Allan  it  is  presumed,)  what  has  long  been  known 
as  the  Street  farm,  at  Dugan's  creek  on  the  river.  In  earliest  the 
years  of  settlement,  Jeremiah  Olmsted,  his  brother-in-law,  came  from 
Fail-field,  Conn.,  with  his  family,  and  occupied  it.  Considerable 
improvements  had  been  made  upon  the  farm  by  Allan  and  Dugan, 
and  Mr.  Street  had  stocked  it  largely  for  that  early  period.  Of  the 
family,  and  those  employed  upon  the  farm,  ten  persons  died  the  first 
year  of  the  "  Genesee  fever,"  among  whom  was  Mrs.  Olmsted.  In 
'98  or  '9,  Mr.  Olmsted  moved  down  the  river  and  occupied  a  hut,  on 
the  present  site  of  Rochester,  south  of  the  House  of  Refuge,  near 
where  M'Kerchney's  brewery  now  stands,  where  he  cleared  a  small 
spot.  This  was  the  first  blow  struck  in  the  way  of  improvement, 
other  than  at  the  Allan  mill,  on  all  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Roch 
ester.  "  The  shantee,"  says  the  author's  informant,  "  had  been  put 
up  by  one  Farvvell ; "  one  of  the  brothers  it  is  presumed,  who  are 
named  in  another  connection.  Mr.  Olmsted  remained  upon  the 
spot  but  one  year;  long  enough,  however,  to  produce  the  first  crops 


*  A  daughter  of  Isaac  Scott,  who  was  the  wife  of  Jesse  Beach,  now  resides  with 
her  son,  Cyrus  Beach,  at  Cambria,  Niagara  county ;  aged  82  years.  She  says  her  father 
and  the  Beaches  paid  50  cents  per  acre  for  land  in  and  about  Scottsville.  The  author 
gives  a  reminiscence  in  her  own  words  :  —  "There  was  a  man  they  called  Allan  about 
there  when  we  came  ;  he  kept  a  number  of  cattle  on  the  flats,  and  had  two  or  three 
squaws  that  staid  with  him ;  they  browsed  and  took  care  of  the  cattle." 

our  race  who  inhabited  all  the  present  county  of  Monroe.  He  had  with  him  either  two 
step-daughters,  or  women  living  in  a  more  questionable  capacity.  He  tuntcd,  fished, 
and  trafficked  with  batteauxmen.  An  earlv  map  of  all  this  region,  engraved  in  London, 
has  upon  it  no  sign  of  civilization  or  habitation,  on  all  the  Lake  shore  between  Os- 
wego  and  Niagara,  except  the  picture  of  a  log  cabin  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee 
tiver,and 'underneath  it  the  word  "Walker's." 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  415 

* 

ever  grown  upon  the  site  of  Rochester.  He  went  upon  the  Ridge, 
becoming  the  neighbor  of  Daniel  Rowe.  He  was  the  collector  of 
taxes  for  Northampton,  in  1799,  and  like  his  predecessor,  Simon 
King,  and  his  successor,  Peter  ShaefFer,  his  tax  roll  embraced  the 
whole  region  between  the  Genesee  and  Niagara  rivers.  He  changed 
his  residence  to  Handford's  Landing  in  1816,  where  he  died  the 
same  year.  Harry  Olmsted,  of  Greece,  his  son  and  successor,  still 
survives ;  has  been  long  known  as  a  tavern  keeper,  on  River  road, 
near  Handford's  Landing;  another  son  resides  in  Canada,  and  Mrs. 
Billington  of  Allegany  county,  is  a  daughter.  Harry  Olmsted,  was 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  upon  Niagara  frontier  in  the  war  of 
1812,  at  one  period  a  member  of  Capt.  Rowe's  company,  at  another 
enrolled  in  the  cavalry  of  Major  Stone.  He  was  in  the  battle  at 
Lundy's  Lane,  and  was  at  Fort  Erie  in  the  affair  of  the  15th  of 
August. 

As  early  as  April,  1797,  all  the  region  between  the  Genesee  river 
and  Lake  Erie,  was  made  a  separate  town  of  Ontario  county,  called 
Northampton.  The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Peter  Shaeffer.  "  The  vote  was  taken  by  Gad  Wadsworth,  Esq., 
of  the  town  of  Hartford."  Josiah  Fish  was  chosen  supervisor,  Eli 
Granger,  town  clerk.  Other  town  officers  :  —  Joseph  Morgan,  Jo 
siah  Fish,  Peter  Shaeffer,  Elijah  Kent,  Jeremiah  Olmsted,  Gideon 
King,  Christopher  Dugan,  Isaac  Scott,  Hinds  Chamberlin,  Simon 
King, 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  were  but  three  road  districts.  They 
were  on  the  river,  from  Canawagus  to  Lake  Ontario ;  no  road  then 
leading  into  the  interior.  The  inhabitants  were  so  few,  that  one 
man  held  no  less  than  three  town  offices.  Fifty  dollars  was  raised 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  town.  In  that  year  18d.,  was  au 
thorized  to  be  expended  for  "  election  boxes." 

In  1799,  most  of  the  same  officers  were  re-elected,  and  Jesse 
Beach  who  had  settled  on  the  road  west  of  Caledonia,  was  made  a 
path  master,  the  first  west  of  Caledonia  Fifty  dollars  was  raised 
for  town  expenses,  and  the  like  sum,  "payable  in  labor  or  produce," 
for  the  erection  of  bridges. 

In  1800,  the  town  officers  chosen  were  distributed  along  on  west 
bank  of  the  river  and  along  the  main  road  to  the  village  of  Buffalo. 
For  instance: — two  path-masters  resided  upon  the  river,  one  at 
Le  Roy,  another  at  Stafford,  another  at  Durham's  Grove,  another 


416       PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

at  Clarence  Hollow,  and  another  in  Buffalo.  In  this  year,  $200 
was  raised  for  building  a  bridge  over  the  creek  at  "  Buttermilk  Falls." 
In  an  account  current  between  the  town,  and  Josiah  Fish,  supervisor? 
for  the  years '97,  '8,  '9, '90,  he  is  credited  for  money  expended  on 
"  Bridge  over  Deep  Hollow,"  (Rochester)  $475.  In  this  year,  Peter 
ShaefTer  was  collector  of  the  town.  The  number  of  names  upon 
his  tax  roll  was  less  than  150,  and  a  large  number  of  them  were 
those  of  non-residents.  Although  the  whole  tax  was  over  $8,000, 
the  sum  paid  by  resident  landholders  was  less  than  $2,00.  In  the 
collection  of  it  Mr.  Shaeffer  found  it  much  cheaper  to  pay  himself 
many  of  the  small  amounts,  than  to  look  up  those  to  whom  they 
were  assessed,  scattered  as  they  were  in  the  forest.  To  reach  the 
town  of  Lewiston,  from  Buffalo,  he  had  to  cross  the  Niagara  river 
and  go  down  on  the  Canada  side. 

In  1801,  6100  were  raised  "for  destroying  wolves,  and  paying 
other  contingent  charges  of  the  town."  It  was  voted  that  the 
"wolfs  head  must  have  the  entire  skin  thereon."  A  resolution  was 
passed,  that  "  from  the  extensive  boundaries  of  the  town,  it  is  neces 
sary  it  should  be  divided.  " 

A  glance  at  the  records  of  1802,  shew  the  progress  of  settlement 
westward  ;  although  the  town  meetings  were  still  continued  at  the 
house  of  Peter  Shaeffer,  and  Col.  Fish  was  continued  supervisor,  the 
path-masters  began  to  occupy  a  wide  range  :  —  Abel  Rowe  was  a 
a  path-master  in  the  now  town  of  Greece ;  Asa  Utley,  near  Scotts- 
ville  ;  Daniel  Buell,  at  Le  Roy  ;  Jas.  M'Naughton,  Caledonia ; 
Ezekiel  Lane,  Buffalo ;  Joseph  Howell  and  Lemuel  Cooke  at  Niag 
ara  Falls  and  Lewiston ;  Richard  M.  Stoddard  of  Le  Roy  was  one 
of  the  commissioners  of  highways  ;  and  Isaac  Sutherland  of  Batavia 
was  a  constable. 

In  1803,  the  towns  of  Leicester,  Batavia,  and  Southampton,  were 
erected  from  Northampton  by  a  resolution  adopted  at  a  special  town 
meeting.  The  commissioners  appointed  to  fix  the  boundaries  of  the 
four  towns,  were:  —  Elijah  Kent,  R.  M.  Stoddard,  Samuel  Tupper, 
John  Thompson. 

The  first  general  election  for  all  the  region  west  of  Genesee  River, 
was  in  April,  1800.  For  Congress,  Thomas  Morris  had  37  votes. 
For  members  of  Assembly,  Nathaniel  Norton  had  37,  Lemuel  Chip- 
man  25,  William  Dunn  10.  In  1801,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  had 
78  votes  for  Governor,  George  Clinton  10.  For  delegates  to  state 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.  4 IT 

convention ;  —  Moses  Atwater  52,  John  Knox  77,  Israel  Chapin  21, 
Amos  Hall  6.  In  1802,  for  Congress,  Oliver  Phelps  117,  N.  W. 
HowelllG;  for  members  of  Assembly,  Joseph  Ellicott  117,  Aug. 
Porter  117,  Daniel  Chapin  121,  Thaddeus  Chapin  5,  Ebenezer  Merry 
2,  Pollydore  B.  Wisner  12.  This  was  the  last  election  previous  to 
the  erection  of  Genesee  county. 

First  road  recorded  is  from  Braddock's  Bay  to  distillery  of 
Stephen  Peabody,  on  River,  a  short  distance  below  Mr.  Shaeffer's. 
This,  it  is  presumed,  was  what  had  been  called  the  "  Williamson 
road,"  —  the  first  avenue  opened  to  reach  the  Bay  from  the  Buffalo 
road.  The  2d  :  —  "From  Landing  place  below  the  Falls,  to  Land 
ing  place  above  the  Allan  mill."  3d:  —  Across  the  flats  of  the 
River  near  Cuylerville.  4th  :  —  From  "mouth  of  River  to  Canawa- 
gus,  and  from  thence  to  east  bounds  of  Peter  Campbell's  lot,  at  the 
upper  end  of  Scotch  settlement."  In  1802  the  road  was  recorded 
from  Le  Roy  to  Batavia ;  from  "Batavia  to  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek, 
near  John  Palmer's  house ;"  from  "  Niagara  Falls  to  Lewiston  and 
Fort  Niagara."  In  1797,  there  were  three  path-masters  west  of  Gen 
esee  River :  —  Christopher  Dugan,  Joseph  Morgan,  and  Josiah 
Fish.  In  1799,  there  were  five  :  —  Jessee  Beach,  Asa  Baker,  Peter 
Shaeffer,  Elijah  Kent,  Samuel  Hicks.  In  1800,  there  were  seven : — 
Jotham  Curtis,  Garrett  Davis,  Asa  Ransom,  Joshua  Chamberlin, 
Stephen  Peabody,  Timothy  Madden,  Jr.,  Daniel  Curtis.  In  1801, 
eleven :  —  Nehemiah  Weston,  Simon  King,  Solomon  Blood,  Joseph 
Cummings,  Perez  Brown,  John  M'  Vean,  Daniel  Davis,  John  Pal 
mer,  John  M'  Naughton,  Salmon  Scott,  Asa  Ransom. 

Col.  Josiah  Fish,  the  early  Supervisor  of  the  wide  region  of 
Northampton,  was  from  Windham,  Vermont.  Having  in  a  pre 
vious  visit  to  the  country,  purchased  a  farm  at  the  mouth  of  Black 
Creek,  on  the  Genesee  river,  in  1795,  with  his  son  Libbeus,  he  came 
on  to  commence  upon  it.  Hiring  his  team  work  of  Mr.  Shaeffer, 
he  broke  up  a  few  acres  of  the  open  flats,  planted  it,  put  up  a  log 
hut  which  he  got  the  Indians  to  cover  with  bark ;  after  which,  the 
father  and  son  went  down  to  board  with  Sprague,  who  was  then  in 
charge  of  the  Allan  mill,  at  the  Falls ;  "  and  pretty  hard  board  it 
was,"  says  the  son  :  —  "  We  had  raccoon  for  breakfast,  dinner  and 
supper,  with  no  vegetables ;  and  upon  extra  occasions,  we  had 
cakes  fried  in  raccoon  oil."  This,  with  the  fever  and  ague  added, 
was  a  specimen  of  pioneer  life  in  what  is  now  Rochester.  Taking 


418  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  son  up  to  Mr.  Berry's  at  Canawaugus,  where  he  had  a  winter's 
sickness,  the  father  returned  to  Vermont  for  the  family ;  and  in 
April,  the  whole  were  in  their  new  solitary  home  at  Black  Creek, 
living  without  doors,  floor,  window  or  chimney.  Over  half  of  the 
family  were  soon  prostrated  by  disease,  which  continued  the  great 
er  part  of  the  season.  In  November,  Mr.  Williamson  having  hired 
Col.  Fish  to  take  charge  of  the  Allan  mill,  the  family  moved  down 
to  the  Falls,  and  occupied  a  board  shantee  for  cooking,  sleeping  in 
rooms  partitioned  off  in  the  mill,  where  was  not  even  the  luxury 
of  glass  windows.  In  this  way  they  wintered  and  summered. 
The  next  fall,  they  put  up  a  three  walled  log  house,  against  a  ledge 
of  rocks  on  the  river  bank,  the  site  being  that  now  occupied  by  the 
old  red  mill,  near  Child's  basin  ;  the  ledge  of  rocks  serving  for  one 
wall  of  the  house  ;  a  fire-place  and  chimney  being  excavated  in  the 
rock.  They  found  for  their  neighbors,  Messrs.  Hencher  and  Hos- 
mer,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river ;  and  soon  after  they  had  located  at 
the  Falls,  they  were  much  gratified  in  the  accession  of  some  new 
neighbors  —  the  Atchinsons  —  at  Braddock's  Bay.  In  1798,  Col. 
Fish,  being  a  magistrate  for  Ontario  county,  held  a  court  at  Lewis- 
ton  for  the  trial  of  a  person  who  had  sold  liquor  to  the  soldiers  of 
Fort  Niagara.  He  remained  in  charge  of  the  mill  until  1804,  when 
he  moved  back  to  his  farm.  In  1807,  he  sold  his  farm,  and  moved 
upon  the  Ridge,  near  Parma,  where  he  died  in  1811.  Libbeus 
Fish,  formerly  of  Batavia,  now  residing  at  Jackson,  Michigan ; 
John  P.,  Chicago,  are  his  sons. 

The  Atchinson  family  were  from  Tolland  county,  Conn.  It  con 
sisted  of  Bezaleel  Atchinson,  his  brothers,  Asa,  Jacob,  Sylvester, 
Stephen  and  John,  his  two  sons,  and  two  daughters.  Sylvester 
Atchinson  surveyed  the  town  of  Naples  for  Phelps  &  Gorham.  In 
1794,  they  purchased  lands  there,  some  of  the  brothers  remained 
and  mads  improvements,  and  in  1796  were  joined  by  Bezaleel  and 
his  family,  who  remained  there  but  a  short  time,  and  in  March,  of 
that  year,  went  to  Braddock's  Bay,  two  brothers  accompanying  him. 
Although  all  the  Atchinson  brothers,  six  in  number,  were  at  the 
Bay  as  early  as  1802,  Bezaleel  with  his  family,  and  two  brothers, 
Stephen  and  John,  were  the  Pioneers.  Mr.  Williamson  having  just 
opened  the  town  of  Parma  for  sale,  held  out  some  inducements  for 
them  to  commence  the  settlement  at  the  Bay.  They  came  in  by  the 
way  of  Canawagus,  crossing  the  river  on  the  ice,  and  on  arriving 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  419 

at  the  Allan  mill,  found  a  hunter  by  the  name  of  Parks,  a  wanderer, 
with  his  dog,  gun,  and  blanket  —  the  Leather  Stocking  of  the  Gen- 
esee  valley  —  who  they  hired  as  a  pilot, —  not  having  even  the  bene 
fit  of  marked  trees  after  they  left  the  river.  They  were  three  days 
making  the  journey  from  where  Rochester  now  is,  to  Braddock's 
Bay,  making  their  own  road  as  they  went  along.  With  the  boards 
from  their  sled,  and  some  blankets,  they  made  a  shelter,  in  which 
they  lived  six  weeks ;  in  which  time  they  built  a  log  house  without 
nails,  boards  or  glass.  Starting  from  Naples  with  four  oxen  they 
lost  one  on  the  road,  and  two,  soon  after  they  arrived  at  the  Bay, 
leaving  them  but  one  ox  for  their  team  work ;  but  with  this  one  ox, 
they  logged  eight  acres  and  prepared  it  for  summer  crops.  They 
used  him  with  a  crooked  yoke  and  traces. 

Michael  Beach,  had  the  summer  previous,  come  in  and  made  a 
small  improvement,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Judge  Castle. 
Within  one,  two  and  three  years,  the  Atchinsons  were  joined  in 
their  new  settlement  by  George  Goodhue,  Silas  Leonard,  Timothy 
Madden  and  their  families.  Leonard  was  from  Stockbridge,  Mass 
achusetts;  there  came  in  with  him  his  sons  Jonathan  and  Silas. 
The  next  year  after  they  emigrated,  the  father  went  to  the  salt 
works  at  Onondaga  to  chop  cord  wood,  and  was  killed  by  the  fall 
ing  of  a  limb  of  a  tree.  Capt.  Jonathan  Leonard,  upon  whom  the 
care  of  the  family  devolved,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Wm.  Hench- 
er,  is  yet  living  at  the  Bay.  He  says :  —  "  We  suffered  much  from 
sickness.  After  being  in  three  years  we  lost  all  our  household  ef 
fects  by  fire ;  we  could  raise  no  money  for  anything  except  cattle, 
with  Avhich  we  paid  for  our  land ;  with  a  crop  of  three  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat,  we  could  not  raise  one  shilling  in  money.  We 
experienced  the  utmost  kindness  from  Mr.  Williamson,  and  his  suc 
cessors."  Silas  Madden,  of  Parma,  is  a  son  of  the  early  Pioneer ; 
another  son,  Alpheus,  sickened  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war  of  1812, 
and  died  soon  after  reaching  home. 

Roswell  Atchinson,  Esq.,  of  Parma,  is  a  surviving  son  of  the 
early  Pioneer,  Bezaleel  Atchinson.  He  says ;  —  "I  have  heard  my 
mother  say  that  she  lived  eight  months  without  seeing  a  white 
woman.  The  Indians  often  come  to  the  Bay  to  hunt,  trap,  and  pick 
cranberries.  Salmon  were  abundant  in  Salmon  creek;  I  have 
known  my  father  to  take  three  barrels  in  a  short  time.  We  had  for 
neighbors,  the  first  winter,  a  colony  of  beavers.  Their  dam  was  on 


420  PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PTJECHASE. 

Salmon  creek ;  we  did  not  molest  them  ;  used  to  often  see  them  at 
work ;  thought  we  would  protect  them,  and  let  them  breed  a  large 
colony  ;  hut  the  spring  freshet  came,  swept  away  their  dam,  they 
went  into  the  Bay  where  they  were  caught  by  a  trapper.  These 
were  all  the  beavers  we  saw ;  their  dams  on  all  the  small  streams 
however,  looked  as  if  they  had  not  been  long  deserted."  "  We  had 
no  schools  until  we  had  been  in  eight  years ;  we  then  built  a  log 
school  house,  in  which  Alpheus  Madden  taught  for  two  months, 
when  the  house  burned  down.  I  went  to  Victor,  the  nearest  school. 
Two  Methodist  circuit  preachers  —  Messrs.  Hill  and  Wood  worth, 
found  our  new  settlement  after  many  years ;  not  until  settlement 
had  commenced  upon  the  Ridge.  They  would  preach  at  the  house 
of  some  new  settler  ;  and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  women  to  go 
on  foot  five  or  six  miles  to  hear  them." 

The  surviving  sons  of  Bezaleel  Atchinson,  are:  —  Roswell,  of 
Parma,  Austin,  of  Greece,  Fuller,  a  Methodist  clergyman  at  the  west. 
Daughters:  —  Mrs.  Willard  Cranson,  and  Mrs.  Buel,  of  Michigan, 
Mrs.  Samuel  Wyman,  of  Parma,  and  Mrs.  Sylvanus  Willey,  of  Og- 
den.  The  father  died  in  1828,  aged  66  years.  The  brothers  who 
came  into  the  country  with  him:  —  Sylvester,  resides  in  Oakland 
county,  Michigan ;  Stephen  died  a  few  years  since  in  Illinois,  Mrs. 
George  Patterson  of  Parma,  is  his  daughter ;  John  resides  in  Parma, 
over  80  years  of  age ;  —  he  commanded  a  volunteer  corps  in  the 
war  of  1812,  serving  upon  the  frontier,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Genesee  river.  Asa,  resides  in  Coldwater,  Michigan,  and  Jacob  in 
Illinois ;  making  four  of  the  six  brothers,  who  came  to  the  Genesee 
country  in  1794,  still  alive ;  an  instance  of  longevity,  that  has  few 
parallels.  Jacob  Atchinson  buried  a  wife  and  nine  children,  before 
leaving  Parma,  and  has  now  a  second  wife,  and  a  large  family. 

In  1790,  Phelps  and  Gorham  sold  to  a  company  of  men  in  Spring 
field  and  Northampton,  Mass.,  20,000  acres  of  T.  7,  1,  short  range, 
upon  the  "  Mill  Tract."  This  embraced  all  of  the  present  site  of 
the  city  of  Rochester,  west  of  the  river.*  Among  the  purchasers, 

were  Quartus  Pomeroy,  Justin  Ely,  Ebenezer  Hunt,  and 

Breck.  By  re-sales,  previous  to  1796,  Augustus  and  Peter  B.  Por 
ter,  Zadock  Granger  and  Gideon  King,  had  become  part  owners. 


*  There  was  excepted  in  the  deed  of  conveyance,  the  "One  Hundred  Acre  Tiact," 
or  "Allan  Mill  Tract/'  vhich  had  previously  been  granted  to  Ebenezer  Allan. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  421 

The  tract  was  surveyed  in  1790,  by  Frederick  Saxton,  and  sub 
divided  in  '97,  by  Aug.  Porter. 

In  the  winter  of  1796,  '7,  the  settlement  of  the  tract  commenced, 
by  the  advent  of  four  families  :  —  Eli  Granger,  Thomas  King,  Si 
mon  King,  and  Elijah  Kent.  They  came  in  via  Canawaugus,  and 
down  the  river,  locating  a  short  distance  above  what  was  afterwards 
King's,  now  Handford's  Landing.  They  had  no  shelter  but  their 
covered  sleighs,  until  they  erected  log  huts.  The  next  year  they 
were  joined  by  Bradford  and  Moses  King,  Dr.  Stone  and Gra 
ham  ;  and  in  1798,  four  brothers,  Ebenezer,  Daniel,  Abel  and  Asa 
Rowe,  settled  in  the  neighborhood.  These  new  settlers  began  to 
make  farms,  but  encountered  sickness  and  death  enough  to  have  dis 
couraged  the  less  resolute.  Several  of  the  heads  of  families  died 
in  the  first  few  years. 

Asa  Rowe  died  soon  after  coming  in,  as  did Graham,  and 

the  father  of  the  brothers  Kings,  and  Elijah  Kent.  When  Mr. 
Rowe  died,  the  other  brothers  were  sick  and  unable  to  go  for  help 
to  lay  him  out  and  bury  him,  until  he  had  lain  24  hours.  Recover 
ing  from  their  sickness,  the  surviving  brothers  left  the  country,  and 
returned  to  Oneida  county.  In  a  few  years  however,  Daniel  and 
Abel  returned,  bringing  with  them  another  brother,  Frederick,  and 
settled  on  the  Ridge  Road. 

The  first  boards  that  the  new  safclers  obtained,  was  by  repairing 
the  old  Allan  saw  mill  at  the  Falls,  and  in  a  few  years  Nathaniel 
Jones,  built  a  rude  saw  mill  on  the  small  stream,  that  puts  in  near 
Hanford's  Landing. 

Dr.  Zacheus  Colby,  and  Dr.  Sylvester  Atchinson,  were  early 
physicians,  practicing  in  the  Kings' settlement. 

In  1799,  Eli  Granger  and  Abner  Migells,  built  a  schooner  at 
King's  Landing,  the  first  merchant  vessel  built  by  Americans  on 
Lake  Ontario,  and  none  had  been  previously  built  by  Americans  on 
the  Upper  Lakes. 


Township  13,  range  7,  was  the  fifth  sale  made  by  Phelps  &  Gor- 
ham.  In  Mr.  Phelp's  memorandum,  it  is  entered  as  sold  to  "  Gen. 
Hyde  and  others."  The  associates  of  Gen.  Hyde,  who  was  a  resi 
dent  of  Lenox,  Mass.,  were  his  townsmen,  Prosper  Polly,  Enos 
Sto.,:\  Job  Gilbert,  Joseph  Chaplin,  and  it  is  presumed,  John  Lusk, 


422  PHELPS  AKD  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

of  Berkshire,  as  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  the  township  near  the  head 
of  Irondequoit  Bajr,  was  set  off  to  him,  while  the  survey  of  the 
township  into  farm  lots  was  progressing.  Mr.  Lusk  was  the  pio 
neer  in  improvement  and  settlement,  and  in  fact  bore  that  relation 
to  all  of  what  is  now  Monroe  county,  having  even  preceded  the 
ShaefFers  several  months.  With  his  son  Stephen,  then  fifteen  years 
old,  and  Seely  Peet,  a  hired  man,  he  came  to  the  new  region  early 
in  the  summer  of  1789.  Arriving  at  Schenectady,  he  embarked 
with  a  small  stock  of  provisions,  in  a  batteau,  the  son  and  hired 
man  coming  by  land,  and  driving  some  cattle.  The  son,  Stephen 
Lusk,  of  Pittsford,  who  still  survives,  says  he  remembers  very  well, 
that  upon  the  present  site  of  Utica,  there  was  only  an  opening  of 
about  half  an  acre  in  the  forest  —  and  that  the  pioneer  there,  John 
Post,  was  just  finishing  his  log  cabin.  They  came  upon  the  Indian 
trail,  via  Skaneatelas,  Onondaga  Hollow,  and  from  there  to  Cayuga 
Lake  had  little  more  than  spotted  trees  as  a  guide.  They  crossed 
Cayuga  Lake  on  a  raft,  swimming  their  cattle.  The  father,  son  and 
hired  man,  re-united  at  Canandaigua,  and  constructing  an  ox-sled, 
made  their  own  road  to  their  location  in  Brighton.  Erecting  a  log 
cabin,  they  cleared  twelve  acres  and  sowed  it  to  wheat,  procuring 
their  wheat  of  Ebenezer  Allan,  upon  the  ShaefFer.farrn,  by  cutting 
a  woods  road  to  the  mouth  of  Red  creek,  to  which  point  they  trans 
ported  it  in  a  canoe.  While  they  were  clearing  the  land  and  sowing 
their  wheat,  they  saw  none  of  their  own  race,  but  the  surveyors  of 
the  township.  Indians  often  came  from  Canada  in  canoes  to  the 
Bay,  on  their  way  to  Canandaigua.  The  whole  three  had  the  ague 
and  fever,  which  obliged  them  to  suspend  labor  for  a  considerable 
period.  They  returned  to  Massachusetts  in  the  fall. 

In  the  spring  of  1790,  Mr.  Lusk  brought  out  his  family,  coming 
all  the  way  from  Schenectady  to  the  head  of  Irondequoit  Bay  by 
water,  the  sons  Stephen  and  Erastus  coming  by  land  with  stock  in 
company  with  Enos  Stone  and  others.  Mr.  Shaeffer  and  his  brother, 
being  bachelors,  the  family  of  John  Lusk  may  be  said  to  be  the  first 
family  located  upon  all  the  territory  now  embraced  in  Monroe  county, 
other  than  the  temporary  residents,  refugees  from  the  border  wars, 
Allan  and  Walker.  The  first  few  years  they  had  to  contend  with  all 
the  usual  privations  of  extreme  backwoods  life,  and  to  which  was 
added  disease  and  harrassing  Indian  alarms.  The  refugee  Walker 
of  whom  Mr.  Hencher  speaks,  living  in  his  solitary  hut  at  the  mouth 


PHELPS   AKD    GORHAM7S   PURCHASE.  423 

of  the  River,  was  still  in  the  British  and  Indian  interests  —  made 
frequent  visits  to  Niagara ;  and  returning  would  alarm  the  few 
settlers  in  the  backwoods  by  representing  that  they  were  to  be 
attacked  by  the  Indians.  He  was  not  pleased  with  his  new  neigh 
bors  ;  and  when  they  crowded  upon  him,  he  sought  more  congenial 
associations,  in  Canada.* 

Mr.  Lusk  died  in  1814,  aged  66  years.  Besides  the  present 
Stephen  Lusk,  his  sons  were  Erastus,  Norman,  John  and  Aaron. 
Stephen  Lusk,  whose  wife  as  will  have  been  observed,  is  the  daughter 
of  William  Hencher,  is  76  years  of  age.  Heman  and  Dennis  Lusk 
of  Pittsford,  Henry  Lusk  of  Laporte,  Indiana,  are  his  sons ;  Mrs. 
Thomas  Wilcox  of  Mendon,  is  his  daughter. 

Orange  Stone,  a  son  of  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the 
township,  with  his  family,  Joel  Scudder  and  family,  and  Chauncey 
and  Calvin  Hyde,  followed  Mr.  Lusk  in  a  few  weeks ;  and  about 
the  same  time  Timothy  Allyn,  came  on  and  occupied  abne,  a  log 
cabin  he  erected  on  a  tract  of  500  acres  on  the  stream  that  took  his 
name,  near  the  termination  of  the  Brighton  plank  road.  Spending  a 
summer  in  the  wilderness  he  got  discouraged,  sold  out  and  went  to 
Geneva,  where  he  was  a  prominent  and  useful  citizen  in  early  years. 
He  had  borne  the  commission  of  Captain  in  the  war  of  ihe  Revolution. 
He  finally  returned  to  Massachusetts,  where  he  died  at  the  advanced 
age  of  90  years.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Robert  Allyn,  who 
with  Robert  Winthrop  and  James  A  very,  was  a  pioneer  emigrant 
at  New  London,  Conn.;  F.  U.  Sheffield,  of  Palmyra,  is  a  nephew  of 
the  early  Pioneer  of  the  Genesee  country. 

Orange  Stone  located  on  the  now  Pittsford  road,  a  little  east  of 
Brighton  village,  near  the  "  rock  and  tree."  Messrs.  Bacon,  Adams, 
and  Fellows,  of  Bloomfield,  Enos  Stone,  Stephen  Lusk  and  others, 
who  had  emigrated,  or  intended  to  do  so,  in  1790,  clubbed  together, 
and  started  for  the  new  region  a  drove  of  oxen,  cows,  and  hogs. 
Enos  Stone,  Jr.  the  son  of  one  of  the  proprietors  named  above, 
Stephen  Lusk,  Jacob  Lobdell,  one  of  the  Adams,  were  of  the  drivers. 
After  leaving  Utica,  they  travelled  about  25  miles  per  day,  camping 


.  *  He  did  not  leave  however  until  he  had  had  pretty  distinct  intimations  that  his 
boasts  of  exploits  in  the  border  wars  —  of  murder  and  rapine — would  not  be  tolerated. 
He  was  at  Canandaigua,  and  in  the  hearing  of  Horatio  Jones  was  boasting  of  his  ex 
ploits  with  Indian  allies,  when  Mr.  Jones  becoming  exasperated  attacked  him  with 
an  axe,  wounded  him,  and  would  have  taken  his  life  if  his  blows  had  not  been  arrested 
by  others.  He  soon  after  went  to  Canada. 


424  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

each  night;  arriving  at  Cayuga  Lake  they  crossed  their  stock  in 
two  Durham  Boats  —  the  work  of  crossing  consuming  four  days. 
The  provisions  of  the  party  failed  them,  and  they  were  from  Thurs 
day  morning  until  Sunday  night  without  food.  Arriving  at  Geneva, 
nearly  famished,  their  wants  were  supplied. 

Unless  this  party  had  been  preceded  a  few  days  by  the  Wads- 
worths,  their  stock  was  the  first  brought  west  of  the  Seneca  Lake. 
They  had  among  the  rest,  a  few  sheep  that  went  to  Bloom  field.  In 
addition  to  Orange  Stone,  Chauncey  Hyde,  a  son  of  another  of  the 
proprietors  came  on  in  1790,  locating  upon  the  farm  now  occupied 
by  Col.  Gould.  He  remained  but  one  season ;  sickness  discouraged 
him.  He  went  upon  some  lands  of  his  father,  in  Broome  county. 
The  elder  Enos  Stone  did  not  emigrate  to  Brighton  until  1816, 
where  he  died  a  few  months  after  his  arrival.  Orange  Stone,  who 
for  many  years  occupied  one  of  the  western  outposts  of  civilization, 
keeping  almost  from  his  first  arrival,  a  house  of  entertainment ;  a 
home  for  the  young  men  who  were  settling  about  him,  and  a  stop 
ping  place  for  the  occasional  hunter,  Indian  trader,  and  traveler, 
died  in  1842,  aged  73  years.  His  eldest  son,  Orange,  was  drowned 
at  Conneaut,  Ohio,  by  stepping  from  the  plank  of  a  steamboat  in  the 
night.  The  only  surviving  son,  Enos  Stone,  is  now  in  California ; 
several  daughters  reside  in  Michigan. 

Col.  Enos  Stone  continued  to  reside  in  Lenox,  making  frequent 
visits  to  the  new  purchase,  and  residing  occasionally  with  his  bro 
ther,  Orange,  until  1810,  when  he  became  a  pioneer  settler  of  the 
city  of  Rochester,  his  original  farm  embracing  all  of  the  most  densely 
populated  portion  of  the  city  east  of  the  river.  He  still  survives, 
at  the  age  of  76  years.  His  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Bryant 
Stoddard,  of  Litchfield,  Conn.,  died  in  1850,  aged  73  years.  James 
S.  Stone,  (born  in  May,  1810,  the  first  born  on  the  site  of  the  city 
of  Rochester,)  of  Greece,  is  the  only  survivor  of  five  sons ;  Mrs. 
Wm.  C.  Storrs,  of  Rochester,  and  Mrs.  George  Wales,  are  sur 
viving  daughters ;  and  a  third,  unmarried  daughter,  resides  with  her 
father.  With  a  memory  of  early  events  unimpaired,  Col.  Stone  has 
furnished  the  author  with  many  interesting  reminiscences,  the  ear 
liest  of  which,  are  inserted  here,  and  the  later  ones  reserved  for 
that  portion  of  the  work,  having  more  especial  reference  to  Monroe 
county. 


PHELPS  AND  GOUHAM'S  PUEOHASE.  425 


REMINISCENCES  OF  ENOS  STONE. 


In  an  early  year,  I  was  stopping  with  my  brother  Orange.  Chauncey 
Hyde  and  myself  were  out  hunting  cattle.  We  saw  a  smoke  rising  at  the 
Irondequoit  Landing,  and  went  down  to  it.  We  found  that  it  proceeded  from 
an  Indian  camp ;  as  we  approached  it,  two  Indians  rose  up  from  a  couch,  one 
of  which,  especially,  attracted  our  attention.  His  camp  equippage  we  thought 
rather  extraordinary  for  an  Indian ;  he  was  well  dressed  —  partly  as  a  white 
man,  and  partly  as  an  Indian ;  bid  us  good  morning  with  great  civility,  and 
display  ing"  a  gold  watch  and  trimmings,  observed  that  being  wearied,  he  had 
over  slept.  He  soon  announced  himself  as  Joseph  Brant,  on  his  way  from 
Burlington  Bay  to  Canandaigua.  Having  arrived  in  a  boat  he  had  sent  In 
dian  runners  to  Canandaigua  for  horses,  and  was  awaiting  their  return.  He 
accepted  our  invitation  and  came  up  with  us  to  my  brother's  house.  His* 
familiar  conversation,  and  gentlemanly  manners,  soon  convinced  us  that  he 
was  not  the  savage  we  had  conceived  him  to  be,  from  accounts  we  had  heard 
and  read  of  him,  in  connection  witli  the  Border  Wars.  He  quieted  our  ap 
prehensions  of  any  farther  Indian  troubles,  by  assuring  us,  that  as  the  Senecas 
had  sold  their  lands  to  the  whites,  the  bargain  should  be  earned  out  in  good 
faith,  and  the  new  settlements  should  not  be  molested.  He  manifested  much 
interest  in  all  that  was  going  on  in  this  region,  and  inquired  when  new  settle 
ments  were  commencing.  The  visit  gave  us  great  pleasure,  and  quieted  our 
fears.  In  person,  Joseph  Brant  bore  a  close  resemblance  to  Gen.  Brady,  of 
the  U.  S.  army. 

I  knew  an  early  settler  of  Irondequoit,  who  used  to  kill,  dress,  and  eat 
skunks  ;  he  said  their  meat  was  fine  flavored,  free  from  any  offensive  odor.* 

The  principal  colony  of  the  rattle  snakes,  was  in  bank  of  river,  below  the 
Lower  Falls,  at  a  place  we  used  to  call  "  Rattle  Snake  Point;"  and  there  was 
also  a  large  colony  at  Allan's  creek,  near  the  end  of  the  Brighton  plank  road. 
I  think  they  grow  blind  about  the  time  of  returning  to  their  dens,  in  August 
and  September.  I  have  killed  them  on  their  return,  with  films  on  their  eyes. 
Their  oil  was  held  in  great  estimation  by  tlie  early  settlers.  Zebulon  Norton, 
of  Norton's  mills,  was  a  kind  of  backwoods'  doctor,  and  often  came  to  this 
region  for  the  oil  and  the  gall  of  the  rattle-snake.  The  oil  was  used  for  stiff 
joints  and  bruises ;  the  gall  for  fevers,  in  the  form  of  a  pill,  made  up  with 
chalk. 

Fish  were  abundant,  and  a  great  help  to  the  early  settlers.  A  structure 
similar  to  an  eel  wire  was  placed  in  the  Irondequoit,  below  the  Falls.  The 
rack  was  made  of  tamarack  poles.  I  have  known  ten  ban-els  of  fine  fat 
salmon  taken  there  in  one  night.  The  river  afforded  a  plenty  of  black  and 
striped  bass,  and  the  Bay  pickerel  and  pike.  I  never  knew  of  the  salmon 
ascending  the  Qenesee  river,  but  one  season.  Allan's  creek  in  Brighton, 
afforded  abundance  of  trout.  The  geese  and  ducks  were  so  plenty  in  Brad- 
dock's  Bay,  that  bushels  of  their  eggs  could  sometimes  be  picked  up  in  the 
marshes. 

*  Some  of  the  early  surveyors  of  "Wisconsin  confirm  this  good  opinion  of  the  flesh 
of  the  skunk, 

27 


426  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

In  one  of  the  early  years,  I  carried  some  grain  to  the  Allan  mill,  to  get 
ground  for  my  brother  Orange,  and  had  to  remain  over  night.  Allan  was 
there,  in  a  spree  or  carousal.  To  make  a  feaat,  he  had  sent  Indians  into  the 
woods,  to  shoot  hogs  that  had  gone  wild,  and  he  furnished  the  whiskey. 
There  were  many  Indians  collected.  It  was  a  high  time,  and  the  chief  of 
the  entertainment  was  enjoying  it  in  great  glee.  Tired  of  the  carousal,  he  re 
tired  to  a  couch,  where  a  squaw  and  a  white  wife  awaited  his  coming. 

The  hogs  that  we  brought  here  in  1790  strayed  off,  and  they  and  their  pro 
geny  became  wild,  we  had  to  either  shoot  or  hunt  them  with  dogs.  The 
boars  and  old  sows  have  been  seen  often,  victors  in  a  conflict  with  bears.  A 
boar  was  caught  and  penned.  He  refused  food,  and  would  not  tame.  When 
persons  approached  the  pen,  he  would  froth  at  the  mouth ;  occasionally  strike 
his  long  tushes  into  the  logs  of  his  pen,  tearing  out  and  champing  the  splinters. 


OLIVER  CULVER. 


He  is  a  native  of  Orwell,  Vermont.  In  March,  1796,  when  he 
was  19  years  old  he  left  home  in  company  with  Samuel  SpafTord, 
and  came  on  foot  to  the  Genesee  country,  first  stopping  a  short  time 
at  Jonathan  Smith's  in  Farmington,  where  they  hired  out  to  make 
sap  troughs.  Going  to  Irondequoit  Landing,  he  found  the  only 
occupant  there,  Asa  Dunbar,  a  malatto,  with  a  family.  Remaining 
at  the  Landing  about  six  weeks,  a  large  company,  consisting  of  the 
proprietors  of  the  then  newly  purchased  Connecticut  lands  in  Ohio, 
their  surveyors,  and  two  families,  in  five  boats,  came  up  the  Lake 
on  their  way  to  commence  surrey  and  settlement.  In  pursuance  of 
a  previous  agreement,  the  young  men,  Culver  and  Spafford,  joined 
the  expedition.  Landing  at  Queenston,  taking  their  batteaux  over 
the  portage,  the  expedition  went  up  Niagara  River  and  coasted  along 
the  south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  finding  no  white  inhabitant  after  they 
left  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  creek  —  where  there  was  one  solitary 
family  until  they  reached  Erie,  where  they  found  Col.  Seth  Reed, 
Gunn,  who  had  his  family  with  him,  stopped  at  Conneaut,  be 
coming  the  first  settlers  there.  Proceeding  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Cuyahoga,  the  party  landed,  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Cleve 
land,  and  erected  a  log  dwelling  house  and  store  house.  Stiles,  one 
of  the  party  who  had  taken  his  wife  along,  built  for  himself  a  house, 
and  became  the  Pioneer  settler  at  that  point.* 

*  A  son  of  his  born  the  next  winter  was  the  firstborn  of  white  parents,  on  the  Re 
serve.  Mrs.  Stiles  at  the  period  of  parturition  had  none  other  of  her  sex  than  native 
squaws,  to  attend  her. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S   PURCHASE.  427 

The  party  all  returned  to  New  England  in  the  fall.  In  the  follow 
ing  spring,  Messrs.  Culver  and  Spafford  came  on  again  to  Ironde- 
quoit,  hunted,  trapped,  bought  furs,  until  the  surveyors  again  arrived* 
and  they  again  embarked  in  their  service.  The  principal  of  the 
party  on  this  second  expedition,  was  Seth  Pease,  a  brother-in-law 
of  Gideon  Granger.  The  expedition  consisted  of  about  60  persons. 
In  the  summer —  1797  —  they  cleared  and  planted  six  acres,  which 
are  now  in  the  centre  of  the  city  of  Cleveland.  In  1798,  Mr. 
Culver  was  in  the  employ  of  the  contractors  who  had  taken  the  job 
of  the  New  Connecticut  company  to  cut  out  the  road  from  the  Penn 
sylvania  line,  across  their  purchase.  Remaining  the  next  year  in 
Vermont,  in  1800  Mr.  Culver  came  out  and  purchased  the  farm 
where  he  now  resides ;  making  his  home  at  Major  Orange  Stone's, 
and  going  to  his  place  through  the  woods  by  marked  trees,  he  cleared 
seven  acres  and  sowed  it  to  wheat  the  first  season ;  realizing  a 
good  crop.  Fearing  a  defective  title,  he  abandoned  his  farm,  and 
was  employed  by  Augustus  Griswold  for  the  next  three  years,  at 
Irondequoit  Landing,  in  superintending  an  Ashery,  the  first  estab 
lished  in  all  this  region.  It  worked  up  the  ashes  and  black  salts  of 
the  new  settlers  for  a  great  distance  around  it ;  shipping  at  the 
early  period,  in  1803,  108  barrels  of  pearl  ash  to  Montreal.  Ashes 
being  a  shilling  per  bushel,  enabled  the  settlers,  generally  destitute 
of  money,  to  get  some  store  trade.  In  1804,  obtaining  a  small  stock 
of  goods  at  the  east,  by  purchase,  and  a  much  larger  stock  of  Tryon 
and  Adams,  at  Irondequoit  upon  commission,  Mr.  Culver  went  to 
Cleveland  and  opened  a  store,  principally  for  Indian  trade,  where 
he  had  been  preceded  only  by  one  trader,  with  a  small  stock.  He 
bought  furs  of  the  Indians,  and  opening  a  barter  trade  with  the 
settlements  in  Pennsylvania,  his  customers  brought  him  upon  pack 
horses,  whiskey  and  cider  brandy,  in  kegs,  butter,  cheese  and  honey- 
He  sold  them  salt  at  83,00  per  bushel.  Extending  a  barter  trade  to 
Detroit,  he  obtained  there,  apples  and  white  fish.  Disposing  of  his 
goods,  he  returned,  had  title  to  his  farm  made  good,  married  the 
daughter  of  John  Ray  of  Pittsford,  and  became  a  permanent  resi 
dent  of  Brighton,  as  early  as  1805. 

In  1811,  Mr.  Culver  built  the  schooner  Clarissa,  on  the  Roswell 
Hart  farm  in  Brighton,  and  drew  it  to  the  Bay,  with  twenty  six 
yoke  of  oxen  ;  and  after  that  he  built  three  other  schooners,  and  put 
them  upon  the  Lake.  He  was  one  of  the  contractors  for  building 


428  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  combined  locks  at  Lockport,  on  the  original  construction  of 
the  canal.  In  1822,  he  built  at  Brighton,  a  packet  boat,  the  first 
boat  built  as  far  west  as  there,  and  the  fourth  packet  that  was  built  on 
the  canal.  These  are  but  a  part  of  the  enterprises  of  his  active 
and  useful  life.  He  is  now  72  years  old,  moving  about  and  super 
intending  a  large  estate,  neither  his  physical  or  mental  constitution 
but  little  impaired.  He  has  buried  two  sons ;  his  only  daughter  is 
Mrs.  L.  D.  Ely  of  Brighton. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  OLIVER  CULVER. 


On  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  on  a  high  bluff  near  Irondequoit  Bay,  in 
1796,  the  bank  caved  off,  and  untombed  a  large  quantity  of  human  bones, 
of  a  large  size.  The  arm  and  leg  bones,  upon  comparison,  were  much 
larger  than  those  of  our  own  race. 

In  1797  I  trapped  two  young  beaver,  at  Brush  creek,  above  Braddock's 
Bay.  I  saw  one  of  their  lodges.  It  was  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  hay. 
cock ;  carried  up  with  brush,  as  a  ground  work,  covered  with  rushes,  and  plas 
tered  with  clay.  I  have  seen  the  stumps  of  trees  they  had  gnawed  down,  that 
measured  one  foot  across.  They  select  the  sites  of  their  dams  with  something 
like  human  intelligence. 

At  one  period,  pretty  much  all  the  Lake  business  of  this  region,  was  trans 
acted  at  Irondequoit  Landing.  The  first  flour  was  shipped  there  that  went  to 
Montreal.  It  was  not  until  along  about  1813,  that  we  abandoned  the  idea 
that  it  would  be  the  great  commercial  point  of  this  region. 

In  1805,  '6,  myself,  Orange  Stone,  George  Dailey,  Samuel  Spafford,  and 
Miles  Northup,  with  the  help  of  $50  appropriated  from  the  town  of  North- 
field,  cut  out  the  road,  two  rods  wide,  from  Orange  Stone's  to  the  river,  four 
miles. 

When  I  first  came  to  Irondequoit,  in  excavating  the  earth  to  build  a  store 
house,  we  found  a  large  quantity  of  lead  balls  and  flints.  On  a  knoll,  on  the 
bank  of  the  creek,  there  were  the  remains  of  a  battery.* 

In  1802  there  was  no  school  nearer  than  Pittsford.  We  clubbed  to 
gether,  built  a  log  school  house,  and  hired  a  young  man  by  the  name  of 
Turner,  who  was  clerk  in  Tryon  &  Adams'  store,  to  open  a  school.  I  wanted 
to  go  to  school,  and  for  my  part,  I  got  logs  to  a  saw  mill,  and  furnished  the 
roof  boards.  Our  first  physician  was  John  Ray,  of  Pittsford;  our  first  mer 
chant  at  Brighton,  Ira  West,  who  removed  to  Rochester. 

Amos  Spafford,  of  Orwell,  Vermont,  the  father  of  Samuel  Spaftbrd,  who 
came  to  the  Genesee  country  with  me,  was  one  of  the  early  surveyors  of  the 
Reserve,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  sattlement  at  Cleveland.  The  U.  S. 

*  The  battery,  undoubtedly,  that  La  Hontan  says  De  Nonville  erected  at  the  Land 
ing. 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  429 

government  granted  him  a  mile  and  a  half  square  of  land,  at  Maumee,  to 
which  place  he  removed,  and  where  his  descendants  now  reside.  Samuel 
Spafford  settled  at  Brighton,  and  made  first  improvements  on  the  Blossom 
farm,  emigrating  to  Maumee. 

Amos  Spafford  being  the  first  mail  contractor  at  Cleveland,  in  1805,  his 
carrier  being  taken  sick,  I  took  the  mai)  on  my  back,  and  carried  it  to  Huron, 
in  four  hours,  traveling  on  the  ice  with  skates. 

Timothy  Allen  sold  his  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  in  Brighton,  to  John 
and  Solomon  Hatch.  In  company  with  them,  I  built  a  saw  mill  on  Allan's 
Creek,  in  1806.  They  removed  to  Genesee  county.* 


In  1799,  Judge  John  Tryon,  of  Lebanon  Springs,  became  through 
a  brother  who  had  failed  to  make  the  payments,  the  owner  of  a 
tract  of  land  on  the  Irondequoit,  in  Brighton,  three  miles  above  the 
Bay.  His  brother  had  previously  laid  out  a  village,  but  had  made 
no  progress  with  it.  Judge  Tryon  built  a  store  and  store  house, 
and  in  the  spring  of  '99,  opened  a  store  in  the  name  of  Tryon  & 
Adams.  The  locality  assumed  the  name  of  "  Tryon's  Town."  The 
agent  of  the  proprietors,  Augustus  Griswold,  first  came  on  with 
five  sleigh  loads  of  goods,  and  after  that,  in  the  fall,  Capt.  Oliver 
Grace  came  with  a  boat  load  from  Schenectady,  the  freight  costing 
$3  00  per.  112  Ibs.  Asa  Dayton  soon  opened  a  tavern,  Stephen 
Lusk  started  the  tanning  and  shoe  making  business,  and  besides 
these  was  Asa  Dunbar,  a  mulatto,  and  John  Boyd,  —  four  families 
in  all.  In  1800,  Henry  Ward,  the  present  worthy  citizen  and  Post 
Master,  of  Penfield,  then  18  years  of  age,  came  on  and  became  a 
clerk  in  the  Tryon  &  Adams  store.  At  that  period,  much  of  the 
business  of  this  pioneer  store,  the  first  west  of  Canandaigua,  con 
sisted  of  barter,  for  furs,  bear  and  deer  skins,  with  the  Seneca  In 
dians,  and  such  white  men  as  were  hunters  and  trappers.  In  1801, 
Silas  Losea  settled  in  the  place,  and  enabled  "  Tryon  Town,"  alias 
the  "  city  of  Tryon,"  to  glory  in  the  addition  of  a  blacksmith's 
shop.  An  ashery  and  distillery  was  added  to  the  store,  soon  after. 
In  the  earliest  years,  the  store  commanded  a  wide  range  of  custom 
ers.  There  are  names  upon  its  old  books,  of  the  early  settlers  of 
all  the  western  towns  of  Ontario  and  Wayne,  northern  towns  of 


*  Jarvis  M.  and  Hiram  F.  Hatch,  attorneys  in  Rochester,  are  the  sons  of  the  early 
pioneer,  John  Hatch.  The  father  and  brother  were  from  Madison  county.  John  Hatch 
removed  from  Brigthon  to  Barre,  Orleans  county,  and  subsenuently  to  Elba,  near  Bata- 
via,  where  his  widow  now  resides. 


430  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Livingston,  and  even  a  solitary  settler  of  Orleans  county,  at  the 
mouth  of  Oak  Orchard  creek,  was  a  regular  customer.  The  '•  city" 
was  governed  by  civil  laws  of  its  own  enacting.  What  has  since 
been  called  a  "  Lynch  Court "  was  established,  and  several  trials 
and  convictions  were  had. 

The  business  of  the  place  declining,  shipping  business  going  to  the 
mouth  of  Genesee  river,  and  rival  stores  springing  up  in  other  local 
ities,  in  1810  Mr.  Griswold  broke  up  the  store,  and  went  to  Tren 
ton,  Oneida  county.  In  1818  the  old  store  house  was  demolished, 
and  there  now  remains  scarcely  a  vestige  of  the  once  "  city  of 
Tryon." 

Gen.  Jonathan  Fassett,  of  Vermont  was  the  original  purchaser 
from  Phelps  and  Gorham,  of  T.  13,.  R.  4,  now  Penfield,  and  south 
part  of  Webster;  he  attempted  its  settlement  in  '91  or  '2.  He 

was  accompanied  by  Caleb  Hopkins,  his  son  Jonathan  Fassett, 

Maybee,  and  some  others.  Discouraged  by  sickness,  and  other 
endurances  of  the  wilderness,  Gen.  Fassett  abandoned  the  enterprise, 
and  returned  to  Vermont ;  though  Messrs.  Hopkins  and  Maybee 
remained  in  the  country.  Mr.  Hopkins  was  the  afterwards  Col. 
Hopkins,  of  Pittsford,  and  Mr.  Maybee  was  the  father  of  John  and 
James  Maybee,  who  were  pioneer  settlers  of  Royalton,  Niagara 
county,  and  of  Suffrenus  Maybee,  a  pioneer  settler  at  Buffalo,  and 
the  mouth  of  Cattaraugus  creek  ;  a  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Orange 
Stone,  another  of  Caleb  Hopkins,  another  of Griffin,  of  Pitts- 
ford.  Dr.  Fassett,  of  Lockport,  and  a  brother  of  his  in  Rochester, 
are  grand-sons  of  Gen.  Fassett. 

Mr.  Maybee  was  from  the  Mohawk.  He  came  by  water  to 
Swift's  Landing  at  Palmyra,  there  mounted  his  batteaux  upon 
wheels,  and  cut  his  own  road  from  a  short  distance  west  of  Palmyra 
to  Penfield. 

Gen.  Fassett  located  at  the  old  Indian  Landing,  on  the  east  side 
of  the  Bay,  about  two  miles  below  the  present  village  of  Penfield. 
He  had  a  plat  surveyed  there  for  a  town,  but  nothing  farther  was 
done.  He  soon  sold  his  interest  in  Penfield  to  Gen.  Silas  Pepoon, 
who  sold  it  to  Samuel  P.  Lloyd,  from  whom,  in  consequence  of  some 
liabilities  incurred,  it  went  into  the  hands  of  Daniel  Penfield. 

DCf3  Farther  reminiscences  of  Penfield  will  be  added  in  another 
connection. 

What  is  now  Pittsford,  being  a  portion  of  a  township  at  the 


PHELPS  AKD  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  431 

northern  termination  of  the  5th  range,  13,296  acres  was  purchased 
by  an  association,  who  were  represented  in  the  transaction  by  "Stone 
and  Dodge."  Settlement  commenced  there  before  the  close  of 
1789.  The  pioneers  were,  Israel  Stone  and  Simon  Stone,  Silas 
Nye,  Joseph  Farr,  and  at  the  same  time,  or  soon  after,  other  heads 
of  families  came  in :  —  Thomas  Cleland,  Josiah  Giminson,  Alex 
ander  Uunn,  and  David  Davis. 

William  Walker,  the  local  agent  of  Phelps  &  Gorham,  purchased 
T.  12,  R.  4,  now  the  town  of  Perinton.  In  the  summer  of  1799  his 
brother  Caleb  erected  a  log  cabin,  and  moved  into  the  township, 
taking  with  him  Glover  Perrin,  with  his  wife.  Perrin  went  first  in 
the  capacity  of  a  hired  man,  but  after  the  death  of  Caleb  Walker, 
had  some  interest  in  'the  purchase.  The  pioneers  had  no  children, 
and  lived  alone  in  the  woods  for  several  years,  after  which  they 
moved  to  Pittsford.  DCf3  For  Mendon,  see  Monroe  county. 


VICTOR 


[Omitted  in  its  appropriate  place.] 

Enos  Boughton,  of  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  and  his  brother  Jared, 
had  visited  this  region  in  1788.  Enos  had  engaged  as  a  clerk  of 
William  Walker,  the  agent  of  Mr.  Phelps,  and  as  soon  as  sales  com 
menced,  purchased  the  town  of  Victor,  for  twenty  cents  per  acre. 
In  the  spring  of  1799,  the  two  brothers,  Horatio  Jones,  a  brother- 
in-law,  who  was  a  surveyor,  and  several  hired  hands,  went  upon 
what  was  afterwards  called  Boughton  Hill,  erected  a  log  cabin, 
sowed  a  patch  of  buckwheat,  (the  first  of  that  crop  in  the  Genesee 
country,)  surveyed  the  township,  and  after  sowing  three  acres  of 
wheat,  the  whole  party  returned'  to  Massachusetts,  except  Jacob 
Lobdell,  who  remained  "  solitary  and  alone,"  to  take  care  of  the 
premises,  and  winter  fourteen  head  of  cattle  upon  wild  grass,  that 
had  been  cut  upon  the  Indian  Meadow,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Griswold  place.  In  February,  1790,  Jared  Boughton  started  from 
Stockbridge,  with  his  wife  and  infant  daughter,  and  made  the  long 

NOTE. —  Mr.  Lobdell  remained  in  the  town,  and  became  an  enterprising  and  promi 
nent  citizen  ;  was  well  known  as  an  early  contractor  upon  the  Erie  Canal.  His  many 
kind  acts  in  pioneer  times,  are  well  remembered.  He  died  in  1848,  aged  78  years. 
His  sons  are :  —  Levi  and  Jacob  L.,  of  Victor,  George,  of  Hennepin,  Illinois.  Wallace, 
of  Calhoun  co.,  Michigan  ;  his  daughters,  Mrs.  Abraham  and  Mrs.  Rufus  Humphrey, 
of  Victor,  and  Mrs.  Cleveland,  of  Steuben  Illinois. 


432  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

winter,  and  wood's  journey  to  their  new  home ;  a  pretty  full  ac 
count  of  which  is  given  in  History  of  Holland  Purchase.  Their 
travelling  companions  were  the  family  of  Col.  Seth  Reed,  who  were 
coming  on  to  join  him  at  Geneva.  Between  Col.  Danforth's  at 
Onondaga  Hollow,  and  Cayuga  Lake,  the  whole  party,  fourteen  in 
number,  cleared  away  the  snow,  and  made  a  night  camp  of  hem 
lock  boughs.  They  were  ferried  across  the  outlet  of  Seneca  Lake, 
by  Solomon  Earle ;  after  parting  with  the  Reed  family,  they  arrived 
at  Flint  creek  —  there  was  no  bridge  —  had  to  fall  trees  to  get  their 
goods  over,  and  afterwards  tow  the  horses  and  sleigh  across  with 
ropes.  Between  Flint  creek  and  Canandaigua,  they  found  one 
small  opening,  and  an  unoccupied  cabin.  They  arrived  in  Victor, 
March  7th,  one  week  after  the  Adams  family  had  arrived  in  Bloom- 
field.  The  stock  of  provisions  they  brought  in,  lasted  with  the  help 
of  the  buckwheat  that  had  been  harvested  the  previous  fall,  until 
their  wheat  harvest.  The  early  wheat  crop  was  thrashed  upon  a 
floor  made  of  split  bass  wood,  and  cleaned  with  an  old  fashioned 
corn  fan,  the  rim  of  which  was  fabricated  from  an  oak  tree,  and 
the  bottom  from  a  pine  board,  which  had  been  a  part  of  their  sleigh 
box. 

After  Enos  Boughton  had  purchased  Victor,  his  father  took  an 
interest  with  him,  selling  his  farm  in  Stockbridge,  and  coming  into 
the  new  region.  He  died  in  Aug.  1798.  His  four  sons  were  Enos, 
Jared,  Seymour  and  Hezekiah.  Enos,  who  was  introduced  to  Mr. 
Clinton  in  1825,  as  the  man  who  built  the  first  stick  chimney,  first 
framed  barn,  and  planted  the  first  orchard  west  of  Seneca  Lake, 
he  died  in  Lockport,  in  1826,  where  he  had  made  an  early  pur 
chase  of  a  large  portion  of  the  present  village  site.  Jared  is  yet 
living,  at  the  age  of  84  years.  In  1848,  the  author  saw  him  in  the 
full  possession  of  his  faculties,  and  he  was  afterwards  indebted  to 
him  for  pioneer  reminiscences,  in  a  hand  writing  that  showed  little 
of  the  tremor  of  age,  and  exhibited  a  distinct  and  intelligent  recol 
lection  of  early  events.  The  young  wife,  who  with  a  child  four 
months  old,  had  cooked  frugal  meals  by  winter  camp  fires,  and  en 
dured  the  most  rugged  features  of  pioneer  life,  was  also  alive  in 
1848;  "hale  and  hearty/'  the  mother  of  12  children.  She  died  in 
1849.  The  living  sons,  in  1848,  were:  —  Selleck,  an  Attorney  in 
Rochester,  Frederick,  of  Pittsford,  [the  first  white  child  born  in 
Victor.]  Jared  H.,  on  old  homestead  in  Victor ;  Enos  of  E.  Bloom- 


PHELPS  AND  GOKEIAM'S  PURCHASE.  433 

field ;  daughters,  Mrs.  Dr.  A.  G.  Smith,  New  York,  Mrs.  Bennett 
Lewis,  of  Green  county,  Ohio,  Mrs.  Mortimer  Buel,  of  Geneseo. 
Hezekiah  died  as  early  as  1793  ;  was  the  father  of  the  late  Col. 
Claudius  Victor  Boughton,  after  whom  the  town  was  named  in 
1813,  as  a  mark  of  esteem  for  his  gallant  services  upon  the  Niagara 
frontier,  to  which  the  legislature  of  this  State  added  the  presenta 
tion  of  a  sword.  Reuben  H.  Boughton,  of  Lewiston,  is  a  son  of  his. 
Another  son  of  Hezekiah,  is  George  H.  Boughton,  Esq.,  of  Lock- 
port.  Col.  Seymour  Boughton  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Black 
Rock,  in  the  war  of  1812. 

Jared  Boughton  took  the  buckwheat  and  got  it  ground  at  Capt. 
Ganson's  rude  mill  at  Avon.  His  next  milling  expedition,  (after 
wheat  harvest,)  was  with  a  double  ox  team,  to  the  Allan  mill  at 
Genesee  Falls.  Arriving  within  four  miles  of  the  River,  (at  Orange 
Stone's,)  he  came  to  the  end  of  the  road  ;  any  direct  route"  to  the 
River  was  through  a  dense  forest,  and  low  wet  grounds ;  which 
obliged  him  to  go  around,  and  work  his  way  over  the  range  of  hills 
east  of  Mount  Hope.  Arrived  at  the  River,  he  belled  his  oxen  and 
turned  them  into  the  woods,  carrying  his  grain  across  and  down 
the  river  to  the  mill.  As  winter  approached,  the  infant  settlement 
was  without  salt.  It  was  decided  to  send  a  boat  to  Salt  Point.  In 
November,  Jared  and  Seymour  Boughton.  and  John  Barnes,  went 
to  Swift's  Landing,  (Palmyra,)  took  a  Schenectady  boat,  and  pro 
ceeded  on  their  voyage.  The  Stansells,  at  Lyons,  were  the  only 
white  inhabitants  on  the  whole  route.  Below  the  junction  of  the 
Ganargwa  creek,  and  Canandaigua  out-let,  they  came  to  a  raft  of 
flood-wood,  16  rods  in  extent.  To  pass  it  they  were  obliged  to  haul 
their  boat  out  of  the  water,  up  a  steep  ascent,  and  move  it  on  rollers 
to  a  point  below  the  raft.  Procuring  twelve  barrels  of  salt,  the 
party  starting  on  their  homeward  voyage,  encountered  a  snow 
storm  and  ice  when  they  got  into  the  Seneca  river.  They  made 
slow  progress,  on  one  occasion  being  obliged  to  wade  into  the  ice 
and  water  to  lift  their  boat  from  stones  upon  which  it  had  struck. 
At  the  raft  on  Clyde  River,  they  had  again  to  transport  their  boat 
overland,  with  the  addition  of  their  twelve  barrels  of  salt.  On 
account  of  low  water,  they  were  obliged  to  leave  their  boat  and 
cargo  at  the  Lyon's  Landing.  Going  through  the  woods  to  Farm- 
ington,  following  township  lines,  they  returned  with  six  yoke  of 
oxen  via.  Palmyra,  and  partly  upon  wagons,  and  partly  upon  sleds, 


434  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

making  their  roads  mostly  as  they  went  along,  they  succeeded  in 
getting  the  first  cargo  of  salt  to  Victor. 

Levi  Boughton,  an  uncle  of  Jared  and  Enos,  accompanied  Jared 
and  Jacob  Lobdell  in  their  primitive  advent  — moved  his  family  in 
the  next  year.  He  died  in  1828,  aged  78  years.  His  sons  were, 
Nathaniel,  of  Bloomfield,  John  B.,  of  Ohio,  Thomas  Morris,  of 
Rochester,  Horace  B.  of  Victor.  Thomas  M.  is  the  only  surviving 
son.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Jacob  Lobdell,  Aaron  Tay 
lor,  an  early  settler  on  the  Ridge  Road,  near  MolyneuxY  Corners, 
Niagara  county,  Zera  Brooks,  John  Brace,  and  Philemus  Smith,  of 
Victor. 

Rufus  Dryer  from  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  came  to  Victor  with  some 
portion  of  the  Boughton  family,  and  in  1799,  accompanied  Enos 
and  Jared  in  their  lumbering  expedition  to  Georgia,  where  he  re 
mained  with  them  for  several  years.  Residing  after  that  in  Madi 
son  county,  he  became  a  permanent  resident  of  Victor  in  1806. 
He  was  the  founder  of  the  well  known  Dryer  stand  in  Victor,  and 
had  opened  it  and  kept  it  a  year  before  his  death  in  1820.  His  son, 
Wm.  C.  Dryer,  succeeded  him,  kept  the  stand  for  many  years,  and 
retired  to  a  fine  farm,  upon  which  he  and  his  brother  Truman  now 
reside. 

IO3  For  additional  reminiscences  of  Victor,  see  "  Phelps  and 
Gorham's  Purchase  —  Ontario." 


[The  following  omissions  in  reminiscences  of  West  Bloomfield,  page  198  ;  and  in 
reminiscences  of  Bristol,  page  208,  are  supplied.] 

Ezra  Marvin  was  one  of  the  associates  in  the  purchase  of  town 
ship,  now  West  Bloomfield ;  he  never  emigrated ;  his  son,  Jasper 
P.  Marvin,  became  a  resident  and  died  there,  in  early  years.  The 
surviving  sons  of  Robert  Taft,  are  Jessee,  Robert,  Bezaleel,  and 
Chapin  Taft,  all  of  Bloomfield ;  daughters,  Mrs.  Peck,  of  Bloomfield, 
Mrs.  Leach,  of  Lima.  Ebenezer  Curtiss  died  in  1812;  Mrs.  Par 
ker,  of  Lima,  is  his  daughter.  Jasper  P.  Sears  died  in  early  years. 
Other  prominent  early  settlers  :  —  Marvin  Gates,  a  brother  of  Dan 
iel)  mentioned  in  connection  with  East  Bloomfield ;  Jacob  Smith, 
built  a  saw  mill  and  grist  mill,  in  early  years,  on  the  Honeoye, — 
"Smith's  Mills"— died  many  years  since  ;  Deacon  Samuel  Handy, 
died  10  or  15  years  since,  was  the  father  of  Russel  Handy,  of  Alle- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  435 

gany;  Peter  W.  Handy,  of  Rochester,  Mrs.  Stephen  Bates,  and 
Mrs.  Charles  Wilbur,  (the  early  pioneer  in  Le  Roy  and  Lockport .) 
Bayze  Baker,  still  surviving,  at  the  age  of  80  years  ;  Nathaniel  Eg- 
gleston,  an  early  landlord,  father  of  Mrs.  William  Parsons,  of  Lock- 
port  ;  Palmer  and  Clark  Peck,  came  in  as  early  as  1790.  Clark 
was  an  early  Supervisor  of  the  old  town  of  Bloomfield,  died  in  1825  ; 
Jasper  Peck,  of  Bloomfield,  is  a  son  of  his,  Mrs.  Page,  of  Bloomfield, 
a  daughter;  his  sons,  Joseph  and  Abel,  reside  in  Michigan;  the 
mother  is  still  living. 

John  Dixon,  was  a  native  of  Keene,  N.  H.,  a  graduate  of  Mid- 
dlebury  College,  studied  law  in  Milton,  near  Ballston,  Saratoga 
county  ;  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1812,  and  in  1813  located  in 
West  Bloomfield,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  now  resides, 
mingling  professional  duties  with  the  successful  pursuits  of  agricul 
ture,  a  useful  citizen,  and  a  much  respected  member  cf  the  bar  of 
Ontario.  He  was  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature,  in  1829,  '30, 
and  of  Congress,  for  two  terms,  at  a  later  period ;  is  now  67 
years  of  age. 

The  sons  of  Gamaliel   Wilder,   the   earliest  Pioneer  of  Bristol, 

were  :  —  Daniel,  David,  Joseph,  Asa,  Jonas ;  daughters  became  the 

wives   of  Elisha   Parrish,   Theophilus  Allen,  Nathan  Hatch,  and 

-  Hoag.     Daniel  became  the  owner  of  the  Indian  orchard  in 

Bristol,  that  had  escaped  the  devastation  of  Sullivan.  * 

Ephraim  Wilder,  coming  in  soon  after  Gamaliel,  settled  at  first 
in  South  Bristol,  but  afterwards  removed  to  T.  9,  4th  Range.  He 
died  in  1822.  His  surviving  sons  are,  Timothy,  John,  and  Russell 
Wilder,  of  Bristol ;  daughters  became  the  wives  of  George  Gooding, 
Henry  Pitts  and  John  Hatch. 

In  Gen.  Hall's  census  of  1790,  Aaron  Rice  (other  than  the  early 
settler  at  Avon,  as  the  author  concludes,)  is  named  as  the  head  of  a 
family  in  South  Bristol.  He  removed  to  Genesee  county,  and 
from  thence  to  the  west  in  early  years.  His  daughters  became  the 


*  It  contained  both  apples  and  peaches,  both  in  greater  quantity  than  in  any  other 
of  the  Indian  orchards  that  were  preserved.  A  ride  to  "  Wilder's,"  apple  and  peach 
eating,  and  cider  drinking,  on  horseback,  on  ox  sleds  and  .horse  sleighs,  from  Ihe  scat 
tered  new  settlements,  was  no  uncommon  occurrence.  The  possession  of  an  old  Indian 
orchard  near  Geneva,  and  some  cleared  lands  around  it,  was  deemed  of  so  much  con 
sequence,  that  the  original  Massachusetts  pre-emption  line  was  varied  in  order  to  em 
brace  it.  South  Bristol,  hillv  and  broken  as  it  is  known  to  be,  could  once  have  been 
exchanged  for  East  Bloomfield,  but  the  bargain  was  declined  on  account  of  the  "  Indian 
orchard." 


436  PHELPS  A1STD   GORHAM's   PURCHASE. 

wives  of  David  Wilder,  Simeon  Crosby,  and  Randall  Chapman. 
Aaron  Spencer  was  also  the  head  of  a  family  in  South  Bristol,  in 
1790,  but  of  him  the  author  has  no  account. 

The  Coddings,  whose  advent  is  named,  incidentally,  in  connection 
with  the  Pitts  family,  were  three  brothers :  —  John,  George,  and 
Faunce,  [called  erroneously  "  Fauner,"  in  another  ^connection.] 
The  surviving  sons  of  John  Codding  are,  John,  George,  Benjamin, 
Warren,  of  Coddingsville,  Medina  county,  Ohio :  and  Robert  F., 
of  Summit  county,  Ohio.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Timo 
thy  Wilder,  Isaac  Van  Fossen,  and  John  Wilder.  The  sons  of 
Faunce  Codding  are,  Faunce  and  Stephen  A.,  of  Bristol ;  George 
T.  and  Ichabod,  of  Lockport,  Illinois,  where  their  mother  and  sister, 
Mrs.  Hale  S.  Mason,  reside.  George  Codding  died  childless.  Geo. 
Codding,  sen.,  the  father  of  the  three  brothers,  joined  his  sons  in 
early  years.  His  other  children  were,  Burt  Codding,  Mrs.  Benj. 
Goss,  Mrs.  Zenas  Briggs,  Mrs.  Elizur  Hills,  and  Mrs.  Wm.  T.  Codd 
ing,  who  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Bristol.  M.  O.  Wilder,  Esq., 
of  Canandaigua,  is  one  of  the  numerous  descendants  of  this  early 
and  Prominent  Pioneer  family, 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE    MORRIS  TREATY  AT    "BIO    TREE." CESSION    OF    THE  TERRITORY 

WEST  OF  PHELPS    AND    GORHAIrt's  PURCHASE,  WHICH  BECAME 
MORRIS*  RESERVE  AND  HOLLAND  PURCHASE. 


ALTHOUGH  Mr.  Morris  had  acquired  the  pre-emptive  right  of 
Massachusetts  to  all  the  territory  in  this  State  west  of  Phelps  and 
Gorham's  Purchase  —  what  was  afterwards  designated  as  Morris' 
Reserve  and  the  Holland  Purchase  —  as  early  as  May,  1791,  the 
native  right  to  the  soil  was  not  extinguished  until  1797.  Soon  af 
ter  he  purchased  of  Massachusetts,  in  1792  and  '3,  he  sold  to  the 
Holland  Company  all  the  land  west  of  the  transit  line,  over  three 
millions  of  acres,  which  is  now  embraced  in  the  counties  of  Niagara, 
Erie,  Chautauque,  Cattaraugus,  and  all  of  Allegany,  Wyoming, 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.  437 

Genesee  and  Orleans,  except  their  tiers  of  eastern  townships,  leaving 
to  himself  a  tract  of  about  500,000  acres,  between  the  lands  of 
Phelps  and  Gorham,  and  those  he  had  conveyed  to  the  Holland 
Company-  In  his  conveyance  to  the  Holland  Company,  he  had 
stipulated  to  extinguish  the  native  title,  and  had  left  in  their  hands 
thirty-five  thousand  pounds  sterling,  of  purchase  money,  as  a 
guarantee. 

Various  untoward  circumstances  —  the  withholding  of  the  mili 
tary  posts  by  the  British,  or  in  fact,  their  refusal  to  surrender  their 
dominion  over  this  region,  the  prospects  of  a  renewal  of  British 
and  Indian  wars ;  and  more  than  all,  perhaps,  the  indisposition  of 
the  Senecas  to  part  with  any  more  of  their  lands  —  delayed  the 
fulfilment  of  this  stipulation.  It  had  been  the  firm  determination 
of  the  Senecas,  adhered  to  strenuously  during  all  the  preliminary 
negotiations  of  Mr.  Phelps  at  Buffalo  Creek,  to  make  the  Genesee 
river  below  Mount  Morris,  their  eastern  boundary  line,  and  they 
yielded  the  "  Mill  Tract"  with  great  reluctance  and  subsequent  regret. 

Fort  Niagara  was  surrendered  by  the  British,  and  taken  posses 
sion  of  by  a  company  of  United  States  troops,  under  the  command 
of  Captain  J.  Bruff,  toward  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1796.  In  a 
few  weeks  after  American  possession  of  that  ancient  strong-hold 
of  French  and  British  power  —  the  spot  where  the  Senecas  had  so 
often  assembled  to  renew  French  and  British  alliance  —  had  been 
established,  a  numerous  delegation  appeared  before  the  garrison, 
made  a  salute  after  the  Indian  fashion,  which  was  returned  by  the 
discharge  of  artillery.  It  seemed  an  overture  to  establish  the  rela 
tions  of  good  neighborhood,  and  was  met  by  the  commandant  in 
a  spirit  which  evinced  that  he  did  not  mean  to  fall  behind  his  prede 
cessors  in  acts  of  friendship  and  hospitality.  He  made  a  friendly 
speech  to  them,  presented  them  with  the  American  flag  and  a  bar 
rel  of  rum,  and  apologised  for  not  furnishing  them  with  a  supply  of 
provisions,  alleging  that  they  were  scarce  at  that  "  distant  post." 
In  the  answer  to  this  speech,  the  Indians  alluded  to  Mr.  Morris' 
pre-emptive  right,  and  begged  of  Captain  Bruff  to  protect  them 
from  the  "  big  eater  with  the  big  belly,"  who  wanted  to  come  and 
"  devour  their  lands."  Mr.  Morris  was  then  about  to  make  his  appli 
cation  to  President  Washington  for  the  appointment  of  a  commis 
sioner,  but  concluded  to  delay  it  on  account  of  this  manifestation  at 
Fort  Niagara. 


438  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

The  next  year,  1797,  President  Washington,  at  the  solicitation 
of  Mr.  Morris,  consented  to  nominate  a  commissioner,  with  the 
condition  that  Captain  Bruff's  speech  and  the  Indians'  reply  of  the 
preceding  year,  should  accompany  the  nomination  to  the  Senate; 
and  observed,  that  "  such  was  the  desire  to  conciliate  the  Six  Na 
tions,  that  he  did  not  believe  that  the  Senate  would  confirm  any 
nomination  contrary  to  their  wishes."  The  Senate  confirmed  the 
appointment  of  a  commissioner,  but  with  the  proviso  that  he  should 
not  act  until  the  Indians  themselves  requested  a  treaty.  The  com 
missioner  first  appointed  was  Judge  Isaac  Smith,  of  New  Jersey; 
but  his  official  duties  interfering,  Col.  Jeremiah  Wadsworth  was 
substituted. 

The  task  of  getting  the  consent  of  the  Indians  to  hold  a  treatydevolv- 
ed  upon  Thomas  Morris,  and  he  observes  thai  it  "was  not  an  easy  one 
to  accomplish."  It  required  journeys  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  con 
ferences  with  the  Indians  in  their  villages,  and  all  the  persuasive 
arts  of  one  who  was  not  unfited  for  diplomatic  missions  to  red  or 
white  men.  The  Indians  objected  that  if  they  asked  for  the  treaty, 
it  would  be  construed  as  the  expression  of  a  wish  to  sell  their  lands. 
Their  consent  was  finally,  however,  obtained,  the  time  of  holding 
the  treaty  agreed  upon,  and  "  Big  Tree,"  now  Geneseo,  designated 
as  the  treaty  ground. 

All  concerned  were  principally  congregated  during  the  last  days 
of  August.  Thomas  Morris  and  Charles  Williamson,  and  James 
Reese,  as  Secretary,  were  the  representatives  of  Mr.  Morris; 
though  Mr.  Williamson  being  called  away  in  an  early  stage  of  the 
treaty,  the  principal  labor  of  negotiation  devolved  upon  Thomas 
Morris.  Col.  Wadsworth  was  in  attendance  as  the  commissioner 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  William  Shepherd  as  the 
commissioner  of  Massachusetts.  Theophilus  Cazenove,  who  was 
then  the  representative  of  the  Holland  Company  in  the  United 
States,  procured  in  their  behalf  the  attendance  of  William  Bayard, 
of  New  York,  Joseph  Ellicott  and  Col.  Linklaen,  who  were  accom 
panied  by  two  young  men  by  the  name  of  Vanstaphorst,  nearly  re 
lated  to  one  of  the  Dutch  proprietors.  Beside  these,  Israel  Chapin 
was  present,  and  a  large  representation  of  Indian  interpreters  and 
traders,  while  many  were  drawn  to  the  treaty  ground  from  motives 
of  curiosity. 

James  Wadsworth  was  then  in  Europe ;  Mr.  Moms  obtained  of 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.  439 

William  Wadsworth  the  use  of  the  unfinished  residence  of  the 
brothers,  to  accommodate  those  directly  connected  with  the  treaty ; 
and  for  a  council  house  he  provided  a  large  tent  covered  with  green 
boughs,  and  furnished  with  a  platform  and  rows  of  seats,  after  the 
manner  of  preparations  for  a  camp  meeting. 

Days,  and  in  fact,  nearly  two  weeks,  of  tardy  and  fruitless  nego 
tiations  succeeded.  With  few  exceptions,  the  Indians  were  entirely 
averse  to  parting  with  their  lands.  Red  Jacket  took  the  laboring 
oar  for  his  people,  though  Cornplanter,  Farmers  Brother,  Little 
Beard,  and  Little  Billy,  were  occasional  speakers. 

The  first  business  of  the  treaty  was  to  deliver  a  speech  address 
ed  to  the  Indians,  by  Thomas  Morris,  containing  generally  his  pro 
posals.  Then  followed  a  long  consultation  among  the  Indians  to 
frame  an  answer ;  which,  when  it  came,  was  adverse  to  any  land 
cessions.  Meetings  and  speeches  succeeded,  Mr.  Morris  urging 
his  proposals  and  Red  Jacket  resisting  his  importunities  with  ability 
and  ingenuity.  After  some  ten  or  twelve  days  had  been  spent,  and 
nothing  accomplished,  Col.  Wadsworth  became  indisposed,  impa 
tient  of  further  delay,  and  insisted  on  the  business  being  brought  to 
a  close ;  and  about  the  same  time  Mr.  Morris  discovered  that  the 
influence  of  white  squatters,  upon  the  Indian  lands,  and  some  inter 
preters,  whose  offers  of  assistance  he  had  rejected,  stood  in  the  way 
of  success.  The  interpreters  especially  had  inculcated  among  the 
Indians  that  by  standing  out  they  could  get  a  much  larger  price  than 
had  been  offered. 

Learning  that  a  council  of  the  Indians  had  decided  upon  offering 
him  a  single  township,  and  that  only,  his  friends  persuaded  him 
against  his  better  judgement,  to  promptly  and  indignantly  reject  the 
offer,  which  he  did  on  the  assembling  of  the  general  council,  and 
the  offer  being  made.  This  was  thought  to  be  the  best  expedient  to 
bring  the  Indians  to  terms,  but  as  it  proved,  was  ill  advised.  The 
offer  was  a  township  on  the  Pennsylvania  line,  at  one  dollar  per 
acre,  which  Red  Jacket  accompanied  with  the  very  comfortable 

NOTE.  —  In  a  speech  of  lied  Jacket's  he  assumed  that  if  the  Senecas  parted  with 
•what  was  left  of  their  wide  domain,  they  would  be  shorn  of  their  influence  with 
their  neighboring  nations.  To  this  Mr.  Morris  replied,  rather  tauntingly  alluding  to 
the  treatment  that  Red  Jacket  and  others  of  a  delegation  of  Senecas  had  received 
from  the  western  Indians,  when  they  went  as  peace  negotiators  to  the  Miama  with 
Col.  Pickering  and  Beverly  Randolph;  treatment  that  amounted  to  contempt.  Red 
Jacket  parried  the  assault  by  shrewdly  observing  that  it  was  all  owing  to  their  going 
there  in  bad  company,  that  the  circumstance  alluded  to  had  admonished  them  not  to 
go  in  bad  company  when  they  visited  their  friends. 


440  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM^S  PUECHASE. 

assurance,  that  over  and  above  the  purchase  money,  the  land  could 
be  sold  for  enough  to  pay  all  the  trouble  and  expense  of  the  treaty. 
Mr  Morris  told  them  if  they  had  nothing  better  to  offer,  the  sooner 
the  conference  terminated  the  better,  that  all  might  return  to  their 
homes. 

Red  Jacket  immediately  sprung  upon  his  feet,  and  said  :  — "  We 
have  now  reached  the  point  to  which  I  wanted  to  bring  you.  You 
told  us  when  we  first  met,  that  we  were  free  either  to  sell  or  retain 
our  lands,  and  that  our  refusal  to  sell  would  not  disturb  the  friend 
ship  that  has  existed  between  us.  I  now  tell  you  that  we  will  not 
part  with  them.  Here  is  my  hand."  Mr.  Morris  taking  his  hand, 
he  ended  by  saying:  —  "I  now  cover  up  this  council  fire."  A  ter 
rible  whooping  and  yelling  followed,  and  menaces  made  somewhat 
alarming  to  those  present,  who  were  unacquainted  with  Indian  man 
ners.  To  all  present,  but  Mr.  Morris,  affairs  looked  hopeless,  and  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  he  persuaded  Col.  Wads  worth  and  others,  to 
remain  and  let  him  make  another  trial. 

The  next  day,  Farmers  Brother  called  upon  Mr.  Morris,  and  told 
him  that  he  hoped  the  failure  of  the  treaty  would  not  diminish  the 
friendship  that  had  existed  between  him,  (Mr.  Morris)  and  his  peo 
ple.  Mr.  Morris  replied  that  he  had  no  right  to  complain  of  their 
refusal  to  sell  their  lands,  but  he  did  complain  of  their  behavior 
towards  him;  that  they  had  permitted  one  of  their  drunken  warriors 
to  menace  and  insult  him,  whooping  and  yelling  in  approbation  of  his 
conduct.  He  said  he  had  not  deserved  such  conduct  from  them  ; 
that  for  years  he  had  not  refused  them  food,  or  as  much  liquor  as 
was  good  for  them,  when  they  had  been  at  Canandaigua;  and  that 
his  father  had  treated  such  of  them  as  had  been  to  Philadelphia, 
with  equal  hospitality.  Farmers  Brother  admitted  that  all  this  was 
true,  and  regretted  that  the  council  fire  had  been  covered  up,  oth 
erwise  they  could  meet  and  "  smooth  over,  and  heal  these  diffi 
culties."  Mr.  Morris  replied :  — "  The  council  fire  is  not  extin 
guished  ;  and  of  this  I  also  complain,  that  Red  Jacket  had  declared 
the  council  fire  to  be  covered  up,  when  according  to  your  own 
usages,  he  alone  who  kindles  the  council  fire,  has  a  right  to  extin 
guish  it.  It  is  still  burning."  After  a  few  moments'  reflection, 
Farmers  Brother  assented  to  the  correctness  of  the  conclusion,  and 
agreed  that  the  council  should  be  again  convened ;  Mr.  Morris  pro 
posing  that  it  should  be  delayed  a  few  days,  which  time  he  would 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUEOHASE.  441 

occupy  in  examining  his  accounts,  and  paying  for  the  provisions 
which  had  been  consumed,  collecting  the  cattle  that  were  not 
slaughtered,  and  attending  to  other  matters  preparatory  to  leaving 
the  treaty  ground. 

"  The  Indians,"  says  Mr.  Morris,  "  are  very  tenacious  of  a  strict  ad 
herence  to  their  ancient  rules  and  customs ;  according  to  their  usages 
the  sachems  have  a  right  to  transact  all  the  business  of  the  nation, 
whether  it  relates  to  their  lands  or  any  other  of  their  concerns,  but 
where  it  relates  to  their  lands,  and  they  are  dissatisfied  with  the 
management  of  their  sachems,  the  women  and  warriors  have  a 
right  to  divest  them  of  this  power,  and  take  it  into  their  own  hands; 
the  maxim  among  them  being  that  the  lands  belong  to  the  warriors, 
because  they  form  the  strength  of  the  nation ;  and  to  the  women 
as  the  mothers  of  the  warriors.  There  are  therefore  in  every  na 
tion,  head  or  chief  women,  who,  when  in  council,  select  some 
warrior  to  speak  for  them. 

With  a  knowledge  of  this  fact,  Mr.  Morris  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  try  his  luck  with  this  mixed  council,  as  a  last  resort.  He 
brought  about  a  meeting  with  the  chief  women  and  warriors..  He 
told  them  of  the  offers  that  had  been  made  to  the  sachems ;  and 
urged  upon  the  women  the  consideration,  that  the  money  that 
they  would  receive  for  their  lands,  would  relieve  them  from  all  the 
hardships  they  then  endured.  "  Now,"  says  he,  "  you  have  to  till 
the  earth,  and  provide  by  your  labor,  food  for  yourselves  and 
children.  When  those  children  are  without  clothing,  and  shivering 
with  cold,  you  alone  are  witnesses  to  their  sufferings ;  your  sachems 
will  always  supply  their  own  wants.  They  feed  on  the  game  they 
kill,  and  sell  the  skins  to  buy  them  clothing ;  therefore,  they  are  in 
different  about  exchanging  their  lands  for  money,  enough  every  year 
to  lessen  your  labor,  and  enable  you  to  procure  for  yourselves  and 
children,  the  food  and  clothing  necessary  for  your  comfort."  He 
concluded  by  telling  them  that  he  had  brought  a  number  of  presents 
from  Philadelphia,  which  he  intended  to  have  given  them,  only  in 
the  event  of  a  sale  of  their  lands,  but  as  he  had  no  cause  of  com 
plaint  against  the  women,  he  would  cause  their  portion  of  the  pres 
ents  to  be  distributed. 

The  "  women's  rights,"  and  well  considered  diplomatic  speech, 
with  the  presents  added,  gave  a  favorable  turn  to  affairs.  For  sev 
eral  days,  the  chiefs,  women  and  warriors,  were  scattered  about  in 
28 


442  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

small  parties,  in  earnest  consultation  ;    the  finale  of  which  was,  an 
invitation  to  Mr.  Morris  to  again  open  the  council. 

They  convened,  and  speeches  were  made  by  Mr.  Morris,  by 
Col.  Wadsworth,  explaining  to  the  Indians  their  rights,  and  the  na 
ture  of  the  pre-emptive  claim ;  and  by  the  Indians,  Red  Jacket 
and  Cornplanter,  principally.  But  the  women  and  warriors  had 
become  the  real  negotiators,  and  with  them,  in  fact,  the  bargain 
was  made.  * 

The  purchase  money  agreed  upon  was  orie  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  President  had  directed  that  it  should  be  invested  in 
the  stock  of  the  Bank  of  the  United  States,  in  the  name  of  the 
President  and  his  successors  in  office,  as  the  trustees  of  the  Indians. 
When  the  sum  was  agreed  upon,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
the  Indians  were  made  to  understand  how  much  one  hundred  thou 
sand  dollars  was  ;  the  sum  far  exceeding  any  rules  of  their  simple 
arithmetic.  This  difficulty  was  obviated  by  computing  how  many 
kegs  of  a  given  size  it  would  take  to  hold  it,  and  how  many  horses 
to  draw  it.  Another  difficulty  of  still  greater  intricacy  with  them 
occurred  :  —  a  stock  investment  would  of  course  give  fluctuating 
per  annum  returns,  or  dividends  ;  and  this  was  quite  beyond  their 
comprehension.  They  conjectured,  however,  that  the  bank  was  a 
large  place  in  Philadelphia,  where  a  large  sum  of  money  was  plant 
ed  ;  and  that  like  other  things  that  were  planted,  some  years  there 
would  be  a  good  crop,  and  some  years  a  poor  one.  With  this  con 
jecture,  they  were  content ;  and  in  years  that  followed,  whenever 
Mr.  Morris  returned  from  Philadelphia  or  New  York,  they  would 
enquire  of  him  what  kind  of  a  crop  they  might  anticipate  ? 

The  Reservations  was  the  next  business  to  be  arranged  :  —  Mr. 
Morris  had  stipulated  that  he  would  make  no  deduction  from  the 
purchase  money,  if  they  were  reasonable  in  their  demands  in  this 
respect.  The  Indians  insisted  upon  natural  boundaries,  such  as  the 
course  of  streams,  &c.  To  this  Mr.  Morris  objected,  inasmuch  as 
he  could  be  no  judge  of  the  quantity  of  land  within  such  bounda 
ries.  He  brought  them  to  his  terms,  the  naming  of  square  miles, 
in  the  aggregate  about  three  hundred  and  fifty.  When  this  came 
to  be  apportioned  among  the  different  villages,  a  great  deal  of 

*  This  may  have  been  the  natural  course  in  the  exigency  that  existed,  or  it  may 
have  been  a  convenient  expedient  of  Red  Jacket  and  other  chiefs,  to  have  the  treaty 
consummated  and  their  dignity  unsullied  by  an  appearance  of  a  change  of  purpose. 


PHELPS  A™  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.  443 


jealousy  and  rivalry  was  manifested  among  the  chiefs,  as  to  the  re 
spective  allotments.  Before  it  was  agreed  how  much  the  aggregate 
of  the  Reservation  should  be,  Red  Jacket  was  exhorbitant  in  his 
demands,  claiming  for  the  reservation  of  his  immediate  people  at 
Buffalo  Creek,  nearly  one-fourth  of  all  the  territory  purchased  ;  and 
Cornplanter  was  scarcely  less  exorbitant  in  his  demands.  They 
were  rival  chiefs,  and  their  relative  importance  depended  upon  the 
respective  possessions  of  their  people.  Mr.  Morris  had  to  assume 
the  office  of  arbitrator,  and  decide  the  respective  allotments.  * 

After  all  these  matters  had  been  adjusted  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  parties,  a  young  Indian,  then  about  twenty-four  years  of  age, 
who  had  not  before  been  to  the  treaty  ground,  made  his  appearance. 
It  was  Young  King.  He  was,  by  the  female  line,  a  lineal  descen 
dant  of  "Old  Smoke,"  whose  memory  was  revered  as  one  of  the 
greatest  men  that  had  ever  ruled  over  the  Six  Nations.  In  his  life 
time,  his  power  had  been  unbounded.  Young  King  was  a  heavy, 
dull,  unambitious,  but  apparently  an  honest  young  man.  Seldom 
meddled  with  the  business  of  the  nation  ;  but  when  he  did  so,  he  ex- 
excised  a  great  hereditary  influence.  On  his  arrival,  all  business 
was  suspended,  until  what  had  been  done  was  fully  explained  to 
him.  He  expressed  his  disapprobation  of  the  course  that  had  been 
pursued.  Farmer's  Brother  and  other  chiefs  informed  Mr.  Morris 
that  the  treaty  could  not  be  completed  contrary  to  the  wishes  of 
Young  King  ;  that  however  unreasonable  it  might  appear  to  him 
that  one  man  should  defeat  the  will  of  a  whole  nation,  it  was  a 
power  which  he  had  derived  from  his  birth,  and  one  which  he  could 
not  be  deprived  of.  Young  King  at  last,  though  not  reconciled  to 
their  parting  with  their  lands,  acquiesced,  saying  he  would  no  long 
er  oppose  the  will  of  the  nation. 


*  They  were  :  —  At  Squaky  Hill,  two  square  miles ;  at  Little  Beard's  Town  and  Big 
Tree,  four ;  at  Gardeau,  twenty-eight ;  at  Canaedea,  sixteen ;  Oil  Spring,  one  ;  on 
the  Allegany  River,  forty-two  ;  on  the  Cattaraugus  Creek,  forty-two ;  on  the  Buffalo 
Creek,  one  hundred  and  thirty;  on  the  Tonawanda  Creek,  seventy ;  at  Tuscarora, 
one  ;  at  Canawaugus,  two. 

NOTE.  —  Young  King  resides  upon  the  Buffalo  Reservation,  where  he  died  but  a  few 
years  since.  Soon  after  the  war  of  1812,  he  met  with  an  accident,  which  for  a  few 
days,  seemed  likely  to  occasion  an  outbreak  among  the  Senecas  :  — An  altercation  oc 
curred  between  him  and  David  Reese,  the  person  employed  to  do  blacksmith  work  for 
the  Indians,  by  the  II.  S.  Indian  agent  at  Buffalo.  It  grew  out  of  an  alleged  failure 
to  make  or  repair  a  fish  spear  for  Young  King.  Jn  self-defence,  Reese  dealt  a  tremen 
dous  blow  with  a  scythe,  which  nearly  severed  one  of  Young  King's  arms;  so  near  in 
fact,  that  amputation  had  to  be  immediately  resorted  to.  The  Indians  became  much 


444  PHELPS  AOT>  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Red  Jacket,  who  had  ably  defended  the  interests  of  his  people, 
and  acquitted  himself  with  much  credit  during  the  tedious  negotia 
tion,  played  Red  Jacket,  and  not  the  great  orator,  at  its  close.  The 
night  previous  to  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  he  sought  a  private  in 
terview  with  Mr.  Morris,  and  told  him  that  he  had  pretended  to  the 
other  chiefs  that  he  was  opposed  to  it ;  but  that  after  its  execution 
by  the  other  chiefs,  he  would  come  to  him  and  have  his  name  affix 
ed  privately ;  and  for  that  purpose,  wanted  a  space  reserved.  He 
added  that  it  would  not  do  for  the  treaty  to  go  to  Philadelphia  with 
out  his  signature,  as  Gen.  Washington  would  observe  the  omission, 
and  conclude  that  he  had  been  degraded,-  and  lost  his  rank  and  in 
fluence  among  the  Senecas.  The  blank  was  left,  and  his  signature 
thus  privately  added.  CCP  For  unpublished  reminiscences  of  Red 
Jacket,  see  Appendix,  No.  16. 

Thus  concluded  a  treaty  which  gave  title  to  all  of  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Holland  Purchase  and  Morris5  Reserve ;  the  account 
of  which  has  been  given  in  a  detail  that  may  seem  to  some  unne 
cessary  for  historical  purposes  ;  but  as  there  had  been  many  garbled 
and  imperfect  relations  of  it,  the  author  has  availed  himself  of  the 
authentic  documents  in  his  possession,  to  give  a  pretty  full,  and 
what  may  be  regarded  as  a  correct  history  of  the  whole  transaction. 

The  surveys  of  the  Holland  Company  commenced  in  1788,  un 
der  the  general  supervision  of  Joseph  Ellicott ;  surveying  parties 
were  soon  traversing  the  wilderness  in  all  directions ;  a  mere  woods 
road  was  made  upon  the  main  east  and  west  route  ;  and  before  the 
close  of  1789,  families  had  moved  in  for  the  purpose  of  opening 
houses  of  public  entertainment  at  Stafford,  near  the  present  village 
of  Caryville,  and  at  Clarence ;  and  at  Stafford,  Mr.  Ellicott  had 
erected  a  store-house  quarters  for  his  surveyors,  covering  them  with 
bark. 

In  the  meantime,  Captain  Bruff  and  his  successor,  Maj.  Rivardi, 
had  prevailed  upon  the  Indians  to  allow  a  sufficient  improvement 
of  the  old  Niagara  trail  to  admit  of  carrying  provisions  through  by 

excited.  Among  the  sous  of  the  white  woman  at  Gardeau,  was  John  Jemison.  [See 
Life  of  Mary  Jemison.]  Heading  a  party  of  warriors,  he  left  Gardeau,  and  gave  out 
upon  his  route  that  he  was  "going  to  kill  Reese."  Well  does  the  author  remember 
01  being  one  of  a  party  of  school  children  who  fled,  affrighted,  at  his  approach.  He 
personated  the  "  ideal  angel  of  death  ;"  he  was  armed  with  a  war  club  and  tomahawk, 
red  paint  was  daubed  upon  his  swarthy  face,  and  long  bunches  of  horse  hair,  dyed 
red,  were  pendant  from  each  arm.  Reese  was  kept  secreted,  and  thus,  in  all  probabili 
ty,  avoided  the  fate  that  even  kindred  had  met  at  the  hands  of  John  Jemison, 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  445 

sleighing,  from  the  settlements  east  of  the  river  to  Fort  Niagara ; 
and  a  weekly  horse  mail  was  put  upon  the  long  and  mostly  woods 
route  from  Canandaigua  to  Fort  Niagara.  Add  to  this,  the  two  or 
three  log  and  one  framed  hut  at  Buffalo,  and  two  or  three  tenements 
at  Lewiston,  and  the  reader  will  have  a  pretty  good  idea  of  all,  in 
the  way  of  improvement,  that  had  transpired  upon  the  Holland 
Purchase  before  the  close  of  1799 ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  cen 
tury,  there  was  but  little  more  than  the  addition  of  a  few  families 
along  on  the  Buffalo  road,  and  the  prosecution  of  surveys. 

The  author  had  supposed  that  he  was  done  with  Indian  wars,  and 
Indian  war  alarms ;  coming  down  to  this  period,  he  finds  a  letter  from 
Capt.  Bruff  to  Capt.  Israel  Chapin,  which  would  indicate  that  some 
apprehension  was  entertained  in  this  quarter,  that  the  Indians  here 
would  be  drawn  into  a  southern  alliance  with  the  western  Indians, 
in  connection  with  the  then  pending  difficulties  with  France  and 
Spain.  The  letter  is  given  in  the  Appendix,  [No.  16,]  more  as  a 
curious  local  reminiscence  than  from  any  thing  of  local  consequence 
allied  to  it. 

Previous  to  the  advent  of  Mr:  Ellicott  and  his  surveying  parties, 
in  the  spring  of  1798,  the  Senecas  had  not  surrendered  the  possession 
of  their  lands,  and  were  extremely  jealous  of  any  encroachments 
until  certain  preliminaries  were  arranged  with  the  Holland  Com 
pany.  In  March,  Hinds  Chamberlain  and  Jesse  Beach,  who  had 
the  year  previous  been  to  Le  Boeuf,  Pa.,  and  fixed  upon  locations 
there,  started  from  Avon,  with  two  yoke  of  oxen  and  sleds,  and 
making  their  own  road  the  greater  portion  of  the  distance,  arrived 
at  Buffalo,  where  some  four  hundred  Indians  were  assembled,  high 
ly  exasperated  at  what  they  considered  an  invasion  of  their  terri 
tory.  The  trespassers  informed  them  that  Poudry,  of  Tonawanda, 
had  assured  them  that  he  had  obtained  their  consent;  and  after 
menacing  and  threatening,  the  matter  was  settled  by  Red  Jacket, 
as  the  principal  negotiator,  for  "  two  gallons  of  Indian  whiskey,  and 
some  tobacco."  And  this  is  but  one  of  the  many  instances  in 
which  that  chief  sullied  his  high  character,  by  assisting  to  feign 
resentment  to  levy  tributes  —  generally  payable  in  that  which  he 
would  often  sacrifice  his  honor  to  obtain. 


446        .  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM  S  PUECHASE. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


ALLEGANY JOHN  B.  CHURCH,  AND  PHILIP  CHURCH. 


JOHN  B.  CHURCH  came  from  England  to  the  American  colonies,  a 
young  adventurer,  a  few  years  previous  to  the  Revolution.  He  had 
been  placed  by  a  wealthy  uncle  in  a  large  mercantile  establishment 
in  London,  but  the  business  not  suiting  his  inclination,  he  emigrated, 
fixing  his  residence  in  Boston,  where  he  prosecuted  for  several  years, 
with  great  success,  the  business  of  an  underwriter.  When  the 
Revolution  broke  out,  or  as  soon  as  an  army  organization  was  per 
fected  he  was  engaged  in  the  commissary  department,  with  Jeremiah 
Wadsworth,  in  which  he  continued  throughout  the  war.  Gen. 
Philip  Schuyler,  being  also  engaged  in  the  commissary  department 
for  the  northern  division  of  the  army,  business  relations  led  to  an 
acquaintance,  and  before  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  Mr.  Church 
married  one  of  his  daughters.  The  official  duties  of  Messrs.  Wads- 
worth  and  Church,  embracing  the  care  of  the  subsistence  of  the 
French  army,  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  French  military 
and  naval  officers  of  the  Revolution,  succeeded.  Soon  after  the 
close  of  the  Revolution  —  in '85, — some  unliquidated  accounts 
between  the  commissary  department  and  the  army  of  Rochambeau, 
made  it  necessary  for  Messrs.  Wadsworth  and  Church  to  visit  the 
French  capital,  where  they  remained  with  their  families  for  eighteen 
months.  Mr.  Church  removed  his  family  to  London,  residing  there 
and  at.  a  country  seat  in  Berkshire,  on  the  Thames,  until  '97,  when 
he  returned  to  America,  and  settled  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

The  eldest  son  of  John  B.  Church,  is  the  present  Judge  Philip 
Church,  of  Belvidere,  Allegany  county,  the  Pioneer  of  that  region. 
In  his  early  boyhood  he  was  taken  to  Paris  by  his  father  and  after 
wards  to  England,  receiving  his  education  at  the  celebrated  Eaton 
school.  Returning  to  America,  he  became  a  student  of  law,  with 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.       447 

his  uncle  Alexander  Hamilton,*  and  also  his  private  Secretary. 
Changing  his  destination  in  life  soon  after  his  majority,  and  becom 
ing  the  patroon  of  new  settlements  in  the  wilderness. 

Judge  Church  is  now  71  years  of  age.  With  a  yet  vigorous 
intellect,  his  memory  goes  back  to  the  early  scenes  of  his  youth,  and 
calls  up  reminiscences  of  the  American  and  French  Revolutions, 
of  England  and  English  satesmen,  which,  although  they  belong  to 
the  province  of  general  history,  will,  the  author  is  confident,  not  be 
unacceptable,  if  preserved  in  these  local  annals.  —  See  Appendix 
No.  18. 

While  pursuing  his  studies,  the  difficulties  occurring  with  France, 
on  the  raising  of  the  provincial  army,  he  was  commissioned  as  a 
Captain  though  he  saw  little  of  service,  as  the  difficulty  was  soon 
adjusted. f  Gen.  Hamilton,  as  the  agent  of  John  B.  Church,  had  in 
his  absence,  loaned  to  Robert  Morris  $80,000  and  taken  a  mortgage 
on  Morris  Square,  Philadelphia;  the  lien  being  afterwards  transferred 
to  100,000  acres  of  land,  on  Morris'  Reserve  in  the  now  county  of 
Allegany.  In  1800  the  mortgage  was  foreclosed,  the  land  was  sold 
at  Canandaigua  by  Benj.  Barton,  then  Sheriff  of  Ontario,  and  bid 
in  by  Philip  Church  for  his  father.  J 

At  the  period  of  this  sale,  there  was  no  white  settler  on  all  the 
territory  now  embraced  in  the  county  of  Allegany,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  two  localities  which  will  be  named.  The  survey  and  settle 
ment  of  the  100,000  acre  tract  was  commenced  under  the  general 
supervision  of  Philip  Church.  Shortly  after  he  had  graduated  from 
the  law  office  of  Edmund  Pendleton,  where  he  had  finished  his  law 
studies  —  in  July  1801  — he  made  a  second  advent  to  the  Genesee 
country.  Taking  Geneva  and  Lyons  in  his  route,  he  employed  as 

*Gen.  Hamilton  married  a  daughter  of  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler. 

t  When  the  secretary  of  his  uncle,  and  having  frequent  occasions  to  carry  messages 
and  papers  to  Washington,  he  was  cautioned  by  General  Hamilton  to  be  punctual,  if 
he  wished  to  gain  his  esteem.  When  application  was  made  for  a  commission  for  him 
in  the  army,  Washington  at  first  objected  that  he  was  too  young ;  but  observing  that 
he  remembered  the  promptness  and  punctuality  of  the  young  man,  granted  the  com 
mission. 

t  This  was  Judge  Church's  first  visit  to  the  Genesee  Country.  After  his  return,  he 
visited  a  club  with  his  father;  among  the  members  present,  were  Brockholst  Livings- 
ston,  Richard  Varrick,  Messrs.  Bayard  and  Le  Roy,  Richard  Harrison,  Govemeur  Mor 
ris.  The  conversation  turned  upon  the  wretched  state  of  the  road  from  New  York  to 
Albany.  Philip  Church  remarked  that  they  would  have  a  good  turnpike  road  from 
Albany  to  Canandaigua  before  there  was  one  on  the  Hudson.  He  was  pronounced 
beside  himself  by  the  club,  and  retiring,  he  was  chided  by  his  father  for  offering  so  rash 
an  opinion. 


448  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

surveyor  and  local  agent,  Evert  Van  Wickle,  who  was  accompa 
nied  by  John  Gibson,  John  Lewis  and  Stephen  Price.  Laying  in 
provisions  and  camp  equipage  at  Geneva  and  Bath,  the  party  ren 
dezvoused  at  the  settlement,  which  had  been  commenced  by  the 
Rev.  Andrew  Gray  and  Moses  Van  Campen,  in  what  is  now  Almond, 
Allegany  county.  Mr.  Van  Campen,  who  to  use  a  sailor  phrase, 
knew  all  the  "ropes"  of  the  forest,  was  enlisted  in  the  expedition. 

Proceeding  on,  the  party  came  to  the  house  of Dyke,  a  solitary 

settler  who  occupied  the  advanced  post  of  civilization,  near  the 
junction  of  the  eastern  line  of  Allegany  with  the  Pennsylvania 
line  ;  slept  in  a  log  I  arn,  and  then  pushed  on  into  the  dark  forests 
upon  the  Genesee  River.  This  was  the  first  breaking  into  the  woods 
in  all  the  region  which  is  now  embraced  in  the  western  portion  of 
Allegany,  Wyoming,  southern  portions  of  Erie,  Chautauque  and 
Cattaraugus,  and  all  that  part  of  Pennsylvania  bordering  upon  this 
state,  with  the  exception  of  Presque  Isle,  arid  the  solitary  family 
of  Francis  King,  at  Cerestown,  near  the  Allegany  river,  that  had  a 
short  time  before  exchanged  a  residence  in  the  city  of  London  for 
a  solitary  one  in  the  backwoods  of  Pennsylvania,  a  days  journey 
from  their  nearest  neighbor. 

The  party  made  a  pretty  thorough  exploration  of  the  tract,  camp 
ing  and  breaking  up  their  camp  from  day  to  day,  encountering 
almost  constant  rains  and  swollen  streams.  With  Judge  Church  it 
was  a  youthful  advent  —  a  first  introduction  to-  the  woods  —  and  a 
pretty  rugged  specimen  he  encountered,  as  all  will  acknowledge  who 
have  traversed  the  alternating  hills  and  valleys  of  Allegany.  Arriv 
ed  at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  tract,  the  party  mostly  returned 
to  their  homes ;  Judge  Church  and  Van  Campen,  making  up  their 
minds  for  a  pleasure  trip,  taking  an  Indian  trail  *  that  bore  off*  in 
the  direction  of  Niagara  Falls.  This  they  pursued  for  two  days, 
when  they  found  themselves  in  the  Seneca  Indian  village.  They 
made  their  appearance  in  the  little  white  settlement  of  "  New  Am 
sterdam,"  (Buffalo)  in  a  sorry  plight ;  with  torn  clothes,  beards  un 
shaven,  tanned  and  camp  smoked.  They  visited  the  Falls,  returned 


*  This  trail  led  from  the  Indian  village  of  Canaedeaon  the  Allegany  river,  over  the 
summit  that  divides  the  waters  of  the  Genesee  from  those  of  Lake  Erie,  fell  into  the 
valley  of  the  Cattaraugus,  then  passed  over  into  the  valley  of  the  west  branch  of  Buf 
falo  creek,  and  pursued  generally,  the  course  of  that  stream,  to  the  Indian  village  at 
its  junction  with  the  main  stream,  four  miles  from  its  mouth. 


PHELPS  A1STD   GORHAM's  PURCHASE.  449 

to  Buffalo,  and  took  the  "  white  man's  trail "  *  on  their  return  to 
Bath.  No  such  tramps  had  been  contemplated,  and  soon  after 
leaving  Buffalo,  money  and  provisions  had  both  been  exhausted  ;  all 
but  a  surplus  of  chocolate,  which  they  exchanged  along  with  the 
new  settlers  for  meals  of  victuals.  Mr.  Ellicott  had  just  got  his  land 
office  built  at  Batavia.  At  Ganson's  there  was  a  militia  training, 
the  first  that  was  ever  had  west  of  the  Genesee  river.  Richard 
W.  Stoddard  being  one  of  the  officers,  supplied  Mr.  Church  with 
money ;  and  proceeding  on  to  Geneseo,  they  visited  Mr.  Wads- 
worth,  whom  Air.  Church  had  become  acquainted  with  in  New 
York. 

Returning  to  Lyons,  Judge  Church  arranged  with  Mr.  Van  Wickle 
to  go  on  to  the  Allegany  lands,  and  commence  surveys  and  im 
provements,  having  previously  designated  the  site  of  Angelica,  as 
a  primitive  location.  A  mill  calculated  for  one  run  of  stones,  and 
a  saw  mill,  was  soon  commenced,  and  a  road  opened  from  four  miles 
west  of  Hornellsville,  (west  line  of  Steuben)  to  Angelica. f  This 
rood  was  cut  through  by  Silas  Ferry  and  John  Ayers.  The  saw 
mill  was  in  operation  in  1802,  the  grist  mill  in  1803.  A  framed 
dwelling  house  for  Mr.  Van  Wickle,  a  small  log  land  office,  and  a 
few  shantees  to  live  in,  were  also  erected.  Judge  Church  remembers 
that  the  transportation  of  his  mill  irons  from  Albany  to  Angelica, 
cost  $6.00  per  cwt.  All  the  early  transporting  was  done  with 
sleighs  and  wagons,  from  Geneva  (80  miles ;)  with  light  loads,  a 
trip  would  generally  consume  seven  days.  In  1802,  Joseph  Taylor 
opened  a  tavern.  In  the  same  year,  Judge  Church  opened  a  small 
store,  which  was  managed  by  John  Gibson,  one  of  his  companions 
in  the  primitive  exploration,  who  now  survives,  a  resident  of  the 
neighborhood  of  Angelica,  aged  72  years.  John  Ayers  who  helped 
cut  out  the  first  road  leading  into  Angelica,  is  also  alive,  a  resident 
near  the  Transit  Bridge,  on  the  river.  In  1803  a  road  was  opened 
from  Angelica  to  Belvidere,  and  in  1805  was  continued  on  to  the 
present  site  of  Hobbyville,  to  which  point  Dr.  Hyde  had  advanced 
and  erected  a  log  tavern  house.  This  was  in  1807  ;  the  road  was 
for  several  years  but  little  better  than  a  woods'  path. 

*"When  we  had  made  a  track  through  the  forest,"  says  Mr,  Stephen  Lu.sk,  of 
Pittsford,  we  called  it  a  "white  man's  trail,  to  distinguish  'it  from  the  Indian  trails." 

t  It  was  the  name  of  Mrs.  Philip  Schuyler  —  "  An-ge-gwah-a-ka,"  after  the  daugh 
ter  of  the  Indian  chief  "  San-gi-wa." 


450  PHELPS  AND  XJOSHAM'S  PUKCIIASE. 

From  the  commence  tient  of  settlement,  until  1805,  Allegany  was 
a  part  of  the  town  of  Leicester,  Ontario  county,  and  the  new  settlers 
had  to  go  to  the  old  village  of  Leicester  on  the  Genesee  river,  via 
Hornets ville,  to  town  meeting.  In  1805  what  is  now  Allegany 
county,  was  erected  into  a  new  town,  and  called  Angelica.  In 
April  of  that  year  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Joseph  Taylor.  Benjamin  Briggs  was  elected  supervisor,  Jacob  S. 
Holt,  town  clerk.  Other  town  officers  :  —  John  T.Hyde,  David 
Church,  Luke  Goodspeed,  Sylvester  Russel,  Elijah  Church,  Win. 
Barney,  Evert  Van  Wickle,  Joseph  Taylor,  Abisha  Cole,  Wm.  S. 
Heydon,  Stephen  Waterman,  Thomas  Cole,  John  Bennett,  Ezra 
Bacon,  George  Otto,  Jacob  S.  Holt. 

In  this  year  there  are  the  records  of  roads,  as  follows :  —  Through 
main  street  of  Angelica ;  from  Angelica  to  Indian  line,  or  Canaedea ; 
from  Angelica  to  south  line  of  Van  Campen's  farm  ;  from  Angelica 
to  Philipsburgh  mills;  to  Philips  creek;  to  Vanderrnark's  creek; 
to  Dike's  settlement. 

No  resolutions  were  passed  in  1805.  In  1806  Luke  Goodspeed 
was  supervisor.  It  was  resolved  that  "  every  man's  yard  should  be 
his  pound ;  "  that  the  town  of  Angelica  should  pay  62,50  for  every 
wolf  caught  within  the  limits  of  the  town. 

At  the  first  election,  April,  1805,  John  Nicholas  had  16  votes  for 
Senator ;  for  members  of  Assembly,  Alexander  Rhea,  had  30  votes, 
Ezra  Patterson  25,  Daniel  W.  Lewis  16,  Jeremiah  Munson  12.  In 
1806,  Daniel  W.  Lewis  as  a  candidate  for  Congress,  had  51  votes; 
for  the  Senate,  Joseph  Annin  42,  Evens  Wherey  38,  John  Mc- 
Whorter  33,  Freegift  Patterson  33 ;  for  Assembly,  Philip  Church 
82,  Timothy  Burt  35,  Philetus  Swift  33,  James  Reed  32,  Asahel 
Warner  30,  Joseph  M'Clure  6.  In  1807,  as  candidates  for  Governor, 
Morgan  Lewis  had  37  votes,  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  28. 

Judge  Church  spent  several  months  in  the  new  settlement,  in 
each  of  the  years  1801,  '2,  '3,  and  '4.  In  1803,  he  selected  as  his 
residence,  a  location  upon  the  Genesee  River,  where  he  now  resides, 
four  miles  from  Angelica,  which  was  named  Belvidere.  His  large 
farm  is  a  beautiful  sweep  of  flats,  table  and  up  land.  The  Judge, 
who  in  his  prime,  was  somewhat  noted  for  athletic  feats,  is  said  to 
have  looked  out  the  favorite  spot,  by  climbing  tall  pine  trees  upon  the 
highlands.  The  winding  of  the  river  at  that  point,  and  the  frequent 
breaks  in  the  ranges  of  highlands  as  they  rise  from  the  valley,  sur- 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  451 

rounds  cultivated  fields,  a  fine  mansion  with  its  English  lawn,  culti 
vated  groves,  orchards  and  gardens,  —  with  a  varied,  wild  and  ro 
mantic  landscape.  The  primitive  framed  house  —  built  in  1803  — 
which  stood  for  years,  an  outpost  of  civilization,  is  yet  preserved ; 
its  architecture,  its  old  fashioned  cut  nails,  marking  a  period  when  it 
must  have  looked  almost  aristocratic.  Its  founder  still  lives,  but 
how  many  of  the  early  men  of  the  Genesee  country,  who  have 
been  sheltered  under  that  venerable  roof,  have  long  since  gone  to 
their  graves ! 

Belvidere  is  retired  and  secluded,  even  now.  After  an  occupan 
cy  of  nearly  half  a  century,  the  guest  of  its  hospitable  founder,  will 
often  be  waked  from  his  slumbers,  by  the  crack  of  the  rifle,  and  the 
baying  of  hounds  upon  the  surrounding  hills.  How  must  it  have 
been  when  miles  of  forest  intervened  between  it  and  the  nearest 
settlements,  and  those  settlements  far  away  from  the  earlier  ones  of 
the  Genesee  country ! 

In  1805,  Judge  Church  married  the  daughter  of  General  Walter 
Stewart,  of  Philadelphia,*  transferring  her  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years,  from  city  life  and  its  associations,  to  the  far  off  home  in  the 
wilderness,  that. has  been  described.  The  then  young  wife  —  the 
now  venerable  matron  —  remembers  that  woods  journey,  and  des 
cribes  it,  even  in  a  vein  of  gaiety  and  humor.  There  was  the  long 
and  tedious  journey  from  Albany  to  Geneva,  and  Bath ;  then  the 
jolting  wagon,  over  a  wood's  road  to  Hornellsville ;  and  then  when 
wheels  could  no  longer  be  used,  the  horseback  ride  over  what  was 
but  little  better  than  a  wood's  path,  to  Angelica,  and  her  new  home 
at  Belvidere.  With  a  characteristic  gallantry,  Thomas  Morris,  then 
the  active  promoter  of  settlement,  in  the  Genesee  country,  accom- 


*  Gen.  Stewart  had  a  command  in  the  Pennsylvania  line  during  the  Revolution. 
His  house  in  Philadelphia  was  often  the  hospitable  retreat  of  Washington,  La  Fayette, 
Rochambeau,  and  other  of  the  eminent  men  of  the  Revolution.  Mrs.  Church  has  a 
valuable  heir  loom  of  the  family,  a  relic  of  the  father  of  his  country.  It  is  his  por 
trait  in  a  frame  ;  upon  the  back  of  the  frame  is  pasted  an  original  autograph  addressed 
to  Mrs.  Stewart,  which  accompanied  the  portrait.  It  was  something  unique  in  its 
way  at  the  time.  In  the  note,  Washington  with  characteristic  modesty,  begs  Mrs. 
Stewart  to  regard  it  "  not  so  much  for  any  merit  of  the  original,  as  for  its  excellence  as 
a  work  of  art ;  the  production  of  a  young  lady." 

Extract  from  Washington's  general  order  book,  Moore's  House,  1779  :  —  "The  com 
mander  in  chief  directs  a  general  court  martial  to  be  held  at  the  usual  place  to-morrow 
morning,  at  10  o'clock,  for  the  trial  of  Col.  Armaud  ;  Col.  Walter  Stewart  to  preside." 
<fcc.  By  a  resolution  of  Congress,  medals  were  ordered  struck  for  Gen.  Wayne,  Major 
Walter  Stewart  and  Lt.  CoL  Fleury,  for  their  gallant  conduct  in  the  storming  of  Stony 
Point 


452  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

panied  her  in  this  her  bridal  tour  to  the  wilderness.  She  had  her 
first  experience  in  housekeeping,  and  lived  for  several  years,  miles 
away  from  neighbors ;  often  the  business  of  her  husband  calling 
him  away  for  weeks  ,  her  only  companion  a  colored  female  domes 
tic,  and  a  small  boy.*  She  made  an  early  acquaintance  with  the 
Indians  at  Canaedea,  and  was  a  favorite  with  them.  Upon  one  oc 
casion,  in  the  absence  of  Judge  Church,  she  attended  one  of  their 
festivals,  contributing  to  its  feast  out  of  her  stores,  and  enjoying 
with  a  high  relish  their  Pagan  rites,  dances  and  rude  sports.  They 
gave  her  as  a  name,  "Ye-nun-ke-a-wa,"  or  the  "  first  woman  that 
has  come ; "  having  reference  to  settlement  upon  the  river.  Judge 
Church  being  in  England  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812,  a 
party  of  Canaedea  Indians,  headed  by  a  chief,  went  to  Belvidere, 
and  in  gratitude  for  Mrs.  Church's  kindness  to  their  people,  offered 
to  keep  a  guard  around  her  house,  to  protect  her  from  the  British 
Indians.  Regarding  herself  as  secure  from  invasion,  in  the  woods 
of  Allegany,  she  thanked  them  but  declined  their  proffered  gallantry. 

John  B.  Church  died  in  London,  in  1816.  His  sons,  other  than 
Philip  Church,  were  : — John  B.  Church,  who  now  resides  in  Paris; 
Alexander,  who  died  young,  and  Richard,  who  now  resides  in  Eng 
land.  His  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Bertram  P.  Cruder,  of 
New  York,  and  Rodolph  Bunner,  late  of  Oswego. 

The  family  of  Philip  Church,  now  consists  of  John  B.  Church, 
of  New  York,  who  married  a  daughter  of  Professor  Silliman; 
Walter  and  Henry  Church,  of  New  York ;  Philip  Church,  who  re 
sides  near  Belvidere,  and  Richard  Church,  who  resides  at  the  home 
stead.  Daughters:  —  Mrs.  John  Warren,  of  New  York,  Mrs. 
Pendleton  Hoosick,  of  New  York,  and  an  unmarried  daughter,  re 
siding  with  her  parents. 

The  southern  portion  of  all  that  part  of  Allegany,  which  is  upon 
the  Holland  Purchase,  was  not  settled  until  just  preceding  the  war 
of  1812.  As  early  as  1804,  a  few  families  had  settled  at  Olean,  but 
no  road  from  Angelica  to  that  point  was  opened  until  1809  or  '10,  and 
then  but  a  woods  road.  It  was  surveyed  by  Moses  Van  Campen, 

*  There  was  much  of  woman's  nature  in  her  reply,  in  Img  after  years,  to  an  obser 
vation  made  to  her,  expressing  some  surprise  that  she  could  have  endured  such  a 
change  —  from  a  gay  and  social  city  to  the  woods  :  — •'  Oh,"  said  she,  "  I  was  just  the 
one  to  do  it,  I  had  youth,  health ;  to  be  sure  it  was  pretty  hard  at  first,  but  the  rela 
tions  of  a  wife,  to  which  was  added  the  cares  of  a  mother,  soon  reconciled  me  to  my 
new  home." 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.  453 

in  1815,  and  soon  after  settlers  dropped  in,  began  to  be  worked  by 
them  and  the  proprietors  of  Glean ;  though  when  it  began,  in  1816, 
'17,  to  be  thronged  with  western  emigrants  on  their  way  to  embark 
upon  the  Allegany,  it  was  only  by  sleighing  they  could  get  along 
comfortably ;  when  that  left  them,  as  it  often  did,  they  plodded 
through  sloughs,  and  over  stumps  and  roots,  making  slow  progress. 
There  are  emigrants  on  the  Ohio  and  Wabash  and  in  southern  Illinois, 
who  remember  their  early  journey  through  the  woods  of  Allegany 
and  Cattaraugus,  as  by  far  the  most  trying  scene  they  encountered 
upon  their  journey.  Soon  after  1810,  a  state  road  was  laid  there, 
the  state  making  a  small  appropriation,  but  the  pay  for  its  construc 
tion  principally  made  dependent  upon  the  proceeds  of  tolls.  It  was 
completed  in  1822.  The  road  was  principally  built  by  David  D. 
Howe. 

In  1805  Judge  Church  purchased  and  had  drove  to  Belvidere  twen 
ty-four  sheep.  Arriving  late  in  the  evening,  they  were  folded  close 
by  the  house.  In  the  morning  a  brother-in-law,  from  New  York, 
being  his  guest,  he  invited  him  out  early  to  see  them.  Approaching 
the  pen,  they  found  19  of  the  24  lying  dead.  The  wolves  had 
tracked  them  in,  and  made  the  havoc.  As  is  usual,  where  they 
have  a  plenty  of  victims,  they  had  only  bitten  the  throats,  and  ex 
hausted  the  blood.  The  woods  of  Allegany  were  especially  the 
haunts  of  wild  beasts ;  trapping  and  hunting  was  a  serious  diver 
sion  of  the  new  settlers,  from  the  work  of  improvement. 

In  early  years,  the  Post-office  nearest  Angelica,  was  at  Bath,  40 
miles  distant.  The  citizens  clubbed,  and  contracted  with  William 
Barney  to  make  the  trip,  carrying  letters  and  papers  once  a  month. 
A  blind  boy  of  Mr.  Barney  made  the  trips,  until  he  was  killed  by  a 
fall  from  his  horse. 

There  was  no  physician  in  Allegany,  in  the  earliest  years  ;  Judge 
Church  says  he  brought  in  a  medicine  chest,  and  "  Buchan's  Family 
Medicine/'  and  occasionally  made  prescriptions.  The  nearest  phy 
sician,  Dr.  Niles,  in  Steuben  county.  The  first  settled  physician  in 
Angelica,  was  Dr.  Ellis,  who  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Southworth, 
now  of  Lockport. 

The  primitive  religious  meetings  were  held  in  the  loft  of  Judge 
Church's  store  house,  by  the  Rev.  Andrew  Grey.  "  He  was  a  broad 
shouldered  man,"  says  Judge  Church,  "  of  extraordinary  muscular 
power ;  I  remember  his  getting  so  earnest  on  one  occasion,  in  en- 


454  PHELPS  AKD  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE* 

forcing  religious  precepts  upon  his  backwoods  congregation,  that  in 
his  gestures,  he  knocked  our  store  desk  to  pieces,  that  we  gave  him 
for  a  pulpit." 

That  part  of  the  Morris'  Reserve,  in  Allegany,  which  constituted 
the  Church  Tract,  was  six  miles  wide,  lying  east  of,  and  adjoining 
the  Holland  Company's  lands.  In  the  division  among  Mr.  Morris' 
creditors,  another  tract,  six  miles  wide,  containing  150,000  acres, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Sterritt  and  Harrison,  merchants  of  Philadel 
phia  ;  and  in  turn,  this  was  cut  up  into  small  tracts  and  divided 
among  their  creditors.  This  large  tract  was  mostly  kept  out  of 
market  until  after  1815.  South  of  the  Church  and  Sterritt  tract, 
on  the  Pennsylvania  line,  is  another  tract  of  37,000  acres,  which 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Willing  &  Francis,  also  merchants  of  Phila 
delphia  ;  Mr.  Willing,  of  the  firm,  was  President  of  the  old  United 
States  Bank. 

The  first  settlement  founded  after  Angelica,  was  at  Van  Campen's 
creek,  in  the  direction  of  Olean.  This  name  was  given  during  the 
primitive  advent  of  Mr.  Church,  in  honor  of  his  woods' companion, 
Mr.  Van  Campen.  Harrison  and  Higgins  were  the  first  settlers. 
Six  or  seven  miles  up  the  river,  above  Philipsburgh,  a  settlement 
was  commenced  by  Joseph  and  Silas  Knight.  The  first  settlement 
down  the  river,  was  founded  by  the  Sandfords. 

No  new  country  has  probably  ever  been  opened  for  sale  and  set 
tlement,  that  had  as  rugged  features,  as  much  of  difficulty  to  over 
come,  as  the  territory  which  comprises  the  county  of  Allegany. 
Heavily  timbered  throughout,  with  the  exception  of  small  spots  up 
on  the  river,  it  was  many  years  before  the  roots  were  out  so  as  to 
admit  of  easy  cultivation.  The  new  settlements  in  all  early  years, 
were  extremely  isolated.  The  wide  forests  of  the  Holland  Pur 
chase  bordering  upon  them,  had  been  but  little  broken  into,  as  late 
as  1809  or  '10,  and  after  that  for  many  years,  settlement  upon  them 
advanced  but  slowly.  When  the  settlers  began  to  have  any  thing 
to  dispose  of,  they  had  no  market,  but  such  as  involved  a  ruinous 
cost  of  transportation,  over  long  woods,  roads,  and  up  and  down 
steep  hills.  The  very  earliest  years,  however,  were  far  more  pros 
perous  than  a  long  period  that  succeeded.  Black  salts,  pot  and 
pearl  ashes,  and  grain  could  be  taken  to  Hornellsville,  and  from 
thence  go  to  Baltimore,  where  it  would  command  cash.  This  made 
for  a  few  years,  pretty  brisk  times  ;  but  the  navigation  was  precari- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.  455 

ous,  and  at  best,  had  in  each  season  but  a  short  duration ;  and 
soon  came  on  European  wars,  the  embargo  to  bear  especially  heavy 
upon  the  enterprise  and  prosperity  that  had  begun  to  dawn  in  the 
secluded  backwoods.  Pine  lumber,  was  good  for  nothing,  beyond 
the  home  uses  of  the  new  settlers.  It  was  too  far  from  the  naviga 
ble  waters  of  the  Allegany,  even  if  there  had  been  roads  ;  and  too 
far  from  the  northern  older  settlements,  to  allow  of  any  considerable 
market  in  that  direction.  The  best  of  pine  trees,  instead  of  being 
any  help  to  the  new  settler,  was  a  great  hindrance,  for  they  constitute 
the  most  difficult  clearing  of  new  lands  that  is  encountered.  The 
first  considerable  market  for  the  pine  lumber  of  Allegany,  was  at 
Mt.  Morris  and  Dansville,  after  the  completion  of  the  Genese  Val 
ley  canal  to  those  points. 

Independent  of  other  hindrances  to  prosperity  —  or  especially  to 
agricultural  improvement  —  two  prominent  ones  have  existed  :  — 
The  mountains,  the  valleys  and  the  streams,  had  attractions  for  the 
hunter,  the  trapper  and  the  fisherman,  and  slow  progress  in  felling 
the  forest,  neglected  fields,  and  dilapidated  log  tenements,  were  the 
consequences.  The  free  use  of  whiskey  in  all  the  new  settlements 
of  the  Genesee  country,  was  a  curse  and  a  blight,  the  consequences 
of  which  —  the  manner  that  it  retarded  prosperity  and  improve 
ment —  the  strong  men  that  it  made  weak — the  woe  and  the  sor 
row  that  it  carried  to  the  loo:  cabins  of  the  wilderness —  would  form 

O 

a  theme  that  might  be  regarded  as  an  innovation  here  ;  but  elsewhere, 
in  its  appropriate  place,  would  "  point  a  moral,"  though  it  would  not 
"adorn  a  tale."  Especially  was  this  an  evil  where  men  were 
attracted  by  the  causes  that  have  been  named,  from  legitimate  pur 
suits.  The  other  local  hindrance  succeeded  when  lumbering  be 
came  a  sufficient  object  to  draw  men  away  from  agricultural  im 
provements. 

Soon  after  1807,  a  serious  embarrassment  was  added  to  other 
difficulties  upon  the  Church  tract,  which  constituted  nearly  all  the 
settled  portions  of  Allegany.  John  B.  Church,  who  was  then  resi 
ding  in  New  York,  became  embarrassed,  principally  inconsequence 
of  French  spoliations  upon  American  commerce  ;  having  made 
large  ventures  as  an  underwriter.*  The  title  of  one  half  of  the 

*  His  hens  have  now  large,  and  as  it  would  seem  just  claim  upon  our  government, 
growing  out  of  this.  By  Treaty  with  France,  our  government  assumed  payment  of 
the  claims. 


456  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCIIASE. 

100,000  acre  tract,  was  in  his  son,  Philip  Church,  but  there  had  been 
no  division ;  a  mixed  interest  was  assigned  to  trustees,  for  the  benefit 
of  his  creditors,  and  there  was  no  final  division  and  settlement  until 

1815.  In  all  this  time  there  was  a  distrust  of  title,  which  hin 
dered  settlement,  and  created  an  unsettled  state  ef  things,  as  the 
same  cause  always  will. 

The  war  of  1812  prostrated  all  of  enterprise  and  progress  in  all 
the  newly  settled  portions  of  the  Genesee  country,  where  they  had 
no  surplus  produce,  were  consumers  instead  of  producers.  The  new 
settlements  of  Allegany  furnished  their  full  quota  of  men  for  the 
frontier,  drawn  from  feeble  settlements,  where  they  could  least  be 
well  spared  ;  some  were  left  upon  battle  fields,  died  in  hospitals,  or 
returned  to  die  of  disease  contracted  upon  the  frontier.  Peace  had 
but  just  been  concluded,  when  the  cold  and  untoward  season  of 

1816,  came  upon  them,  its  biting  frosts  upon  hill  and  valley,  de 
stroying  all  their  hopes  of  sustenance,  creating  distress  and  want, 
driving,  in  many  instances,  men  to  the  game  in  the  forest,  the  fish  in 
the  streams,  and  wild  roots  and  herbs,  as  their  only  resources  to  ward 
off  a  famine.     Independent  of  their  own  sufferings  and  privations, 
they  had  quartered  upon  them  the  poor  Indians  of  Canaedea,who  were 
reduced  to  the  extremity  of  want.     Then  came  propitious  seasons, 
life  and  activity  ;  for  a  few  years  a  tide  of  emigration  flowed  through 
their  midst,  on  their  way  to  Olean,  and  down  the  Allegany,  creating 
a  home  market  for  their  produce.     This  lasted,  gradually  declining 
until  the  Erie  canal  had  reached  its  western  terminus,  when  emigra 
tion  was  entirely  diverted,  and  their  main  roads  and  public  houses 
were  deserted.     The  Erie  canal  so  diffusive  in  its  benefits,  stimu 
lating  to  life  and  activity,  in  all  other  localities  of  western  New 
but  came  to  crush  the  hopes,  and  depress  the  energies  of  the  people 
of  Allegany  and  Cattaraugus.      Recovering  from  its  first  effects, 
gradually,  and  remotely,  its  benefits  began  to  reach  them,  even  be 
fore  the  construction  of  the  Valley  canal. 

It  is  after  almost  a  half  century's  struggle,  but  for  Allegany  the 
"  better  time"  has  come.  The  whistle  of  the  steam  cars  are  start 
ling  the  deer  that  yet  linger  in  her  forests  ;  the  echoes  of  the  boat 
man's  horn,  ere  these  imperfect  annals  will  issue  from  the  press,  will 
be  sounding  along  the  valley  of  the  upper  Genesee ;  the  dark  forests 
are  rapidly  disappearing ;  the  neat  framed  house  is  taking  the  place  of 
the  moss  covered  log  cabin ;  all  is  putting  on  the  appearance  of  re- 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  457 

newed  enterprise  and  rapid  progress.  Long  almost  a  "  terra  incogni- 
tia"  her  near  neighbors  on  the  "  no-rthern  plains,"  her  soil,  her  climate, 
pure  water  and  pure  atmosphere,  is  beginning  to  be  appreciated ; 
and  she  will  soon  occcupy  a  better  relative  position  in  the  empire 
region  of  the  Empire  State. 


CHAPTER   X. 


THE  PIONEER  PRINTERS  AND  NEWSPAPERS. 


MR.  WILLIAMSON  was  directly  connected  with  the  introduction  of  the 
printing  press  into  the  Genesee  country.  The  two  first  newspapers  were  es 
tablished  under  his  auspices  and  patronage.  Early  in  January,  1796,  he  pro 
cured  from  Northumberland  or  Sunbtiry,  in  Pennsylvania,  a  second  hand 
newspaper  office,  and  enlisted  as  printers  and  publishers,  Wm.  Kersey  *  and 
James  Edie.  They  issued  "The  Bath  Gazette  and  Genesee  Advertiser." 
This  was  the  first  newspaper  published  in  western  New  York. 

In  the  same  year,  he  induced  Lucius  Carey,  who  bad  been  publishing  a 
paper  at  Newburg,  to  sell  out  and  establish  himself  at  Geneva.  Mr.  Carey 
forwarded  his  printing  materials  by  water,  and  came  himself,  with  his  house 
hold  goods,  by  land.  On  his  arrival,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Williamson  at  Albany, 
that  he  had  ended  a  long  and  expensive  journey ;  arrived,  and  found  his 
house  unfinished,  and  no  room  provided  for  his  off  ice.  f  He  got  settled  during 

*  It  is  presumed  that  Mr.  Kersey  may  have  had  a  connection  with  the  paper,  not  as 
printer,  but  as  one  of  Mr.  Williamson's  agents  at  Bath.  He  was  a  Friend,  as  would 
appear  by  his  letters.  In  one  of  them,  written  to  Mr.  Williamson  at  Albany,  he  speaks 
of  having  located  some  new  settlers,  and  at  the  same  time,  asks  for  some  new  type, 
urging  that  the  type  they  have  brought  from  Pennsylvania  is  "old  and  worn."  "  We, 
on  considering  the  case,  conclude  it  is  best  to  have  a  sufficient  quantity  of  new  type  to 
complete  the  office,  so  that  we  may  do  business  in  good  fashion ;  therefore  request  that 
in  addition  to  the  order  by  Capt.  Coudry,  thou  may  be  pleased  to  send  us  as  soon  as 
may  be,  200  weight  of  small  pica  or  bourgeois.  We  have  some  encouragement  to  pur 
sue"  the  business,  but  many  of  our  patrons  complain  of  the  badness  of  the  print,  and 
that  not  without  sufficient  cause."  He  was  at  the  time  one  of  the  Judges  of  Steuben, 
and  informs  Mr.  Williamson  that  he  and  his  associates  had  been  indicted  by  the  Grand 
Jury,  "  for  not  holding  an  election  at  the  Painted  Post  for  a  representative  in  Con 
gress." 

t  "  The  Pioneer  printer  was  in  ill  humor.     He  says  to  Mr.  Williamson  :  —  I  am  now 
lying  idle,  and  how  long  I   shall,  I  cannot  say,  only  for  the  want  of  a  room  to  work 
in.    My  house  was  to  be  done  in  July,  and  it  is  a  mortifying  reflection  to  me  to  have 
29 


458  PHELPS   AJSTD  GOBHAil's   PUECHASE. 

the  winter,  however,  and  in  April,  1797,  brought  out  the  first  number  of  the 
"  Ontario  Gazette  and  Geneseo  Advertiser."  The  paper  was  continued  but 
about  a  year  and  a  half  at  Geneva,  after  which  it  was  removed  to  Canandai 
gua,  and  continued  until  1802,  when  the  office  was  sold,  and  the  name  of  the 
paper  changed  to  "Western  Repository  and  Geneseo  Advertiser."  Mr. 
Carey  died  in  Canandaigua,  in  1804. 

James  K.  Gould  was  the  immediate  successor  of  Mr.  Carey.  In  May, 
1803,  he  issued  "  for  the  proprietors,"  the  "Western  Repository  and  Gene- 
see  Advertiser."  In  August,  1803,  Mr.  Gould,  in  company  with  Russell  E. 
Post,  purchased  the  establishment,  and  changed  the  title  to  "  Western  Reposi 
tory."  In  October,  1804,  this  partnership  was  dissolved,  and  James  D. 
Bemis  took  the  place  of  Mr.  Post.  Mr.  Gould  dying  in  March,  1808,  the 
paper  was  continued  by  Mr.  Bemis,  with  only  a  slight  change  of  title,  for 
twenty-one  years.  The  paper  is  still  published,  being  now  the  oldest  news 
paper  in  western  New  York.  The  immediate  successors  of  Mr.  Bemis  were, 
Chauncey  Morse  and  Samuel  Ward,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  brother-in- 
law  of  Mr.  B.,  and  the  latter  a  nephew.  Mr. Harvey  was  at  one  period 

associated  with  Mr.  Morse  in  its  publication.  The  present  editor  and  publisher, 
is  George  L.  Whitney. 

In  1803,  Sylvester  Tiffany  established  in  Canandaigua,  the  Ontario  Free 
man.  He  was  from  New  Hampshire ;  his  wife,  one  of  the  well  known  fami 
ly  of  Ralstons,  of  that  State.  For  several  years  before  settling  at  Canandai 
gua,  Mr.  Tiffany  had  published  a  paper  at  Niagara,  U.  C.  He  was  for  sever 
al  years  clerk  of  Ontario  county.  He  died  in  1811.  His  widow  still  sur 
vives,  a  resident  of  Rochester.  The  surviving  sons  are :  —  Sylvester  Tiffany, 
an  early  merchant  in  Le  Roy ;  George  A.  Tiffany,  who  married  a  daughter  of 
Mrs.  Berry,  at  Avon,  and  now  resides  in  Wisconsin ;  Alexander  R.  Tiffany, 
who  studied  law  in  Canandaigua,  married  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Gain  Robinson, 
and  is  now  Judge  Tiffany,  of  Adrian,  Michigan.  Dean  0.  Tiffany,  the 
youngest  son,  was  a  clerk  in  the  book  store  of  James  D.  Bemis,  of  Canandai 
gua,  and  subsequently,  in  the  Everingham  store  in  Rochester;  died  at  the 
south.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Stephen  and  William  Charles,  of 
Rochester,  and  John  C.  Ross,  of  C.  W. 

John  A.  Stevens  was  the  successor  of  Mr.  Tiffany,  commencing  the  pub 
lication  of  the  Ontario  Messenger  in  1806.  The  Repository  and  Messenger, 
under  the  management  of  Messrs.  Bemis  and  Stevens,  were  for  a  considerable 
period  the  leading  papers  of  the  respective  parties  whose  interests  they  es 
poused.  " Mr.  Stevens,"  says  a  brief  biographer,*  "was  a  kind,  affection 
ate,  and  good  hearted  man,  and  very  generally  esteemed  by  all  who  knew 
him."  He  died  some  twenty  years  since. 

my  parents  hear  that  I  must  lay  idle  for  the  want  of  a  house,  when  I  had  spoke  so 
much  in  praise  of  the  town,  and  been  the  means  of  a  number  coming  to  it  since  I 
was  here  in  the  winter."  He  says  he  almost  repents  of  his  bargain  ;  yet,  with  the  loan 
of  an  $100,  he  thinks  he  can  get  a  paper  out,  and  move  along,  "if  he  can  get  a  room." 
His  dwelling  house  was  finally  furnished,  and  a  far  better  one  it  must  have  been  than 
Pioneer  printers  usually  enjoy,  as  the  amount  paid  for  it  by  Mr.  Williamson,  was  over 
$2,000 

*  Frederick  Follett,  Esq.,  who  compiled  the  proceedings  of  the  "  Printers'  Festival " 
in  Rochester,  held  in  1847,  and  added  a  "  History  of  the  Press  of  Western  'New 
York." 


PHELPS  AKD  GOEHAM'S  PUECIIASE.  459 

Of  the  large  number  of  printers,  most  of  whom  have  been,  or  are  now, 
conductors  of  newspapers,  who  served  their  apprenticeships  with  Messrs. 
Bemis  and  Stevens,  the  names  of  the  following  occur  to  the  author:  —  Oran 
Follett,  David  M.  Day,  Lewis  H.  Redfield,  Hezekiah  and  Smith  Salisbury, 
A.  II.  Bennett,  Thomas  B.  Barnum,  Randall  Meacham,  John  Van  Sice,  Ed 
ward  Van  Cleve,  John  Gilbert,  Elisha  Starr,  beside  many  others  of  a  later 
period ;  and  the  Author  of  this  work,  in  part, 

Eben  Eaton,  a  brother  of  General  Eaton,  was  the  successor  of  Mr.  Carey 
at  Geneva.  He  started  a  paper  in  1800,  called  "The  impaitial  Observer 
and  Seneca  Museum." 

James  Bogert  came  to  Geneva  in  1806.  He  served  his  apprenticeship  in 
the  old  office  of  T.  <fe  J.  Swords,  New  York.  In  November,  1806,  he  is 
sued  the  first  number  of  the  "Expositor,"  which  was  continued  until  1809, 
when  he  changed  the  title  to  "  Geneva  Gazette."  He  conducted  the  paper 
for  over  twenty-seven  years,  retiring  from  it  in  1833.  Next  to  Mr.  Bemis, 
he  is  the  oldest  survivor  of  the  conductors  of  the  press  in  western  New  York. 
He  was  a  good  printer  and  editor,  and  in  all  respects,  a  worthy  member  of 
the  "  craft."  He  was  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war  of  1812,  bearing  the  com 
mission  of  Captain  in  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Peter  Allen,  and  was  after- 
ward's  commissioned  as  a  Colonel.  After  retiring  from  the  Gazette,  he  was 
for  five  years  Collector  of  Canal  Tolls  at  Geneva. 

JAMES  D.  BEMIS  may  justly  be  regared  as  the  father  of  the  press  of  west 
ern  New  York :  and  this  not  only  with  reference  to  his  early  and  long  con 
tinued  connection  with  it,  but  with  farther  reference  to  the  large  number  of 
printers  who  have  gone  out  from  under  his  instruction ;  his  character  as  a  man, 
and  as  a  member  of  a  local  craft,  the  dignity  and  respectability  of  which  he 
has  in  so  large  a  degree  maintained.  He  was  a  native  of  New  Hampshire ; 
though,  if  the  author  rightly  recollects,  he  served  his  apprenticeship  in  Al 
bany.  Soon  after  arriving  at  his  majority,  in  the  winter  of  1803,  he  left 
Albany  with  a  small  stock  of  books  and  stationery,  intending  to  locate  in 
Canada,  but  arriving  in  Canandaigua,  was  induced  by  the  favorable  prospects 
held  out  there,  to  make  it  his  permanent  home.  [See  his  own  cotemporary 
account  of  his  advent,  Appendix,  No.  1 9.]  Soon  engaging  with  Mr.  Gould 
in  the  Repository,  he  sold  his  stock  of  books  and  stationery  to  Myron  Holley ; 
but  it  was  not  long  before  he  connected  book-selling  with  printing,  and  for 
many  years  wras  not  only  the  editor  and  publisher  of  the  most  successful 
newspaper  in  western  New  York,  but  he  enjoyed  almost  a  monopoly  in  the 
printing  of  handbills,  blanks,  in  the  sale  of  books,  and  in  the  business  of 
look-binding,  in  a  wide  region.  All  of  this  was  managed  by  a  close  applica 
tion  to  business,  in  a  careful,  systematic  manner,  peculiar  to  the  man.  No 
one  connected  with  the  newspaper  press  in  western  New  York,  has  been  more 
successful,  and  no  one  better  deserved  success. 

Mr.  Bemis  still  survives,  having  reached  his  VOth  year.  Sincerely  is  it  la 
mented  by  a  wide  circle  of  friends  —  and  especially  by  those  who  have  known 
him  most  intimately;  many  of  whom  owe  him  gratitude  as  well  as  respect — 
that  the  evening  of  his  long  and  useful  life  is  clouded  with  misfortune.  He 
has  been  for  a  considerable  period  an  inmate  of  an  institution  at  Brattleboro, 
Vt.,  under  treatment  for  the  cure  of  physical  infirmities,  in  which  his  once 
well  balanced  mind  in  some  degree  participates.  *  He  married  in  early  life ; 
his  wife  still  survives.  An  only  son  is  George  W.  Bemis  of  Canandaigua, 


460  PHELPS  AKD  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

the  successor  of  his  father  as  a  bookseller,  who  nas  recently  been  appointed  a 
Deputy  U.  S.  Marshall.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Thaddeus  Chapio 
of  Canandaigua,  and  Wm.  B.  Peck,  a  bookseller  of  New  York,  recently  of 
Buffalo. 


*  In  the  absence  of  the  infirmities  alluded  to,  he  would,  perhaps,  have  been  the  his 
torian  of  this  local  region.  In  a  letter  to  the  author  of  this  work,  about  the  period  he 
was  commencing  the  history  of  the  Holland  Purchase,  he  commended  the  enterprise, 
and  added  :  —  "  The  western  part  of  our  great  State  is  full  of  interest  in  its  fifty  years 
career,  whether  we  consider  the  events  of  that  period,  or  the  character  of  men  who 
acted  their  parts  in  transforming  their  country  from  a  wilderness  to  what  is  now  em 
phatically  the  GARDEN  OF  THE  STATE.  I  only  wanted  two  things  in  my  power  to  do, 
namely  :  to  die  as  the  oldest  editor  in  western  New  York,  (wliich  I  am,)  and  to  write 
its  history." 


[END  OF  GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.] 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS, 


OF 


GENERAL  HISTORY  OF   PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S 
PURCHASE. 


[NOTE. — A  table  of  contents  which  would  embrace  a  reference  to  localities,  persons 
and  events,  in  regular  order,  was  found  far  too  elaborate,  and  occupying  too  much 
space.  A  shorter  one  has  therefore  been  adopted,  by  which  the  reader,  having  refer 
ence  to  localities,  will  be  enabled  to  refer  to  any  given  subject,  event  or  person,  with 
little  difficulty.] 

PART  FIRST. 

CHAPTER  I. — [Commencing  page  9.]  —  Brief  notices  of  Early  Colonization  —  Pro 
gress  of  the  French  upon  the  St.  Lawrence  —  French  and  Indian,  and  French  and 
English  Wars  —  Progress  of  the  French  around  the  borders  of  the  Western  Lakes 
—  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi  by  Marquette  and  Joliet  —  First  advent  of  our 
race  to  western  New  York —  La  Salle  —  First  sail  vessel  upon  the  Upper  Lakes — 
M.  de  La  Barrio's  invasion  of  the  country  of  the  Iroquois  —  De  Noriville's  inva 
sion  of  the  Seneca  Country,  in  what  is  now  Ontario  County  —  Founding  of  Fort 
Niagara  —  French  and  English  battles  in  the  region  of  Lakes  George  and  Cham- 
plain. 

CHAPTER  II.— [Com.  page  46.]  —  Siege  and  Surrender  of  Fort  Niagara  — Con 
quest  of  Western  New  York. 

CHAPTER  III.—  [Com.  page  56.]  —  Siege  and  Capture  of  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point, 
Quebec  and  Montreal  —  Peace  of  1763,  end  of  French  Dominion. 

CHAPTER  IV.—  [Com.  page  69.]  —  English  Dominion  —  Border  Wars  of  the  Rev 
olution —  Sullivan's  Campaign. 

PART   SECOND. 

CHAPTER  I. — [  Com.  page  85.] — Our  immediate  predecessors,  the  Senecas,  with  a 
glance  at  the  Iroquois  —  their  wars  with  their  own  race,  and  with  the  French  — 
their  bravery  and  prowess  —  invasion  of  their  country  by  De  Noiiville. 

CHAPTER  II  — [Com.  page  99.]  —  Conflicting  claims  to  western  New  York— In 
dian  Treaties— The  Lessee  Company  —  The  Military  Tract, 

CHAPTER  III.—  [Com.  page  127.]  —  The  Genesee  Country  at  the  period  when  set 
tlement  commenced — its  position  in  reference  to  contiguous  territory — Condi 
tion  of  the  country  generally  after  the  Revolution. 

CHAPTER  IV.—  [Com.  page  135.]  — Phelps  and  Gorham's  Purchase  of  Massachu 
setts  —  Oliver  Phelps,  his  advent  to  the  Genesee  Country,  and  his  treaty  with  the 
S  e  necas  —  N  athan  iel  Gorham . 

CHAPTER  V.—  [Com.  page  153.]  —  Jemima  Wilkinson— Pioneer  events  in  what  is 
now  Yates  County. 


462  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUKOHASE. 


PART   THIRD. 

CHAPTER  I. — [Cora,  page  164.]  —  Commencement  of  surveys  and  settlement  of 
the  Genesee  Country  —  Pioneer  events  at  Canandaigua — Mrs.  Sanborn — Judge 
Howell  —  other  early  Pioneers  —  Bioomfield  —  the  Adams  family  —  other  pioneer 
families  —  Reminiscences  of  James  Sperry — Micah  Brooks — West  Bloomfield 

—  Pittstown  —  Pitt's  family — Other  early  Pioneers  —  Reminiscences  of  Mrs. 
Faruum  —  The  Cr  iptnans  and  Allans — Gorham,  Farmington,  Manchester — Re 
miniscences  of  Peleg  Redfield —  The  Mormons  —  Phelps — Geneva — James 
Reese. 

CHAPTER  II. — [Com.  page  240.]  — Sale  of  Phelps  and  Gorham  to  Robert  Moms 

—  Re-sale  to  English  Association  —  Advent  of  Charles  Williamson  —  Events  at 
Williamsburg,  Bath,  Geneva,  Lyons,  Sodus,  Caledonia,  Braddock's  Bay  —  John 
Greig  —  Robert  Troup  —  Joseph  Fellows. 

CHAPTER  III.  — [Com.  page  284.]  — Indian  difficulties— British  interference  — 
Indian  councils — Gen.  Israel  Chapin  —  Jasper  Parrish. 

CHAPTER  IV.  —  [Com.  page  315.]  —  Attempt  of  Gov.  Simcoeto  break  up  the  set 
tlement  at  Sodus  Bay  — British  claims  to  western  New  York — Wayne's  Victory 

—  Surrender  of  Forts  Oswego  and  Niagara. 

CHAPTER  V.— [Com.  page  324.]  — James  and  William  Wads  worth— Horatio  and 
John  H.  Jones — The  Indian  villages  on  the  Genesee  River — Early  orginization  of 
the  "District  of  Geneseo"  — Leicester,  Moscow,  Mt.  Morris  —  Valley  of  the  Can- 
ascraga  —  Dansville  —  Wm .  Fitzhugh —  Charles  Carroll —  Avon  —  Reminiscen 
ces  of  George  Hosmer —  Lima. 

CHAPTER  VI.  —  [Com.  page  378.]  —  Pioneer  events  in  what  is  now  Wayne  county 

—  John  Swift  —  Harwood,  Spears,  Durfees,  Rodgers,  other  early  Pioneers  —  Wm 
Howe  Cuyler  —  Lyons — Dorseys,  Van  Wickles,  Perrine,  other  early  settlers  — 
Ridge  Road  —  Sodus  Bay  —  Peregrine  Fitzhugh  —  Dr.  Lummis. 

CHAPTER  VII.— [Com.  page  403.]  —  Pioneer  events  in  what  is  now  Monroe- 
Peter  Shaeffer — Wm.  Hencher — Col,  Fish — Atchinsons — Braddock's  Bay  — 
King's  settlement  —  Brighton  —  Lusks,  Stones,  Oliver  Culver  —  Tryon's  Town  — 
Penfield  — Gen.  Fassett  —  Pittsford,  Perrinton.  [Omission  supplied  in  reference  to 
Victor,  West  Bloomfield  and  Bristol,  page  431.] 

CHAPTER  VIII.  —  [Com.  page  436.]  —The  Moms  Treaty  at  Big  Tree  —  Cession 
of  the  territory  west  of  Phelps  and  Gorham 's  Purchase  —  Early  Printers  and 
Newspapers. 


APPENDIX, 


[NO.  1.] 

EXTRACT  FROM  MANUSCRIPTS  IN  THE  JESUITS*  COLLEGE  AT  aUEBEC. 


ON  the  5th  of  February,  1663,  about  half  past  five  o'clock  in  the  evening,  a  great 
rushing  noise  was  heard  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  Canada.  This  noise  caused 
the  people  to  run  out  of  their  houses  into  the  streets,  as  if  their  habitations  had  been 
on  fire  ;  but,  instead  of  flames  or  smoke,  they  were  surprised  to  see  the  walls  reeling 
backward  and  forward,  and  the  stones  moving  as  if  they  were  detached  from  each 
other.  The  timbers,  rafters  and  planks  cracked.  The  earth  trembled  violently,  and 
caused  the  stakes  of  the  palisades  and  palings  to  dance,  in  a  manner  that  would  have 
been  incredible,  had  we  not  actually  seen  it  in  many  places.  It  was  at  this  moment 
every  one  ran  out  of  doors.  Then  were  to  be  seen  animals  flying  in  every  direction  ; 
children  crying  and  screaming  in  the  streets ;  men  and  women,  seized  with  affright, 
stood  horror-struck  with  the  dreadful  scene  before  them,  unable  to  move,  and  ignor 
ant  where  to  fly  for  refuge  from  the  tottering  walls  and  trembling  earth,  which  threat 
ened  every  instant  to  crush  them  to  death,  or  sink  them  into  a  profound  and  immeas 
urable  abyss.  Some  threw  themselves  on  their  knees  in  the  snow,  crossing  their  breasts, 
and  calling  on  their  saints  to  relieve  them  from  the  danger  with  which  they  were  sur 
rounded.  Others  passed  the  rest  of  this  dreadful  night  in  prayer ;  for  the  earthquake 
ceased  not,  but  continued  at  short  intervals,  with  a  certain  undulating  impulse,  resem 
bling  the  waves  of  the  ocean ;  and  the  same  qualmish  sensations,  or  sickness  at  the 
stomach,  was  felt  during  the  shocks,  as  is  experienced  in  a  vessel  at  sea. 

"  The  violence  of  the  earthquake  was  greatest  in  the  forest,  where  it  appeared  as  if 
there  was  a  battle  raging  between  the  trees  ;  for  not  only  then-  branches  were  destroy 
ed,  but  even  their  trunks  are  said  to  have  been  detached  from  their  places,  and  dashed 
against  each  other  with  inconceivable  violence  and  confusion  —  so  much  so,  that  the 
Indians,  in  their  figurative  manner  of  speaking,  declared  that  all  the  forests  were  drunk. 
The  war  also  seemed  to  be  carried  on  between  the  mountains,  some  of  which  were 
torn  from  their  beds  and  thrown  upon  others,  leaving  immense  chasms,  in  the  places 
from  whence  they  had  issued,  and  the  very  trees  with  which  they  were  covered,  sunk 
down,  leaving  only  their  tops  above  the  surface  of  the  earth  ;  others  were  completely 
overturned,  their  branches  buried  in  the  earth,  and  the  roots  only  remained  above 
ground.  During  this  general  wreck  of  nature,  the  ice  upward  of  six  feet  thick, 
was  rent  and  thrown  tip  in  large  pieces,  and  from  the  openings  in  many  parts 
there  isued  thick  clouds  of  smoke,  or  fountains  of  dirt  and  sand,  which  spouted  up  to 
a  very  considerable  height.  The  springs  were  either  choked  up,  or  impregnated  with 
sulphur ;  many  rivers  were  totally  lost ;  others  were  diverted  from  their  courses,  and 


464  APPENDIX. 

their  waters  entirely  corrupted.  Some  of  them  became  yellow,  others  red,  and  the 
^reat  river  of  the  St.  Lawrence  appeared  entirely  white,  as  far  down  as  Tadoussac 
This  extraordinary  phenomena,  must  astonish  those  who  knew  the  size  of  the  river^ 
and  the  immense  body  of  waters  in  various  parts,  which  must  have  required  such 
abundance  of  matter  to  whiten  it.  They  write  from  Montreal,  that  during  the  earth 
quake,  they  plainly  saw  the  stakes  of  the  picketing  or  palisades,  jump  up  as  if  they 
had  been  dancing;  and  that  of  two  doors  in  the  same  room,  one  opened  and  the 
other  shut  of  their  own  accord ;  that  the  chimneys  and  tops  of  the  houses,  bent  like 
branches  of  the  trees  agitated  with  the  wind;  that  when  they  went  to  walk,  they  felt 
the  earth  following  them,  and  rising  at  every  step  they  took,  something  sticking 
against  the  soles  of  their  feet,  and  other  things  in  a  very  forcible  and  surprising  man 
ner." 

"  From  Three  Rivers  they  write  that  the  first  shock  was  the  most  violent,  and  com 
menced  with  a  noise  resembling  thunder.  The  houses  weie  agitated  in  the  same  man 
ner  as  the  tops  of  tre^s  during  a  tempest,  with  a  noise  as  if  fire  was  cracking  in  the 
garrets.  The  shock  lasted  half  an  hour,  or  rather  better,  though  its  greatest  force  was 
properly  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  we  believe  there  was  not  a  single 
shock,  which  did  not  cause  the  earth  to  open  more  or  less. 

"  As  for  the  rest,  we  have  remarked  that,  though  this  earthquake  continued  almost 
without  intermission,  yet  it  was  not  always  of  an  equal  violence.  Sometimes  it  was 
like  the  pitching  of  a  large  vessel  which  dragged  heavily  at  her  anchors,  and  it  was 
this  motion  which  caused  many  to  have  giddiness  in  their  heads,  and  a  qualmishness 
in  their  stomachs.  At  other  times  the  motion  was  hurried  and  irregular,  creating  sud 
den  jerks,  some  of  which  were  extremely  violent ;  but  the  most  common,  was  a  slight, 
tremulous  motion,  which  occurred  frequently  with  little  noise.  Many  of  the  French 
inhabitants,  and  Indians,  who  were  eye-witnesses  to  the  scene,  state  that  a  great  way 
up  the  river  of  Trois  Rivieres,  about  eighteen  miles  below  Quebec,  the  hills  which  bor 
dered  the  river  on  either  side,  and  which  were  of  a  prodigious  height,  were  torn  from 
their  foundations,  and  plunged  into  the  river,  causing  it  to  change  its  course,  and 
spread  itself  over  a  large  tract  of  land  recently  cleared  ;  the  broken  "earth  mixed  with 
the  waters,  and  for  several  months  changed  the  color  of  the  great  river  St.  Lawrence, 
into  which  that  of  Trois  Riviers  disemboques  itself.  In  the  course  of  this  violent  con 
vulsion  of  nature,  lakes  appeared  where  none  ever  existed  before ;  mountains  were 
overthrown,  swallowed  up  by  the  gaping,  or  precipitated  into  adjacent  rivers,  leaving 
in  their  places  frightful  chasms  or  level  plains  ;  falls  and  rapids  were  changed  into 
gentle  streams,  and  gentle  streams  into  falls  and  rapids.  Rivers  in  many  parts  of  the 
country  sought  other  beds,  or  totally  disappeared.  The  earth  and  mountains  were 
entirely  split  and  rent  in  innumerable  places,  creating  chasms  and  precipices,  whose 
depths  have  never  yet  been  ascertained.  Such  devastation  was  also  occasioned  in  the 
woods,  that  more  than  a  thousand  acres  in  one  neighborhood  were  completely  over 
turned  ;  and  where,  but  a  short  time  before,  nothing  met  the  eye  but  an  immense  forest 
of  trees,  now  were  to  be  seen  extensive  cleared  lands,  apparently  cut  up  by  the  plough. 

At  Tadoussac,  (about  150  miles  below  Quebec,  on  the  north  side,)  the  effect  of  the 
earthquake  was  not  less  violent  than  in  other  places ;  and  such  a  heavy  shower  of  vol 
canic  ashes  fell  in  that  neighborhood,  particularly  in  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  that  the 
water  was  as  violently  agitated  as  during  a  tempest.  The  Indians  say  that  a  vast 
volcano  exists  in  Labrador.  Near  St.  Paul's  Bay  (about  fifty  miles  below  Quebec 
on  the  north  side,)  a  mountain,  about  a  quarter  of  a  league  in  circumference,  situated 
on  the  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  was  precipitated  into  the  river,  but  as  if  it  had  only 


APPENDIX.  465 

made  a  plunge,  it  rose  from  the  bottom  and  became  a  small  island,  forming  with  the 
shore  a  convenient  harbor,  well  sheltered  from  all  winds.  Lower  down  the  river, 
toward  Point  Alouettes,  an  entire  forest  of  considerable  extent,  was  loosened  from  the 
main  bank  and  slid  into  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  where  the  trees  took  fresh  root.  There 
are  three  circumstances,  however,  which  have  rendered  this  extraordinary  earthquake 
particularly  remarkable  :  —  The  first  is  its  duration,  it  having  continued  from  February 
to  August,  that  is  to  say,  more  than  six  months  almost  without  intermission.  It  is 
true,  the  shocks  were  not  always  equally  violent.  In  several  places,  as  toward  the 
mountains  behind  Quebec,  the  thundering  noise  and  trembling  motion  continued  suc 
cessively  for  a  considerable  time.  In  others,  as  toward  Tadoussac,  the  shock  contin 
ued  generally  for  two  or  three  days  at  a  time,  with  much  violence. 

The  second  circumstance  relates  to  the  extent  of  this  earthquake,  which  we  believe, 
was  universal  throughout  the  whole  of  New  France,  for  we  learn  that  it  was  felt  from 
L'Isle  Perce  and  Gaspe,  which  are  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  be 
yond  Montreal; -as  also  in  New  England,  Arcadia,  and  other  places  more  remote.  As 
far  as  it  has  come  to  our  knowledge,  this  earthquake  extended  more  than  600  miles  in 
length,  and  about  300  in  breadth.  Hence,  180,000  square  miles  of  land  were  convul 
sed  in  the  same  day,  and  at  the  same  moment. 

The  third  circumstance,  which  appears  the  most  remarkable  of  all,  regards  the  ex 
traordinary  protection  of  Divine  Providence,  which  has  been  extended  to  us  and  our 
habitations ;  for  we  have  seen  near  us  the  large  openings  and  chasms  which  the  earth 
quake  occasioned,  and  the  prodigious  extent  of  country  which  has  been  either  totally 
lost  or  hideously  convulsed,  without  our  loosing  either  man,  woman,  or  child,  or  even 
having  a  hair  of  their  head  touched." 


[NO.  2.] 
DE  NONVILLE'S  INVASION  OF  THE  GENESEE  COUNTRY. 


Succeeding  M.  de  la  Barre,  the  Governor,  De  Nonville,  had  immediately  commenced 
peace  negotiations  with  the  Senecas  ;  at  times  there  seemed  every  prospect  of  a  favora 
ble  issue  ;  but  the  English  Governor,  Dongan,  was  evidently  throwing  every  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  peace.  Had  he  been  otherwise  disposed,  a  powerful  influence  was 
brought  to  bear  upon  him  :  The  English  traders  had  approached  the  productive  hunt 
ing  grounds  of  Western  New  York  ;  and  were  stimulated  by  the  prospect  of  gain  which 
they  afforded  ;  and  this  region  was  their  only  practicable  avenue  of  approach  to  the 
still  more  extensive  field  of  Indian  trade  around  the  borders  of  the  western  Lakes. 
The  mercenary  views  of  the  English  traders  predominated  over  any  regard  for  the 
peace  of  their  colony.  The  sale  of  poor  English  brandy  to  the  Indians,  and  the  ac 
quisition  of  rich  packs  of  beaver  were  considerations  with  them  paramount  to  those  which 
involved  questions  of  peace  or  war  between  France  and  England.  They  of  course 
were  not  the  peace  counsellors  of  Gov.  Dongan. 

France  and  De  Nonville  had  a  faithful  helper,  in  the  person  of  the  Jesuit  Father 
Lamberville,  who  had  been  for  sixteen  years  located  as  a  missionary,  at  Onoiidaga, 
the  central  canton  of  the  Iroquois.  He  had,  not  unworthily,  acquired  great  influence, 
and  he  exercised  it  in  favor  of  peace.  He  had  perseveringly  endeavored  to  prevent 
the  introduction  of  spiritous  liquors  among  too  Indians  ;  had  foretold  its  consequences, 
and  in  all  things  else  had  proved  their  friend.  Pending  the  visit  of  M.  de  la  Barre  to 


466  APPEOT)IX. 

the  south  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  he  had  exerted  himself  to  procure  a  conference  be 
tween  the  French  and  all  the  Iroquois  nations  ;  and  in  order  to  remove  every  obstacle, 
had  opened  a  friendly  correspondence  with  Gov.  Dongan,  to  induce  him.  to  be  on  the 
side  of  peace.  "Let  your  zeal,"  he  wrote,  "for  the  public  peace,  and  especially  for 
the  Christians  of  this  America,  induce  you  to  put  a  finishing  hand  to  this  good 
work.  Since  peace,  through  your  care,  will  apparently  last,  we  shall  continue  to  carry 
the  Christian  faith  through  this  country,  and  to  solicit  the  Indians,  whom  you  honor 
with  your  friendship,  to  embrace  it,  as  :you  yourselves  embrace  it,  for  this  is  the  sole 
object  that  has  caused  us  to  come  here  ;  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  shed  for  all 
men,  may  be  useful  to  them,  and  that  his  glory  may  be  great  throughout  the  earth." 
The  good  missionary  requests  the  Governor  to  send  his  answer  by  Garakontie,  an 
Onondaga,  whom  he  will  meet  at  Albany  ;  and  he  exhorts  him  "  to  have  a  little  care 
for  Garakontie,"  to  recommend  him  "not  to  get  drunk  any  more,  as  he  promised  when 
he  was  baptised,  and  to  perform  the  duties  of  a  Christian." 

On  the  advent  of  De  Nonville,  Father  Larnberville  seconded  all  his  efforts  for 
peace,  though  as  duty  to  his  country  dictated,  he  at  the  same  time  kept  the  Governor 
informed  of  all  the  English  were  doing  to  prejudice  the  Iroquois  against  the  French. 

The  winter  of  1685,  '6,  wore  away,  the  French  shut  up  at  Montreal,  and  at  their 
advanced  posts,  and  the  English,  not  venturing  much  beyond  the  Hudson.  Little 
could  be  done  in  the  winter  in  the  way  of  peace  negotiations,  war,  or  trade,  as  the 
navigable  waters,  the  only  means  of  communication,  were  principally  closed  with  ice. 

In  May,  De  Nonville  informed  his  government,that  there  had  been  seen  on  Lake  Erie, 
ten  English  canoes,  laden  with  merchandise,  in  which  were  some  French  deserters ;  and 
mentions  that  he  had  sent  a  small  force  to  Niagara  to  intercept  them  on  their  return. 
He  gives  a  minute  topographical  description  of  Niagara ;  describes  its  command 
ing  position ;  and  recommends  the  erection  of  a  fort  there,  as  the  most  effectual  means 
of  preventing  English  encroachments  at  the  west ;  and  he  is  of  the  opinion  that  if 
the  Senecas  should  see  a  fort  planted  there,  they  would  be  more  pliant."  He  informs 
the  government  that  he  has  assumed  the  responsibility  of  sending  an  engineer  and 
draughtsman  to  Niagara,  to  locate  the  Fort,  and  make  the  necessary  drawings. "*  The 
expense  attending  the  getting  of  military  stores  and  provisions  to  Kingston,  is  men 
tioned  as  a  serious  drawback  to  his  operations,  it  costing  not  less  than  "110  liVres 
from  Ville  Marie,  on  the  Island  of  Montreal,  to  Catarokouy,  per  1000  Ibs." 

Soon  after  this  dispatch  had  been  forwarded  to  France,  De  Nonville  received  a  letter 
from  the  English  Governor,  abounding  in  professions  of  friendship,  and  a  disposition 
to  preserve  peace  between  the  two  nations  ;  laments  tliat  the  Indians  had  dealt  harshly 
with  two  Jesuit  Missionaries  ;  and  thinks  it  "  a  thousand  pitties  that  those  who  made 
such  progress  in  the  service  of  God,  should  be  disturbed ;  and  that  by  the  fault  of 
those  who  laid  the  foundation  of  Christianity  amonst  those  barbarous  people."  In 
this  letter,  however,  the  English  Governor  distinctly  asserts  the  right  of  English  do 
minion,  all  along  the  south  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  up  to  the  eastern  banks  of 

*  This  is  undoubtedly  the  incipient  step  to  the  occupation  of  the  site  of  Fort  Niag 
ara.  In  his  History  of  the  Holland  Purchase,  the  author  has  assumed  that  La  Salle 
erected  a  trading  post  there ;  but  better  information  leads  him  to  the  conclusion  that 
this  was  an  error. 

NOTE. — The  reader  will  bear  in  mind,  that  up  to  this  period  of  colonization  in 
America,  the  question  of -right,  as  to  jurisdiction  and  dominion,  was  but  illy  denned. 
Boundaries  were  but  imaginary,  no  surveyor's  compass  having  marked  them  ;  no 
"  stakes  or  stones"  had  been  set  up.  The  French  claimed  dominion  and  pre-emptive 


APPENDIX.  4GY 

the  Niagara  River,  complains  of  the  gathering  of  stores  at  "Cataraqui,"  (Kingston,) 
as  it  is  evidence  of  intention  to  war  upon  the  Iroqnois,  who,  it  is  assumed  are  the 
king  of  England's  subjects,  and  protests  against  the  intentions  of  the  French  to  build 
a  ffort  at  a  place  called  Ohnigero,  on  this  side  of  the  Lake,  within  my  master's  ter 
ritory  es." 

Other  correspondence  transpired  between  the  Governors  of  the  rival  colonists,  and 
both  kept  their  governments  informed  of  all  that  was  going  on  in  this  portion  of  the 
new  world.  The  diplomacy  of  the  Governors,  was  marked  throughout  with  insincer 
ity  ;  they  mutually  concealed  from  each  other  tljeir  real  intentions.  Gov.  Dongan 
occasionally  falls  into  a  vein  of  flattery  :  —  On  one  occasion  he  expresses  his  "  high 
satisfaction  that  the  King  of  France  has  sent  him  so  good  a  neighbor,  of  so  excellent 
qualifications  and  temper,  and  of  a  humor  altogether  different  from  Monsieur  La  Barre, 
who  was  so  furious  and  hasty,  very  much  addicted  to  great  words,  as  if  it  had  bin  to 
have  bin  frightened  by  him."  De  Nonville  aware  that  Gov.  Dongan  was  a  Catholic, 
takes  good  care  to  often  impress  him  with  the  idea,  that  all  that  he  is  doing  has  refer 
ence  to  "the  glory  of  God,  and  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  faith."  Suddenly 
however,  his  tone  changed,  and  he  charged  the  English  Governor  with  inciting  the 
Indians  to  murder  Frenchmen  upon  their  own  territory;  of  being  privy  to  the  "mar 
tyrdom  of  holy  missionaries;"  of  having  sent  an  English  expedition  to  Mishillima- 
quina."  "  Think  you,"  says  he,  "that  religion  will  progress,  whilst  your  merchants 
supply  as  they  do,  Eau  de  vci  in  abundance,  which  converts  the  savages  into  demons, 
and  their  wigwams  into  counterparts  and  theatres  of  hell."  He  charges  in  addition, 
that  the  English  have  "harbored  and  protected  French  runaways,  bankrupts  and 
thieves." 

De  Nonville  informed  his  King  of  English  encroachments  upon  French  territory ; 
of  their  expeditions  to  the  "West ;  of  their  holding  councils  with  the  Iroquois,  and  es 
pecially  the  Senecas  ;  of  their  arming  and  inciting  them  to  war  upon  the  French ; 
and  ooncluds  with  the  opinion,  that  there  can  be  no  success  for  the  French  Mission 
aries  or  Trade-rs,  until  the  Senecas  are  humbled ;  and  for  this  purpose  he  demands  a 
large  reinforcement  from  France.  The  King  assured  him  that  his  demands  should  be 
complied  with,  and  recommends  prompt  offensive  measures. 

Much  othei  correspondence  passed  between  De  Nonville  and  his  government,  and 
between  the  two  Governors,  which  is  not  material  to  an  understanding  of  events  that 
followed. 

right  over  all  the  lands  of  the  Indians,  among  whom  their  missionaries  and  traders  had 
gained  a  foothold.  By  this  tenure  they  were,  at  the  period  upon  which  we  are  now  dwell 
ing,  claiming  the  whole  valley  of  the  Western  Lakes,  and  of  the  Mississippi ;  over 
into  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  by  -reason  of  the  advent  of  La  Salle  ;  and  all  of  what  is 
now  New  York,  as  low  down  as  the  eastern  bounds  of  Oneida  county.  The  taking 
possession  by  formal  proclamation,  in  the  name  of  their  king,  was  first  done  by  De 
Nonville,  in  what  is  now  Ontario  county ;  and  repeated  at  Niagara,  The  English 
claimed  upon  similar  tenure,  beyond  where  they  had  obtained  possession  by  treaty. 
When  the  issue  was  pending  between  De  Nonville  and  the  English  Governor,  the  Eng 
lish  had  not  been  occupants,  in  any  form,  of  any  portion  of  western  New  York. 
The  French  had  missionary  and  trading  stations  as  low  down  as  the  Oneida  castle. 
The  English  had,  to  be  sure,  performed  the  ceremony  of  sending  agents  to  all  the  Iro 
quois  villages,  to  erect  poles,upon  which  were  flags  bearing  the  arms  of  their  nation ;  but 
the  act  was  so  ludicrous  as  to  excite  the  contempt  of  the  natives,  who  generally  tore 
them  down,  for  the  Iroquois  acknowledged  no  sovereignty  of  either  France  or  England, 
over  them.* 

*We  are  free  !"  said  Garrangula  to  de  la  Barre ;  — "  We  were  born  freemen,  and  have 
no  dependence  on  Yonnondio,"  (the  French  Governor,)  "  or  Corlear,"  (the  English 
Governor.) 


468  APPENDIX. 

In  June,  1687,  the  recruits.having  arrived  from  France,  the  French  army  moved  up 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  occupied  the  Fort  at  "  Cataracouy."  The  premeditated  invasion 
of  the  Seneca  country,  was  preceded  by  an  act  of  treachery  and  perfidy,  which  has 
few  parallels  in  history.  The  French  Governor  persuaded  the  good  missionary,  Lam- 
berville,  who  was  intent  only  upon  peace,  the  service  of  his  King,  and  the  success  of 
his  mission,  to  take  a  large  delegation  of  Indians  to  his  head  quarters,  under  the  pre 
tence  of  holding  a  peace  council,  and  reconciling  all  difficulties.  When  they  were 
shut  up  within  the  fort,  and  completely  in  his  power,  he  ordered  fifty  of  them  to  be 
put  in  irons,  conveyed  to  Quebec;  and  from  thence  to  the  galleys  in  France  !  His  ob 
ject,  as  will  be  inferred,  was  to  hold  them  as  hostages,  to  give  him  advantage  in  making 
overtures  of  peace ;  but  he  sadly  misjudged  the  effect.  The  news  of  the  treachery 
reaching  the  Oneidas,  a  French  Missionary  was  seized  and  led  to  the  stake,  and  was 
only  saved  by  the  intervention  of  a  squaw,  who  claimed  the  right  to  adopt  him  as 
her  son.  At  Onondaga,  the  Missionary  Lamberville,  was  summoned  before  a  council 
of  chiefs,  and  while  anticipating  that  his  life  had  been  forfeited  by  the  part  he  had 
taken  in  the  affair,  a  chief  arose  and  addressed  him  thus :  — "  Thou  art  now  our  ene 
my —  thou  and  thy  race.  But  we  have  held  counsel  and  cannot  resolve  to  treat  thee 
as  an  enemy.  We  know  thy  heart  had  no  share  in  this  treason,  though  thou  wert  its 
tool.  "We  are  not  unjust;  we  will  not  punish  thee,  being  innocent  and  hating  the 
crime  as  much  as  ourselves.  But  depart  from  among  us ;  there  are  some  who  might 
seek  thy  blood  ;  and  when  our  young  men  sing  their  war  song,  we  may  no  longer  be 
enabled  to  protect  thee."  Lamberville  was  furnished  with  an  escort,  who  conducted 
him  to  the  French  upon  the  St.  Lawrence. 

Previous  to  his  arrival  at  Cataracouy,  De  Nonville  had  sent  presents  to  the  western 
nations  at  war  with  the  Iroquois,  their  ancient  enemies,  who  were  in  alliance  with  the 
French,  and  had  given  orders  to  the  commandants  of  the  western  posts  to  collect 
them,  and  repair  with  them  and  their  respective  commands  to  Niagara,  and  from  thence 
to  "  Ga-ni-en-tar-a-quet,"  (Irondequoit.)  There  were  at  this  period,  French  posts 
at  Mackinaw,  upon  Lakes  Superior  and  Michigan ;  Upon  the  Wisconsin,  the  Illinois 
and  the  Mississippi  rivers ;  and  never  had  a  King  or  a  country  more  devoted  or  faith 
ful  subjects,  than  were  the  commandants  of  these  far  off  posts,  dotted  down,  hundreds 
of  miles  apart,  in  the  wilderness.  Chief  among  them  was  Tonti,  whom  De  Nonville 
had  named  to  the  King,  as  "  a  lad  of  great  enterprise  and  boldness,  who  undertakes 
considerable."  Tonti,  it  will  have  been  observed,  had  been  the  companion  of  La 
Salle  in  the  primitive  advent  over  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie.  Left  by  his  principal, 
with  a  handful  of  men  at  the  " Fort  of  the  Illinese,"  (Illinois,)  he  had  successfully 
defended  it  against  the  assults  of  the  Indians.  He  was  with  de  la  Barre,  in  his  expe 
dition  to  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Ontario ;  and  returning  to  Illinois,  he  had  been  in 
search  of  the  adventurous  La  Salle,  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  "Under  him  the  western 
forces  were  marshalled. 

By  a  remarkable  coincidence,  the  army  under  De  Nonville,  and  the  western  French 
and  Indians  arrived  at  Irondequoit  on  the  same  day, — the  10th  of  July.  Pushing 
directly  across  the  Lake  from  Cataracouy,  to  "  La  Famine  Bay,"  the  main  army  had 
coasted  by  slow  stages,  encamping  on  shore  when  night  overtook  them.  Their  last 
and  most  considerable  halt  being  upon  the  present  site  of  Pulteney ville,  in  Wayne  co.* 

*  From  this  period  this  became  a  prominent  stopping  place  for  French  battauxmen, 
and  after  them  for  the  English  Lake  coasters.  The  species  of  apple  tree  which  the 
French  introduced  in  this  region,  was  growing  there,  and  there  was  the  remains  of  an 
old  log  building,  when  white  settlement  commenced.  The  place  was  known  as  "Ap- 
pleboon,"  before  its  present  name  was  conferred. 


APPENDIX.  469 

The  western  division  of  the  army  came  down  from  Niagara  by  land,  pursuing  the 
Indian  trail  upon  the  lake  shore.  Entering  the  Bay  of  Irondequoit  with  two  hundred 
batteaux,  and  as  many  canoes.  De  Nonville  erected  a  palisade  fort  upon  an  eleva 
ted  site,  in  which  to  station  a  small  force  for  the  protection  of  his  water  craft  and 
military  stores.  "Never  had  Canada  seen  and  never  perhaps  will  it  see,  a  similar  spec 
tacle.  A  camp  composed  of  one  fourth  regular  troops,  with  the  General's  suit ;  one 
fourth  habitans,*  in  four  battallions,  with  the  gentry  of  the  country ;  one  fourth  Chris 
tian  Indians  ;  and  finally  a  crowd  of  all  the  barbarous  nations,  naked,  tattooed,  and 
painted  over  the  body  with  all  sorts  of  figures,  wearing  horns  on  their  heads,  t  queues 
down  their  backs,  and  armed  with  arrows.  We  could  hear  during  the  night  a  multi 
tude  of  languages,  and  songs  and  dances  in  every  tongue.  The  "  Tsonnontouans," 
(Senecas,)  came  to  reconnoitre  us,  and  then  went  to  burn  their  villages  and  take  to 
flight.  The  advanced  guard  was  300  Christian  Indians ;  the  Pagan  savages  on  the 
left  with  three  companies,  100  Ottawas,  300  Poux,  ( Sioux,)  100  Illinois,  50  Hurons. 
Then  came  the  main  body  of  four  battallions  of  regulars  and  four  of  militia;  the  one 
headed  by  De  Nonville,  and  the  other  by  M.  Duque." 

In  the  mean  time  the  Senecas  had  not  been  idle.     They  were  cognizant  of  the 
i  gathering  of  troops  and  provisions  at  Cataracouy — had  seen  the  formidable  armament 
push  across  the  Lake ;  squads  of  them  concealed  in  the  thick  woods,  had  watched  the 
progress  of  the  French  along  the  shores  of  the  Lake ;  and  their  swift  runners  had 
,  kept  all  the  villages  advised  of  their  movements.     Preparations  had  been  made  for 
;  the  crisis  :  —  The  old  and  infirm,  and  the  extreme  youth,  had  been  sent  to  places  of 
:  safety ;  all  else,  without  regard  to  sex,  had  been  marshalled  for  the  approaching  com 
bat.    A  party  of  an  hundred,  approached  the  French  in  canoes,  before  they  had  dis 
embarked,   and  hailed  them  in  a  friendly  manner ;  to  which,  as  they  reported,  the 
\  French  "replied  in  base  language  : — Enustogan  horrio,  squa;  which  is  as  much  in 
their  language,  as  the  devil  take  you  ! "      Another  scouting  party  approached  the 
French,  and  received  quite  as  uncivil  an  answer ;  whereupon  they  went  back  and  re 
ported  to  the  sachems,  that  to  fight  was  the  only  alternative. 

Various  accounts  of  the  battle  that  ensued,  have  been  preserved  :  —  There  are  De 
Nonville's  official  report ;  La  Hontan's  account ;  the  English  account  derived  from 
the  Indians;  and  that  of  L'Abbe  de  Belmont,  in  a  manuscript,  "History  of  Canada," 
recently  discovered  in  the  Royal. Library  of  Paris.  The  author  would  seem  to  have 
been  an  eye  witness,  and  he  has  faithfully,  as  is  evident,  recorded  the  event : 

"  The  march  was  a  little  hurried.  The  weary  troops  were  dying  with  thirst.  The 
day  was  hot.  The  two  bodies  found  themselves  at  too  great  distance  from  each  other. 
The  scouts  too  were  deceived ;  for  having  come  to  the  desserts,  (barrens  or  plains,)  they 
found  five  or  six  women  who  were  going  round  in  the  fields.  This  was  a  lure  of  the 
Senecas  to  make  them  believe  that  they  Avere  all  in  the  village. 

"  The  territory  of  Ganesara  is  very  hilly  ;  the  village  is  upon  a  high  hill,  which  is 
surrounded  by  three  little  hills  or  terraces,  at  the  foot  of  a  valley,  and  opposite  some  other 
hills,  between  which  passes  a  large  brook,  which  in  a  little  valley  makes  a  little  marsh, 
covered  with  alders .  This  is  the  place  which  they  selected  for  their  ambuscade.  They 

*  French  militia. 

tThis  might  be  seen  among  the  Seneca  warriors  as  late  as  the  war  of  1812.  It  is 
common  now  among  the  Indians  of  the  remote  west.  Directly  upon  the  crown  of  the 
head  a  tuft  of  hair  is  bound,  and  trained  to  stand  upright,  terminating  in  a  loose  tuft 
or  tasseL 


470  APPENDIX. 

divided  themselves,  posted  300  men  along  the  falling  brook  between  two  hills,  in  a 
great  thicket  of  beech  trees ;  and  500  at  the  bottom  of  these  hills,  in  a  marsh,  among 
the  alders  ;  with  the  idea  that  the  first  ambuscade  of  300  men  should  let  the  army  pass 
and  then  attack  them  in  the  rear,  which  would  force  it  to  fall  into  the  second  ambus 
cade  which  was  concealed  at  the  bottom  of  the  hills  in  .the  marsh.  They  deceived 
themselves  nevertheless,  for  as  the  advanced  guard  which  M  de  Calliers  commanded, 
was  very  distant  from  the  body  under  the  command  of  the  Marquis,  they  believed  it 
was  the  entire  army.  Accordingly  as  the  advanced  guard  passed  near  the  thicket  of 
beeches,  after  making  a  terrible  whoop,  (sakaqua  ! )  they  fired  a  volley. 

"  The  Ottawas  and  the  heathen  Indians  all  fled.  The  Christian  Indians  of  the 
mountain  and  the  Sault,  and  the  Abenaquis  held  fast  and  gave  two  vollies. 

"  The  Marquis  De  ISTonville  advanced  with  the  main  body,  composed  of  the  royal 
troops,  to  occupy  the  height  of  the  hill,  where  there  was  a  little  fort  of  piquets;  but 
the  terror  and  disorder  of  the  surprise  were  such,  that  there  was  only  M.  de  Calzennej 
who  distinguished  himself  there,  and  M.  Duque  who  bringing  up  the  rearguard,  rallied 
the  battallion  of  Berthier,  which  was  in  flight,  and  being  at  the  head  of  that  of  Mon 
treal,  fired  two  hundred  shots.  The  Marquis,  en  chemise,  sword  in  hand  drew  up  the 
main  body  in  battle  order,  and  beat  the  drum  at  a  time  when  scarcely  any  one  was 
to  be  seen.  This  frightened  the  300  Tsonnonouans  of  the  ambuscade,  who  fled  from 
above  towards  the  500  that  were  ambushed  below.  The  fear  that  all  the  world  was 
upon  them,  made  them  fly  with  so  much  precipitation  that  they  left  their  blankets  in 
a  heap  and  nothing  more  was  seen  of  them. 

"A  council  was  held.  It  was  resolved,  as  it  was  late,  to  sleep  on  the  field  of  battle  for 
camp.  One  who  was  still  alive  said  there  were  800  of  them  ;  300  above,  and  500 
below  ;  and  that  the  Goyogoaians,  (Cayugas,)  were  to  come  the  next  day,  which  was 
the  reason  that  they  staid  where  they  were.  There  were  found  at  several  places  during 
the  succeeding  days,  provisions,  and  some  other  dead  savages ;  or  if  not  dead,  our  men 
killed  them." 

"  On  the  morrow  we  marched  in  battle  order,  wating  for  an  attack.  We  descended 
the  hill  by  a  little  sloping  valley,  or  gorge,  through  which  ran  a  brook  bordered  with 
thick  busKes,  and  which  discharges  itself  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  in  a  marsh  full  of  deep 
mud,  but  planted  with  alders  so  thick  that  one  could  scarcely  see.  There  it  was  that 
they  had  stationed  their  two  ambuscades,  and  where  perhaps  we  would  have  been  de 
feated,  if  they  had  not  mistaken  our  advanced  guards  for  the  whole  army,  and  been 
so  hasty  in  firing.  The  Marquis  acted  very  prudently  in  not  pursuing  them,  for  it  was 
a  trick  of  the  Iroquois  to  draw  us  into  a  greater  ambuscade.  The  marsh  which  is 
about  twenty  acres,  (aopens,)  being  passed,  we  found  about  three  hundred  wretched 
blankets;  several  miserable  guns,  and  began  to  perceive  the  famous  Babylon  of  the  Tson- 
nontouans ;  a  city,  or  village  of  bark,  situate  at  the  top  of  a  mountain  of  earth,  to 
which  one  rises  by  three  terraces,  or  hills.  It  appeared  to  us  from  a  distance,  to  be 
crowned  with  round  towers,  but  these  were  only  large  chests,  (drums)  of  bark,  about 
four  feet  in  length,  set  the  one  in  the  other  about  five  feet  in  diameter,  in  which  they 
keep  their  Indian  corn.  The  village  had  been  burnt  by  themselves;  it  was  now 
eight  days  since ;  we  found  nothing  in  the  town  except  the  cemetery  and  grave.  It 
was  filled  with  snakes  and  animals,  there  was  a  great  mask  with  teeth  and  eyes  of 
brass ;  and  a  bear  skin  with  which  they  disguise  in  their  cabins.  There  were  in  the 
four  corners,  great  boxes  of  grain  which  they  had  not  burned.  They  had  outside 
this  post,  their  Indian  corn  in  a  piquet  fort  at  the  top  of  a  little  mountain,  steps  or  cut 
down  on  all  Bides,  where  it  was  knee  high  throughout  the  fort." 


APPENDIX. 

"  The  Tsonnontouans  have  four  large  villages,  which  they  change  eveiy  ten  years,  in 
order  to  bring  themselves  near  the  woods,  and  permit  them  to  grow  up  again.  They 
call  them  Gagnsaea,  Tohaiton,  which  are  the  two  larger;  Onnntague,  and  Onnenatu 
which  arc  smaller.  In  the  last  dwells  Ganonkitahoui,  the  principal  chief.  We  cut  the 
standing  grain  already  ripe  enough  to  eat,  and  burned  the  old.  It  was  estimated  that 
we  burnt  one  hundred  thousand  minots  of  old  grain,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
rninots  of  that  standing  in  the  field,  besides  the  beans,  and  the  hogs  that  we  killed. 
Sixty  persons  died  of  wounds  received  in  the  battle,  a  multitude  perished  of  want ; 
many  of  them  fled  beyond  the  great  mountains  of  Onnontague,  and  went  to  dwell  in 
the  country  of  the  Andastoez.  The  greater  part  of  their  captives  dispersed,  and 
since  that  time  the  Tsonnontouan,  (Seneca)  nation,  which  counted  at  least  eight  or 
nine  hundred  warriors,  and  ten  thousand  souls  in  all,  has  been  reduced  to  half  that 
number. 

"  From  here,  against  the  expectations  of  our  Indians,  who  believed  we  were  going 
among  the  Iroquois  cantons,  we  went  to  establish  a  Fort  at  Onnigara,  [Niagara,]  where 
we  arrived  after  three  days'  journey." 

The  official  account  of  De  Nonville,  does  not  differ  materially  from  that  of  the  L 
Abbe  de  Belmont.  He  says  the  French  loss  was  but  "  five  or  six  men  killed  and 
twenty  wounded."  He  says  :  —  "  We  witnessed  the  painful  sight  of  the  usual  cruel 
ties  of  the  savages,  who  cut  the  dead  into  quarters,  as  in  slaughter  houses,  in  order  to  put 
them  into  the  pot.  The  greater  number  were  opened  while  still  warm,  that  their  blood 
might  be  drank.  Our  rascally  Ottowas  distinguished  themselves  particularly  by  these 
barbarities,  and  by  their  cowardice,  for  they  withdrew  from  the  combat ;  the  Hurons  of 
Michilimaquina  did  very  well,  but  our  Christian  Indians  surpassed  all,  and  performed 
deeds  of  valor,  especially  our  Iroquois,  of  whom  we  durst  not  make  sure,  having  to  fight 
against  their  relatives."  He  is  quite  as  extravagant  as  de  Belmont,  in  his  estimate  of  the 
amount  of  corn  destroyed.*  The  estimate  of  either  is  incredible;  it  was  a  new  kind  of  war 
for  the  Marquis,  and  not  much  to  his  taste.  He  says  to  the  Minister  of  War  :  —  "It  is 
an  unfortunate  trade,  my  lord,  to  command  savages,  who,  after  the  first  broken  head,  ask 
to  return  home,  carrying  home  with  them  the  scalps  which  they  lift  off  like  a  leather 
cap;  you  cannot  conceive  the  terrible  efforts  I  had  to  retain' them  until  the  corn  was  cut 
It  is  full  thirty  years  since  I  have  had  the  honor  to  serve,  but  I  assure  you,  my  lord, 
that  I  have  seen  nothing  that  comes  near  this  in  labor  and  fatigue. 

Baron  La  Hontan  accompanied  the  expedition,  as  he  was  much  disposed  to  tell  the 
truth  upon  all  occasions,  his  version  of  the  general  features  of  the  battle  is  entitled  to 
credit.  He  insists  that  the  ambuscade  was  very  successful,  throwing  the  French  into 
general  disorder,  and  panic  from  which  they  were  only  relieved  by  a  fierce  assault 
of  their  allies,  the  western  Indians,  upon  the  assailants.  He  says  the  loss  was  that  of 
ten  of  their  Indian  allies,  and  a  hundred  Frenchmen.  "  Six  days  we  were  occupied 
in  cutting  down  Indian  corn  with  our  swords.  We  found  in  all  the  villages  horses, 
cattle,  and  a.  multitude  of  swine." 

The  western  Indians  were  much  chagrined  at  the  result  of  the  expedition.  They 
had  come  down  to  join  De  Nonville,  in  the  hope  that  their  ancient  implacable  ene 
mies,  the  Iroquois,  were  to  be  exterminated,  when  they  found  that  the  French  intended 
to  retreat  without  visiting  the  other  Iroquois  cantons,  they  complained  bitterly,  and 
indirectly  taunted  them  with  cowardice.  They  spoke  in  contemptuous  language  of 
an  expedition  assembled  at  so  much  expense  and  trouble,  "  to  burn  bark  cabins,  which 
could  be  rebuilt  in  four  days,"  and  destroy  corn,  the  loss  of  which  their  confederates* 

*  A  minot  is  equal  to  three  bushels. 


472  APPENDIX. 

in  their  abundance,  could  easily  supply.  Many  of  them  departed  for  home  in  disgust 
Those  that  went  with  the  French  to  Niagara,  were  only  appeased  by  the  promise  that 
the  war  should  be  renewed. 

Before  leaving  the  Seneca  country,  De  Nonville  took  formal  possession  of  it  in  the 
name  of  his  king,  making  a  pompous  proclamation,  in  which  he  enumerates  the  villages 
of  Ga-os-saeh-gwa,  (upon  Boughton  Hill,)  Ga-no-garrae,  (near  where  the  old  Indian 
trail  crossed  the  Ganargwa,  in  East  Bloomfield,)  De-yu-di-haak-do,  (at  the  north-east 
bend  of  the  Honeoye  outlet,  near  West  Mendon,)  Dy-u-don-set,  (about  two  miles 
south-east  of  Avon.)  The  proclamation,  act  of  possession,  or  "  process  verbal,"  says 
that  the  French  iarmy  "  have  vanquished  and  put  to  flight  eight  hundred  Iroquois 
Teonnontouans,  and  have  laid  waste,  burnt,  and  destroed  their  cabins." 

Subsequently  there  has  appeared  the  careful  and  distinct  account  of  the  battle  given 
by  the  L.  Abbe  de  Belmont,  a  larger  portion  of  which  is  given  in  preceding  pages. 
Guided  by  that  and  Mr.  Marshall's  pamphlet,  the  author  has  made  some  personal 
investigations  which  leads  him  to  the  conclusion  that  the  army  of  De  Nonville  landed 
on  the  east  side  of  Irondequoit  Bay,  at  what  has  been  known  as  the  old  "Indian  Land 
ing,"  and  pursued  the  old  Indian  trail,  passed  the  head  of  the  Bay,  and  the  branch  trail 
which  bore  off  a  little  east  of  Pittsford  village,  and  over  the  ridge  of  highlands,  descend 
ing  to  Victor  flats  over  the  now  farm  of  Win.  C.  and  Truman  Dryer,  near  the  present 
Pittsford  road. 

With  the  different  authentic  accounts  of  the  battle  which  we  now  have,  the  antiqua 
rian,  or  historical  reader,  will  have  no  difficulty  in  identifying  upon  Victor  Flats,  Bough- 
ton  Hill,  and  Fort  Hill,  the  entire  battle  grounds.  There  are  the  places  of  the  two 
ambuscades,  the  site  of  the  "  Babylon  of  the  Tosunontouans,"  the  "  high  hill  surrounded 
by  three  little  hills  or  terraces,  at  the  foot  of  a  valley,  and  opposite  some  other  hills  ;" 
and  indeed,  many  things,  evidences  of  identity  that  are  conclusive.  In  early  years  of 
settlement,  Brant  was  a  guest  of  Jared  and  Enos  Boughton.  He  traced  out  the  site  of  the 
ancient  Indian  village,  and  the  old  French  battle  ground,  and  stated  that  his  grand 
father,  who  was  of  the  Iroquois  that  had  settled  under  French  protection,  upon  the  St. 
La>,"/ence,  was  the  pilot  of  De  Nonville's  army. 

Relics  of  the  battle  and  of  temporary  French  occupancy,  were  numerous  in  the 
early  years  of  settlement,  such  as  "  bill  axes,"  gun  barrels,  and  trimmings,  a  silver  cross 
and  silver  coins.  As  late  as  1848,  two  five  frank  pieces  were  ploughed  up  on  the  hill 
north  of  Boughton  Hill.  A  little  east  of  the  Pittsfcrd  road,  near  the  old  Indian  trail, 
on  the  farm  of  Asahel  Boughton,  there  was  ploughed  up  a  few  years  ago,  a  half  bushel 


NOTE. — The  precise  location  of  the  battle  ground  of  Do  Nonville  and  the  Senecas, 
has  been  a  mooted  question.  Mr.  Hosmer  has  favored  the  conclusion  that  it  was  in 
Avon,  near  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Honeoye.  Mr.  James  Sperry,  of  Henrietta,  an 
early  pioneer,  a  man  of  observation,  as  the  reader  will  already  have  observed,  inclines 
to  the  opinion  that  it  was  on  the  farm  of  Nathan  Waldron,  in  the  north-east  cornel 
of  East  Bloomfield.  A  few  years  since,  0.  H.  Marshall,  of  Buffalo,  a  close  and  care 
ful  investigator  —  an  intelligent  antiquarian,  to  whom  our  whole  local  region  is  far 
more  indebted  for  early  Indian  and  French  History,  than  he  has  had  credit  for  —  trans 
lated  from  the  French,  the  Journal  of  De  Nonville,  for  the  use  of  the  New  York  His 
torical  Society,  and  to  illustrate  his  subject,  made  a  tour  of  observation.  He  located 
the  battle  ground  in  Victor,  traced  and  mapped  the  several  localities  alluded  to  in  De 
Nonville  and  La  Hontan's  account  of  the  battle ;  and  left  little  room  to  doubt  the 
correctness  of  his  conclusions.  He  was  assisted  in  his  investigations  by  Jacob  Lob- 
dell  and  Wm.  C.  Dryer.  Exhibiting  a  map  of  the  region  to  the  venerable  and  intel- 
gent  Seneca  chief,  Blacksmith,  at  Tonawanda,  he  traced  it  with  his  finger,  and  located 
the  battle  ground  as  Mr.  Marshall  had. 


APPENDIX.  473 

of  iron  balls,  about  the  size  of  musket  balls.  In  the  early  years  of  settlement  in  Victor, 
the  most  of  the  iron  the  settlers  used,  was  the  old  French  axes  the  plough  would 
expose. 

But  the  inquiry  arises,  if  the  battle  ground  of  De  Nonville  and  the  Senecas  was  in 
Victor,  how  are  the  relics  on  the  "  Waldron  farm,"  the  "  Ball  farm,"  in  Avon,  to  be 
accounted  for  ?  The  inquiry  might  also  include  the  relics  of  French  warfare,  and 
French  occupancy,  in  Aurora,  and  Eden,  Erie  county,  spoken  of  in  the  history  of  the  Hol 
land  Purchasa  The  answer  may  be  that  our  history  of  French  occupancy  of  the  whole 
Genesee  country,  is  a?  yet  imperfect,  but  a  small  part  of  the  Jesuit,  Recollet  and  Fran 
ciscan  "Relations,"  during  the  occupancy  of  more  than  a  century  has  as  yet  been  dis 
covered,  unless  the  recent  discoveries  among  the  archives  of  the  Jesuits  in  Montreal, 
and  by  Mr.  Cass  our  minister  at  Rome,  has  supplied  the  deficiency. 


[NO.  3.] 
[EXTRACT  FROM  HIS  EXCELLENCY,  GEN.  WASHINGTON'S  ORDERS.] 


"HEAD  QUARTERS,  MORE'S  HOUSE,  Oct.  17,  1779. 

"  The  Commander-in-Chief,  has  now  the  pleasure  of  congratulating  the  army  on  the 
complete  and  full  success  of  Maj.  Gen.  Sullivan,  and  the  troops  under  his  command, 
against  the  Seneca  and  other  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations,  as  a  just  and  necessary  punishment 
for  their  wanton  depredations,  their  unparalleled  and  innumerable  cruelties,  their  deafness 
to  all  remonstrances  and  entreaty,  and  their  perseverance  in  the  most  horrid  acts  of 
barbarity.  Forty  of  their  towns  have  been  reduced  to  ashes,  some  of  them  large  and 
commodious-;  that  of  the  Genesee  alone,  containing  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
houses.  Their  crops  of  com  have  been  entirely  destroyed, — which,  by  estimation,  it 
it  is  said,  would  have  provided  160,000  bushels,  besides  large  quantities  of  vegetables 
of  various  kinds.  Their  whole  country  has  been  over-run  and  laid  waste :  and  they 
themselves  compelled  to  place  their  security  in  a  precipitate  flight  to  the  British  for 
tress  at  Niagara ; — and  the  whole  of  this  has  been  done  with  the  loss  of  less  than  forty 
men  on  our  part,  including  the  killed,  wounded,  captured,  and  those  who  died  natural 
deaths.  The  troops  employed  in  this  expedition,  both  officers  and  men,  throughout  the 
whole  of  it,  and  in  the  action  they  had  with  the  enemy,  manifested  a  patience,  perse 
verance,  and  valor  that  do  them  the  highest  honor.  In  the  course  of  it,  when  there  still 
remained  a  large  extent  of  the  enemy's  country  to  be  prostrated,  it  became  necessary 
to  lessen  the  issues  of  provisions  to  half  the  usual  allowance.  In  this  the  troops  acqui 
esced  with  a  most  general  and  cheerful  concurrence,  being  fully  determined  to  sur 
mount  every  obstacle,  and  to  prosecute  the  enterprise  to  a  complete  and  successful 
issue.  Maj.  Gen.  Sullivan,  for  his  great  perseverance  and  activity  ;  for  his  order  of 
march  and  attack,  and  the  whole  of  his  dispositions ;  the  Brigadiers  and  officers  of  all 
ranks,  and  the  whole  of  the  soldiers  engaged  in  the  expedition,  merit,  and  have  the 
Commander-in-Chief's  warmest  acknowledgements,  for  their  important  services  upon 
this  occasion." 

As  nothing  has  been  said  of  Col.  Brodhead's  campaign,  it  may  be  proper  to  state 
that  on  the  22d  of  March,  1779,  Washington  ordered  him  to  make  the  necessary  pre 
parations  for  an  expedition  against  Detroit,  to  throw  a  detachment  forward  to  Kittan- 
iog,  and  another  beyond  to  Venango,  at  the  same  time  preserving  the  strictest  secrecy 
as  to  his  ultimate  object.  Though  this  expedition  was  soon  found  impracticable  and 
abandoned,  preparations  were  immediately  made  for  the  one,  which  was  actually  un- 
30 


474  APPENDIX. 

dertaken  against  the  Indians  at  the  head  of  the  Allegany  River,  French  Creek,  and 
other  tributaries  of  the  Ohio.  On  the  llth  of  August,  1779,  with  about  six  hundred 
men,  including  militia  and  volunteers,  and  one  month's  provisions,  Col.  Daniel  Brod- 
head  left  Fort  Pitt  and  began  his  march  to  the  Indian  country.  The  result  was  an 
nounced  by  Gen.  Washington  to  his  army  at  West  Point : — 
[Extract from  General  Orders.  ] 

"  HEAD  QUARTERS,  MORE'S  HOUSE,  Oct.  18th,  1779. 

"  The  Commander-in-Chief  is  happy  in  the  opportunity  of  congratulating  the  army 
on  our  further  success,  by  advices  just  arrived.  Col.  Brodhead,  with  the  Continental  troops 
under  his  command,  and  a  body  of  militia  and  volunteers,  has  penetrated  about  one 
hundred  and  eighty  miles  into  the  Indian  country,  on  the  Allegany  river,  burnt  ten 
of  the  Muncey  and  Seneca  towns  in  that  quarter,  containing  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  houses ;  destroyed  all  their  fields  of  corn,  computing  to  comprehend  five  hundred 
acres,  besides  large  quantities  of  vegetables  ;  obliging  the  savages  to  flee  before  him 
with  the  greatest  precipitation,  and  to  leave  behind  them  many  skins  and  other  articles 
of  value.  The  only  opposition  the  savages  ventured  to  give  our  troops,  on  this  occasion, 
was  near  Cuskusking.  About  forty  of  their  warriors,  on  their  way  to  commit  barbarities 
on  our  frontier  settlers,  were  met  here.  Lieut.  Harden,  of  the  8th  Pennsylvania  regi 
ment,  at  the  head  of  one  of  our  advance  parties,  composed  of  thirteen  men,  of  whom 
eight  were  of  our  friends  the  Delaware  nation,  who  immediately  attacked  the  savages 
and  put  them  to  the  rout,  with  the  loss  of  five  killed  on  the  spot,  and  of  all  their  canoes, 
blankets,  shirts,  and  provisions,  of  which,  as  is  usual  for  them  when  going  into  action* 
they  had  divested  themselves  ;  and  also  of  several  arms.  Two  of  our  men  and  one  of 
our  Indian  friends  were  very  slightly  wounded  in  the  action,  winch  was  all  the  dam 
age  we  sustained  in  the  whole  enterprise. 

"  The  activity,  perseverance,  and  firmness,  which  marked  the  conduct  of  Col.  Brod 
head,  and  that  of  all  the  officers  and  men,  of  every  description,  in  this  expedition,  do 
them  great  honor,  and  their  services  justly  entitle  them  to  the  thanks,  and  to  this  tes 
timonial  of  the  General's  acknowledgment." 

In  a  letter  dated  "West  Point,  20th  October,  1779,"  addressed  to  the  Marquis  de 
La  Fayette,  Gen.  Washirgton  incidentally  alludes  to  these  two  campaigns,  and  their 
probable  effects  upon  the  Indians.  He  informs  Gen.  La  Fyette  as  news  that  may  be 
interesting  to  him,  that  — 

"  Gen.  Sullivan  has  completed  the  entire  destruction  of  the  country  of  the  Six  Nations ; 
driven  all  their  inhabitants,  men,  women,  and  children,  out  of  it ;  and  is  at  Easton  on  his 
return  to  join  this  army,  with  the  troops  under  his  command.  He  performed  this  service 
without  losing  forty  men,  either  by  the  enemy  or  by  sickness.  While  the  Six  Nations 
were  under  this  rod  of  correction,,  the  Mingo,  and  Muncey  tribes,  living  on  the  Allegany, 
French  creek,  and  other  waters  of  the  Ohio,  above  Fort  Pitt,  met  with  similar  chastise 
ment  from  Col.  Brodhead,  who,  with  six  hundred  men,  advanced  upon  them  at  the 
same  instant,  and  laid  waste  their  country.  These  unexpected  and  severe  strokes  have 
disconcerted,  humbled,  and  distressed  the  Indians  exceedingly  ;  and  will,  I  am  persua 
ded,  be  productive  of  great  good,  as  they  are  undeniable  proofs  to  them,  that  Great 
Britain  cannot  protect  them  whenever  their  hostile  conduct  deserves  it." — Writings  of 
Washington,  Vol.  vi,  p.  384. 


APPENDIX.  475 

[NO.   4.] 

PETER  OTSEQUETTE. 
[FROM  MANUSCRIPTS  OF  THOMAS  MORRIS.] 

At  this  treaty  also,  I  became  intimate  with  Peter  Otsequette,  who  when  a  boy,  was 
taken  1x5-'France,  by  the  Marquis  de  La  Fayette.  He  remained  with  the  Marquis  seven 
years ;' he  received .  while  with  him,  a  very  finished  education.  Having  received  the 
early  part  of  my  own  education  in  France,  and  being  well  acquainted  with  the  French 
language,  I  would  frequently  retire  with  Peter,  into  tte  woods,  and  hear  him  recite 
some  of  the  finest  pieces  of  French  poetry  from  the  tragedies  of  Corneille  and  Racine. 
Peter  was  £in  Oneida  Indian,  he  had  not  been  many  months  restored  to  his  nation,  and 
yet  he  would  drink  raw  rum  out  of  a  brass  kettle,  take  as  much  delight  in  yelling 
and  whooping,  as  any  Indian ;  and  in  fact,  became  as  vile  a  drunkard  as  the  worst  of 
them. 


[NO.  5.] 

HENDRICK  WEMPLE. 
[FROM  MANUSCRIPTS  OF  w.  H.  c.  HOSMER.] 


He  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Maria  Berry,  wife  of  the  late  Gilbert  R.  Berry,  a  pioneer 
Indian  trader,  and  settler  in  the  valley  of  the  Genesee.  In  advance  of  civilization, 
this  remarkable  man,  frequently  visited  the  Indian  villages  of  western  New  York  — 
and  sometimes  extended  his  journies  by  water,  in  a  birch  canoe,  manned  by  Indians,  to 
Detroit,  and  thence  to  Mackinaw  and  the  Straits  of  St.  Mary's.  His  place  of  resi 
dence  was  near  Caughnawaga,  on  the  Mohawk,  at  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities.  He 
afterwards  removed  to  the  Oneida  Castle. 

John  Scott  Quackei)b.oss,  a  kinsman,  and  who  knew  him  in  his  boyhood,  describes 
him  as  a  man  of  majestic  proportions,  more  than  six  feet  in  height,  and  endowed  by 
nature  with  great  personal  strength  and  agility.  His  influence  was  great  among  the 
Oneidas  and  Mohawks,  being  familiar  with  their  customs,  and  their  superior  in  all  ath 
letic  sports.  He  accompanied,  by  special  invitation,  General  Herkimer  and  party,  in 
their  perilous  expedition  to  Unadilla  in  1777,  and  acted  as  interpreter  at  an  interview 
between  Brant  and  the  gallant  old  German,  on  that  occasion.  He  was  also  interpre 
ter  for  Sullivan,  and  in  that  capacity  served  in  the  great  Indian  campaign  of  1779, 
accompanying  the  army  in  their  march  through  a  howling  wilderness,  and  hostile 
country,  to  the  valley  of  the  Genesee,  where  his  daughter  and  son -in  law  subsequent 
ly  settled  and  died.  My  informant  Mr.  Scott,  of  Mohawk,  in  Montgomery  county, 
alluded  particularly  to  his  skill  as  a  marksman,  having  been  his  companion  in  many  a 
hunt  He  also  spoke  with  great  fluency,  all  the  dialects  of  the  Iroquois,  besides 
having  a  knowledge  of  many  western  tongues.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  war,  while  in  a  forest  that  bordered  the  Mohawk,  he  was  the  unseen  spectator 
of  a  murder,  perpetrated  by  a  Mohawk,  known  as  Saucy  Nick  —  the  victim  being  un 
conscious,  at  the  time  he  received  the  fatal  blow,  of  an  enemy  being  in  the  neighbor 
hood.  After  he  returned  to  his  home,  he  saddled  a  horse  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
process  for  the  Indian's  arrest  On  his  way  to  the  magistrate's  office,  a  few  miles  dis 
tant —  he  stopped  at  a  public  house,  observing  Saucy  Nick  standing  on  the  steps,  and 
wishing  a  close  watch  to  be  kept  on  the  murderer's  movements.  After  the  necessary 


476  APPENDIX. 

warning  had  been  given,  he  was  about  to  leave,  when  Saucy  Nick  importuned  him  to 
treat,  and  insisted  that  Mr.  "Wemple  should  drink  with  him. 

To  lull  the  Indian's  suspiciotis,  which  he  thought  had  been  forcibly  aroused,  he  drank 
with  him,  and  mounted  his  horse ;  he  had  been  in  the  saddle  but  a  few  minutes,  when 
he  was  attacked  with  a  severe  pain,  and  a  sense  of  mortal  sickness.  With  difficulty 
he  dismounted,  and  was  assisted  to  a  bed.  His  tongue  swelled  until  it  protruded  from 
his  mouth,  and  the  next  day,  after  indescribable  agony,  he  died. 

It  was  generally  believed  by  his  neighbors  and  friends,  that  the  Indian  had  had  secret 
intelligence  of  the  design  to  arrest  him,  and  adroitly  drugged,  wrh  some  subtle  poison, 
the  liquor  of  his  unsuspecting  victim.  The  murderer  effected  his  escape,  and  joined 
his  tribe  in  Canada.  Hendrick  Wemple,  was  buried  close  to  Oneida  Castle,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  turnpike,  about  one  mile  from  Skenandoah's  residence. 

In  his  life  time  he  claimed  a  large  portion  of  territory,  afterwards  bought  by  Judge 
Cooper,  of  Cooperstown,  and  embracing  some  of  the  best  lands  of  Otsego  county. 
He  was  a  descendant  of  Hendrick  Wemple,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  Schenec- 
tady  —  the  O-no-al-i-gone  of  the  Oneidas  —  and  whose  arms,  Giles  F.  Yates  informs 
me,  may  still  be  seen  over  the  door  of  an  old  Dutch  church,  one  of  the  most  cherished 
antiquities  of  the  city.  His  name  is  not  out  of  place  in  this  local  work. 

He  was  a  transient  resident  in  this  region  previous  to  the  Revolution,  and  many  of 
his  descendants  are  now  residents  of  the  Oenesee  country. 


[NO.  6.] 

OLIVER     PHELPS'     SPEECH     TO     THE     INDIANS,     IN     ANSWER     TO     THEIR 

COMPLAINTS. 

I  wish  in  a  fiiendly  manner,  to  state  to  you  the  particulars  of  our  bargain  :  —  When 
I  arrived  at  Buffalo  creek,  O'Bail,  (Corn planter,)  had  leased  all  your  country  to  Liv 
ingston  and  Benton.  I  had  bought  that  lease  of  Livingston,  but  I  found  you  were 
dissatisfied,  and  not  willing  to  give  up  your  country.  Although  I  had  power  to  have 
confirmed  that  lease  and  have  held  your  lands,  yet  I  would  not  have  anything  to  do 
with  your  lands  without  your  voluntary  consent.  I  therefore,  to  remove  the  lease  out 
of  the  way,  and  set  your  minds  at  ease,  bought  so  much  of  it  of  Livingston  as  covered 
the  Seneca  lands,  and  gave  up  the  lease  to  you,  making  it  all  void  ;  so  that  all  the 
Seneca  lands  was  yours.  So  that  by  my  means  you  got  your  whole  country  back 
again.  I  then  came  forward  with  a  speech  to  you,  requesting  to  purchase  a  part  of 
your  country.  You  was  not  willing  to  sell  so  much  as  I  wanted,  but  after  a  long 
time  we  agreed  on  the  lines. 

Brothers,  you  remember  we  set  up  all  night.  It  was  almost  morning  before  we 
agreed  on  the  boundaries.  After  breakfast  we  returned  to  agree  on  the  price  you 
should  have.  Capt.  O'Bail  said  he  was  willing  to  take  the  same  proportion  for  the 
Seneca  lands,  that  Livingston  was  to  pay  for  the  whole. 

[Mr.  Phelps  recapitulated  the  terms  of  the  bargain  as  fixed  by  the  referees,  and 
cited  the  testimony  of  those  present,  in  confirmation  of  his  statement.] 

After  some  consideration  you  agreed  to  the  terms  proposed,  but  insisted  that  I  must 
add  some  cattle  and  some  rum,  to  which  I  agreed.  Brothers,  you  know  there  was  a 
great  many  people  there ;  they  all  tell  alike ;  they  all  tell  one  story. 

Now,  brothers,  I  do  not  want  to  contend  wit))  you.  I  am  an  honest  man.  If  you 
go  to  New  England  and  enquire  my  character,  you  will  not  find  me  such  a  rogue  as 


APPENDIX.  47  7 

you  represent  me  to  be.  I  mean  to  fulfill  my  engagement  to  you.  I  now  owe  you 
one  thousand  dollars  for  two  years  rent,*  which  I  am  willing  to  pay  at  any  time,  and 
at  any  place  you  wish. 

[NO.  7.] 
JEMIMA  WILKINSON. 

[FROM  MANUSCRIPTS  OF  THOMAS  MORRIS.] 


"  Prior  to  my  having  settled  at  Canandaigua,  Jemima  Wilkinson  and  her  followers, 
had  established  themselves  on  a  tract  of  land,  purchased  by  them,  and  called  the 
Friend's  settlement.  Her  disciples  were  a  very  orderly,  sober,  industrious,  and  some 
of  them,  a  well  educated  and  intelligent  set  of  people  ;  and  many  of  them  possessed 
of  handsome  properties.  She  called  herself  the  Universal  Friend,  and  would  not 
permit  herself  to  be  designated  by  any  other  appellation.  She  pretended  to  have  had 
revelations  from  heaven,  in  which  she  had  been  directed  to  devote  her  labors  to  the 
conversion  of  sinners.  Her  disciples  placed  the  most  unbounded,  confidence  in  her 
and  yielded  in  all  things,  the  most  implicit  obedience  to  her  mandates.  She  would 
punish  those  among  them,  who  were  guilty  of  the  slightest  deviation  from  her  orders ; 
in  some  instances,  she  would  order  the  offending  culprit  to  wear  a  cow  bell  round 
his  neck  for  weeks,  or  months,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  offence,  and  in  no  in 
stance  was  she  known  to  have  been  disobeyed.  For  some  offence,  committed  by  one 
of  her  people,  she  banished  him  to  Nova  Scotia,  for  three  years,  where  he  went,  and 
from  whence  he  returned  only  after  the  expiration  of  his  sentence.  When  any  of  her 
people  killed  a  calf  or  a  sheep,  or  purchased  an  article  of  dress,  the  Friend  was  asked 
what  portion  of  it  she  would  have,  and  the  answer  would  sometimes  be,  that  the  Lord 
hath  need  of  the  one  half,  and  sometimes  that  the  Lord  hath  need  of  the  whole.  Her 
house,  her  grounds,  and  her  farms,  were  kept  in  the  neatest  order  by  her  followers, 
who,  of  course,  labored  for  her  without  compensation.  She  was  attended  by  two 
young  women,  always  neatly  dressed.  Those  who  acted  in  that  capacity,  and  enjoyed 
the  most  of  her  favored  confidence,  at  the  time  I  was  there,  were  named  Sarah  Rich 
ards  and  Rachel  Malin.  Jemima  prohibited  her  followers  from  marrying ;  and  even 
those  who  had  joined  her  after  having  been  united  in  wedlock,  were  made  to  sepa 
rate,  and  live  apart  from  each  other.  This  was  attributed  to  her  desire  to  inherit  the 
the  property  of  those  who  died. 

Having  discovered  that  bequests  to  the  Universal  Friend  would  be  invalid,  and  not 
recognizing  the  name  of  Jemima  Wilkinson,  she  caused  devises  to  be  made  by  the 
dying  to  Sarah  Richards,  in  the  first  instance.  Sarah  Richards,  however  died,  and  her 
heir  at  law  claimed  the  property  thus  bequeathed ;  litigation  ensued,  and  after  the  con 
troversy  had  gone  from  court  to  court,  it  was  finally  decided  in  Jemima's  favor,  it  ap 
pearing,  that  Sarah  Richards  had  held  the  property  in  trust  for  her.  After  the  death 
of  Sarah  Richards,  devises  were  made  in  favor  of  Rachel  Malin  ;  but  Rachel  took  it 
into  her  head  to  marry,  and  her  husband  claimed  in  behalf  of  his  wife,  the  property 
thus  devised  to  her.  Among  Jemima's  followers,  was  an  artful,  cunning,  and  intelli 
gent  man,  by  the  name  of  Elijah  Parker ;  she  dubbed  him  a  prophet,  and  called  him 

*  Purchase  money  in  part  Mr.  Phelps'  use  of  the  term  "rent  "must  have  been  dic 
tated  by  the  consideration  that  the  Indians  had  been  talked  to  so  much  about  rent,  by 
the  Lessees,  that  they  would  better  understand  him,  than  they  would  if  he  spoke  of 
instalments  of  purchase  money. 


478  APPENDIX. 

the  Prophet  Elijah.  He  would,  before  prophesying,  -wear  around  the  lower  part  of  his 
waist,  a  bandage  or  girdle,  tied  very  tight,  and  when  it  had  caused  the  upper  part  of 
his  stomach  to  swell,  he  would  pretend  to  be  filled  with  the  prophetic  visions,  which  he 
would  impart  to  the  community.  But  after  some  time,  Jemima  and  her  Prophet  quar 
relled,  and  he  then  denounced  her  as  an  impostor,  declared  that  she  had  imposed  on 
his  credulity,  and  that  he  had  never  been  a  prophet.  After  having  divested  himself 
of  his  prophetic  character,  he  became  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  in  that  capacity  issuea 
a  warrant  against  Jemima,  charging  her  with  blasphemy.  She  was  accordingly 
brought  to  Canandaigua,  by  virtue  of  this  warrant,  and  at  a  circuit  court  held  there  in 
1796,  by  the  late  Governor  Lewis,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State,  a  bill  of 
indictment  prepared  by  Judge  Howell,  of  Canandaigua,  then  District  Attorney,  was 
laid  before  the  Grand  Jury.  Judge  Lewis  having  told  the  Grand  Jury,  that  by  the 
laws  and  constitution  of  this  State,  blasphemy  was  not  an  indictable  offence,  no  bill 
was  found.  Judge  Howell  lias  informed  me  that  a  similar  question  having  been 
brought  before  a  full  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  that  Judge  Lewis'  opinion  was 
overruled  by  all  the  other  Judges,  and  that  blasphemy  was  decided  to  be  an  indictable 
offence.  These  litigations  however,  had  considerably  lessened  the  number  of  her  fol 
lowers,  but  she,  as  I  am  informed,  retained  until  her  death,  her  influence  over  a  con 
siderable  portion  of  them. 

Prior  to  these  occurrences,  Jemima  had  been  attacked  with  a  violent  disease,  and 
she  expected  to  die.  Under  this  conviction,  she  caused  her  disciples  to  be  assembled 
in  her  sick  chamber,  when  she  told  them  that  her  Heavenly  Father,  finding  that  the 
wickedness  of  the  world  was  so  great,  that  there  was  no  prospect  in  her  succeeding  in 
reclaiming  it,  had  determined  that  she  should  soon  quit  it,  and  rejoin  him  in  heaven. 
Having  unexpectedly  recovered,  she  again  assembled  them,  when  she  announced  to 
them  that  her  Heavenly  Father  had  again  commanded  her  to  remain  on  earth,  and  make 
one  more  trial. 

When  I  first  saw  Jemima,  she  was  a  fine  looking  woman,  of  a  good  height ;  and 
though  not  corpulent,  inclined  to  en  Ion  point.  Her  hair  was  jet  black,  short,  and 
curled  on  her  shoulders  ;  she  had  fine  eyes  and  good  teeth,  and  complexion.  Her  dress 
consisted  of  a  silk  purple  robe,  open  in  front ;  her  under  dress  was  of  the  finest  white 
cambric  or  muslin.  Round  her  throat,  she  wore  a  large  cravat,  bordered  with  fine 
lace.  She  was  very  ignorant,  but  possessed  an  uncommon  memory  ;  though  she  could 
neither  read  nor  write,  it  was  said  that  she  knew  the  Bible  by  heart,  from  its  having 
been  read  to  her.  The  sermon  I  heard  her  preach,  was  bad  in  point  of  language,  and 
almost  unintelligible ;  aware  of  her  deficiencies  in  this  respect,  she  caused  one  of  her 
followers  to  tell  me,  that  in  her  discourses,  she  did  not  aim  at  expressing  herself  in  fine 
language,  preferring  to  adopt  her  style  to  the  capacity  of  the  most  illiterate  of  her 
hearers. 


[NO.   8.] 

In  1803,  the  only  Post  Office  in  all  the  Genesee  country  west  of  Geneva,  was  af 
Canandaigua,  To  show  the  reader  how  wide  a  region  of  new  settlements  was  em 
braced  in  its  circle  of  delivery,  the  author  extracts  from  its  list  of  advertised  letters,  a 
few  names  and  their  localities :  — 

"Mr.  Garbut,  near  Geneva;"  "Gen.  Mountjoy  Bailey,  Geneva;"  "Win.  Bates, 
Gov.  House,  head  of. Lake  Ontario;"  Samuel  Brasin,  (Avo£  3>  "Mathew  Clark* 


APPENDIX. 


479 


Sodus;"  "Dr.  Prescott,  Phelpstown ; "  "Samuel  Cobwell,  Friends'  Settlement;" 
"Alexander  M'Donald,  Caledonia;"  "Nathan  Fisk,  Northfield;  "  "Widow  Rebecca 
Reed,  Pittstown;"  "Wm.  White,  Palmyra;"  "Elisha  Sylvester,  Lyons;"  "John 
Smith,  Williamsburg ; "  "James  0.  Shenaett,  Potter's  Town ; "  "  Henry  Tower,  Hope- 
ton;"  "Solomon  Hull,  Jerusalem;"  "David  Nash,  Big  Tree;"  "Joseph  Poudry, 
Tonawanda ; "  "  Eliakim  Crosby,  Fort  Erie  ;  "  "  Peter  Anderson,  Big  Springs." 


[NO.  9.] 


The  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  census  roll  of  Gen.  Amos  Hall,  a  deputy  marshal 
under  the  IT.  S.  census  law  of  1790.  The  author  presumes  that  the  enumeration  was 
made  in  July  and  August  of  that  year.  It  embraces  the  names  of  all  who  were  heads 
of  families,  in  all  the  region  west  of  the  old  Massachusetts  pre-emption  line  :  * 


No.  9,  7th  R. 

No.  10,  3d.  R. 

No.  9,  4th  R. 

William  Wadsworth, 

John  Fellows, 

James  Goodwin, 

Phineas  Bates, 

Joseph  Smith, 

William  Goodwin, 

Daniel  Ross, 

James  D.  Fisk, 

Nathaniel  Fisher, 

Henrv  Brown,   v 
Enoch  Noble, 
Nicholas  Rosecrantz, 
David  Robb, 
Nahum  Fairbanks. 
No.  1,  2nd  R. 
Eleazer  Lindley  Esq. 
Daniels, 
Samuel  Lindley, 
John  Seely, 
Ezekiel  Mumford, 
Eleazer  Lindley,  Jr., 
Nn  9  9r\    R 

Israel  Chapin, 
John  Clark, 
Martin  Dudley, 
Phineas  Bates, 
Caleb  Walker, 
Judah  Colt, 
Abner  Barlow, 
Daniel  Brainard. 
SethHolcomb, 
James  Brocklebank, 
Lemuel  Castle, 
Benjamin  Wells, 
John  Freeman, 

No.  10,  4th  R. 
Ephraim  Rew, 
Lot  Rew, 
Matthew  Hubble, 
John  Barnes, 
Oliver  Chapin, 
Nathaniel  Norton, 
John  Adams, 
Michael  Rodgers, 
Allen  Sage, 

No.  11,  4th  R. 
Seymour  Boughton, 

I.N   O.     **,     r*(l.     -Lt. 

Arthur  Envine, 
Henry  Gulp, 
William  Anchor, 

No.  11,  3d.  R. 
Abraham  Lapharn, 
Isaac  Hathaway, 

Jared  Boughton, 
Zebulon  Norton, 
Elijah  Taylor. 

Martin  Young, 
Peter  Gardner, 

Nathan  Harrington, 
John  M'Cumber, 
Joshua  Harrington, 

No.  9,  5th  R. 
Gideon  Pitts. 

No.  3  &  4,  5th  &  6th  R's. 

Elijah  Smith, 

No.  10,  5th  R. 

Jarnes  Headley, 

John  Paine, 

Peregrine  Gardner, 

William  Baker, 

Jacob  Smith, 

Amos  Hall, 

Jedediah  Stevens, 

John  Russell, 

Benj.  Gardner, 

Uriah  Stevens, 

Nathan  Comstock, 

Peck  Sears, 

Uriah  Stephens,  Jr., 

Israel  Reed, 

Samuel  Miller, 

John  Stephens, 

Reuben  Allen. 

John  Alger, 

Richard  Crosby, 

No.  12,  3d.  R. 

Sylvanus  Thayer. 

Solomon  Bennett, 
Andrew  Bennett, 
John  Jameson. 

Webb  Harwood, 
David  White, 
Darius  Comstock, 

No.  12,  5th  R. 
Jared  Stone, 
Simon  Stone, 

No.  11,  2d.  R. 

Jerome  Smith. 

Israel  Farr, 

..  Sweet, 

No.  8,  4th  R. 

Thomas  Cleland, 

Ezra  Phelps. 

Gamaliel  V\  ilder, 

Silas  Nye, 

No,  10,  3d.  R. 

Ephraim  Wilder, 

Josiah  Giminson, 

Nathaniel  Gorham,  Jr. 

Aaron  Rice, 

Alexander  Dunn, 

Nathaniel  Sauborn, 

Aaron  Spencer. 

David  Davis, 

*  Geneva  and  the  Friends  Settlement  on  Seneca  Lake,  is  of  course  not  included. 


480 


APPENDIX. 


No.  11,  5th  R. 
Jonathan  Ball, 
William  Moores. 

No.  13,  5th  R. 
John  Lusk, 
Chauncey  Hyde, 
Timothy  Allen, 
Jacob  Walker. 

No.  10,  6th  R. 
John  Minor, 
Asahel  Burchard, 
Abner  Miles, 

Davison. 

No.  11,  6th  R. 
John  Ganson, 
Philemon  Winship, 
Af  el  Wilsey, 
Elijah  Morgan, 
Solomon  Hovey, 
John  Morgan, 
William  Webber, 
William  Markham, 
Abraham  Devans. 

No.  7,  7th  R. 
Niel. 

No.  9,  1st  R. 
James  Latta, 
David  Beriton, 
Samuel  Wheaton, 
Rice, 


No.  9, 1st  R. 
David  Smith, 
Phineas  Pierce, 
Esther  Forsyth, 
Thomas  Sniith, 
Harry  Smith, 
Thomas  Barden. 

No.  10,  1st  R. 
Seth  Reed, 
Thaddeus  Oaks, 
Jonathan  Whitney, 
Solomon  Warner, 
Jonathan  Oaks, 
Joseph  Kilbourne, 
John  Whitcomb, 
Phineas  Stevens,' 
Benjamin  Tuttle, 

No.  11,  1st  R. 
John  D.  Robinson, 
Pierce  Granger. 

No.  8,  2d  R. 
Francis  Briggs, 
Michael  Pierce, 
Benjamin  Tibbits, 
Henry  Lovell, 
John'Walford, 
William  Hall, 
Arnold  Potter. 

No.  10,  2d.  R. 
Sweet, 


No.  10,  2d  R. 

Daniel  Gates, 
Thomas  Warren, 
Israel  Chapin, 

Platt, 

Day. 

WEST  OF  GENKSEK  RIVEB. 
Gilbert  R.  Berry, 
Darling  Havens, 
David  Bailey, 
William  Rice, 
Gershom  Smith, 
Hill  Carney, 
Morgan  Desna, 
William  Desha, 
Horatio  Jones, 
William  Ewing, 
Nathan  Fowler, 
Jeremiah  Gregory, 
Nicholas  Philips, 
Jacob  Philips, 
Caleb  Forsyth,- 
Nathan  Chapman, 
Nicholas  Miller, 
Asa  Utley, 
Peter  Shaeffer, 
Ebenezer  Allan, 
Christopher  Dugan, 
Zephaniah  Hough, 
Edward  Harp, 
Joseph  Skinner. 


Males,  728 ;  Females,  340 ;  Free  Blacks,  7  ;  Slaves,  9  :  —Total  population,  1,084. 


[No.    10.] 

MFRDER  OF  MAJOR  TRUEMAN. 
[STATEMENT  OF  WILLIAM  SMELLIE,  OBTAINED  BY  CHAKLES  WILLIAMSON.] 


About  the  20th  of  May  last,  [1793]  I  left  Fort  Washington,  in  company  with  Majors 
Hardin  and  Trueman.  After  bearing  us  company  7  days,  Major  Hardin  and  his  atten 
dants  took  the  route  for  Sandusky,  while  Major  Trueman,  with  whom  I  continued,  took 
the  route  for  Au  Glaize.  About  sunset  we  fell  in  with  two  Indians  and  a  little  boy,  who 
appeared  friendly  and  asked  to  encamp  with  us,  saying  they  would  be  our  pilots  to  An 
Glaize,  then  about  30  miles  distant. 

After  having  made  fires,  taken  our  supper  and  smoked,  Major  Trueman  had  laid  down 
and  fallen  to  sleep.  The  oldest  Indian  asked  me  to  ask  the  Major  if  he  would  have  me 
or  the  Major's  servant  tied  to  him  as  otherwise  the  Indian  boys  would  be  afraid  to  sleep. 
The  Major  consented  that  his  servant  might  be  tied  to  him,  which  was  done.  After 
which  the  Major  covered  himself  all  over  with  his  blanket  to  keep  off  the  musquetoes, 
and  seemed  to  fall  asleep.  The  Indians  sat  up  against  a  log  and  smoked.  The  oldest 
Indian  desired  me  to  lay  down  on  a  bear  skin  near  him,  which  I  did.  Taking  up  his 
gun,  he  said, '  look,  what  a  bad  gun  I  have  got,'  and  taking  advantage  of  my  head  being 
turned  the  other  way,  fired,  killing  Major  Trueman,  the  ball  entering  his  left  breast-— 
The  Major  threw  himself  over  on  his  left  side,  groaned  and  died  immediately.  I  ran  to 
a  tree  ;  the  Major's  servant  disengaged  himself,  ran,  but  was  overtaken  and  brought 


APPENDIX.  481 

back.  One  of  the  Indians  watched  me  to  shoot  me,  but  I  covered  myself  with  the 
tree,  and  reasoned  with  him  to  save  my  life.  The  Indian  who  had  the  Major's  servant 
called  to  the  one  who  had  the  gun  to  shoot  as  he  could  not  hold  him.  He  turned  and 
shot  him  through  the  heart. 

"When  all  this  was  done  they  called  me  to  come  to  the  fire,  which  I  did  after  they  had 
promised  to  save  my  life.  Next  morning  they  carried  me  to  Au  Glaize  where  I  met 
some  of  my  adopted  relatives*  and  was  well  used.  At  this  time  there  seemed  to  be  u 
suspension  of  hostilities  on  account  of  Brant's  going  to  Philadelphia.  They  were  wai 
ting  for  his  answer.  While  I  was  at  Bois  de  Bou,  a  great  council  was  held  to  hear 
Brant's  answer,  whom  they  heard  was  returning  ;  but  on  his  being  taken  sick  one  Mr. 
Gill  brought  his  papers,  which  were  opened  before  a  great  council.  But  as  Congress 
they  said,  had  not  agreed  to  give  up  the  land  on  the  further  side  of  the  Ohio,  the  voice 
for  war  was  unanimous,  and  a  paity  of  600  warriors  marched  immediately  after  to 
attack  Fort  Jefferson. 

Mr.  Williamson  added  that  Smellie  informed  him  that  the  Indians  were  busily 
employed  in  concentrating  their  forces,  and  that  they  expected  to  have  not  less  than  7 
or  8000  warriors  the  next  year  ;  and  that  they  were  liberally  supplied  by  the  British 
with  provisions,  arms  and  ammunition. 


[No.   11.] 
THE  PULTENEY  TITLE. 

Not  as  much  as  the  reader  will  have  been  led  to  anticipate  by  the  reference  in  the 
body  of  the  work,  will  be  given.  In  proceeding  to  the  task,  the  author  found  that  a 
connected  historical  and  legal  deduction  of  title  would  involve  the  use  of  too  much, 
space,  at  a  stage  of  the  work  in  which  condensation,  and  the  omission  of  much  matter 
already  prepared,  had  become  necessary.  So  far  as  the  validity  and  soundness  of  the 
title  is  concerned,  now  after  the  lapse  of  over  half  a  century,  when  the  acts  of  our  legis 
lature  and  the  decrees  of  our  courts  have  frequently  confirmed  them,  and  no  less  than, 
three  Attorney  Generals  of  state  have  investigated  and  made  reports  coinciding  ;  thja 
whole  must  be  deemed  now  a  settled  question.  Certainly,  a  careful  perusal  of  the 
whole  chain  of  title,  induces  the  conclusion  that  there  are  few  less  broken  and  imper 
fect  ;  few  instances  in  which  through  so  many  changes,  and  a  long  succession  of  years, 
a  title  has  been  so  carefully  guarded. 

In  the  body  of  the  work,  the  Pulteney  estate  is  left  vested  in  Henrietta  Laura  Pulte- 
ney,  the  daughter  of  Sir  William  Pulteney.  She  died  in  July,  1808,  leaving  a  cousin, 
Sir  John  Lowther  Johnson,  her  sole  heir.  He  died  in  December,  1811 ;  previous  to 
which  he  had  executed  a  will  devising  all  of  his  real  estate  in  America,  in  trust,  (to  be 
sold  and  the  proceeds  specifically  appropriated,)  to  Ernest  Augustus,  Duke  of  Cumber 
land,  Charles  Herbert  Pierrepoint,  David  Cathcart  and  Masterton  lire.  In  these  trus 
tees,  and  their  successors,  the  title  now  remains,  in  trust  for  two  sons  of  George  Frede 
rick  Johnstone,  who  was  an  only  son  of  Sir  James  Lowther  Johnstone.  The  heirs  are 

twins,  born  after  the  death  of  their  father,  and  are  now  minors,  being  but  1 1  years  of 
age.    Thev  reside  in  Scotland. 

The  portion  of  the  original  estate  of  the  London  Associates,  which  in  the  division, 

fell  to  Gov.  William  Hornby,  is  owned  by  his  grand-children  who  reside  in  London. 

*  Smellie  had  been  an.  Indian  captive. 


482  APPENDIX. 

[NO.  12.] 

BED  JACKET  — FARMER'S  BROTHER  — INDIAN  WAR  DANCE. 
[FROM  MANUSCRIPTS  OF  THOMAS  MOBRIS.] 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  here,  an  anecdote  that  was  told,  and  which  was 
generally  believed  to  be  correct,  as  to  the  means  resorted  to  by  Red  Jacket  to  become 
a  Sachem.  The  Sachemship  is  derived  from  birth,  and  the  descent  is  in  the  female 
line,  because  they  say  the  offspring  of  the  mother  is  always  known  to  be  legitimate  ; 
the  War- Chiefs  only,  are  selected  for  bravery  and  merit.  Red  Jacket,  though  of 
obscure  birth,  was  determined  to  become  a  Sachem.  To  effect  his  purpose,  he  announ 
ced  to  the  Indians,  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  made  known  to  him  in  a  dream,  that  their 
Nation  would  never  prosper,  until  they  made  of  him  a  Sachem.  For  some  time,  very 
little  attention  was  paid  to  this  pretended  revelation  ;  but  the  dreamer  artfully  availed 
himself  of  every  calamity  that  befel  the  Nation  —  such  as  an  unusually  sickly  season, 
the  small  pox  spreading  among  them,  and  attributed  all  the  misfortunes  of  the  Nation 
to  their  not  complying  with  the  will  of  the  Great  Spirit.  He  is  said  to  have  persevered 
in  this  course  until  he  was  made  a  Sachem. 

The  Farmer's  Brother  was  a  tall,  powerful  man,  much  older  than  Red  Jacket,  per 
fectly  honest,  and  possessing,  and  deserving  to  possess,  the  confidence  of  the  Nation. 
He  was  dignified  and  fluent  in  his  public  speaking  ;  and  although  not  gifted  with  the 
brilliancy  of  Red  Jacket,  he  possessed  good  common  sense  and  was  esteemed  both  by 
the  white  people  and  the  Indians. 

It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  describe  a  religious  ceremony  to  which  I  had  been 
invited,  and  joined  in,  during  this  treaty.  It  being  full  moon  ;  the  ceremony  was  in 
honor  of  that  luminary.  There  were  present  probably  1500  Indians ;  we  were  all 
seated  on  the  ground  forming  a  large  circle,  excepting  that  part  of  it,  where  a  fire  was 
burning,  and  not  far  from  which  was  a  pillar  or  post,  representing  the  stake  to  which 
criminals  are  tied  when  tortured,  after  having  been  taken  in  battle.  A  very  old  Cayuga 
Chief,  much  distinguished  for  hi3  bravery,  and  called  the  Fish  Carrier,  rose,  and  address 
ed  the  Moon  in  a  speech  of  about  a  half  an  hour  in  length,  occasionally,  throwing  in 
the  fire  a  handful  of  tobacco,  as  an  offering.  After  this  speech,  we  all  stretched  our 
selves  full  length  upon  the  ground,  the  head  of  one,  touching  the  feet  of  another ; 
and  at  one  end  of  the  circle  commenced  the  utterance  of  a  guttural  sound  which  was 
repeated,  one  after  the  other,  by  every  person  present.  Then  followed  the  War-dances, 
performed  by  young  warriors,  naked  to  the  waist  band,  with  bodies  painted  with 
Btreaks  of  red,  down  their  backs  representing  streams  of  blood.  Occasionally  one  oi 
the  dancers  would  strike  the  post,  representing  the  tortured  prisoner,  and  into  whoso 
body  he  was  supposed  to  thrust  the  end  of  a  burning  stick  of  wood.  He  would  then 
brag  of  the  number  of  scalps  he  had  taken  from  those  of  his  tribe  or  nation.  After  the 
rum  drank  during  this  ceremony,  had  began  to  produce  its  effecL,  an  Oneida  warrior 
struck  the  post,  and  imprudently  began  to  boast  of  the  number  of  Indian  scalps  he  had 
taken  during  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  when  the  Oueidas  alone  had  sided  with  tho 
Americans,  and  the  Seuecas,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  and  Chippewas  with  the  British. — 
This  boast  excited  the  anger  of  the  others,  knives  were  drawn,  and  there  would  have 
been  bloody  work,  had  not  old  Fish  Carrier,  (who  was  venerated  both  on  account  of  his 
age  and  his  bravery,)  interposed.  He  arose,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  young  war 
riors,  told  them  that  when  any  of  them  had  attained  his  age,  and  had  taken  as  many 
scalps  as  he  had,  it  would  be  time  for  them  to  boast  of  what  they  had  done;  but  until  then 


APPENDIX.  483 

it  better  became  them  to  be  silent.  He  then  struck  the  post  and  kicked  it  over,  and 
caused  the  fire  to  be  put  out,  and  they  dispensed  peaceably. 

It  was  at  this  ceremony  that  I  received  the  Indian  name,  by  which  I  was  thereafter 
called  by  them.  That  name  was  0-tes-si-aw-ne,  which  was  translated  to  be  "  always 
ready."  Red  Jacket  told  me  that  it  was  his  name,  when  he  was  a  young  man;  but 
when  he  became  a  Sachem,  he  was  called  Sa-go-ye-wa-ta. 

And  in  this  connection  the  author  will  add  an  unpublished  reminiscence  of  Red  Jack 
et,  that  he  had  from  John  Dixson,  Esq.,  of  Bloomfield,  who  gave  Jasper  Parrish  as  his 
authority. 

The  Chief,  it  is  well  known,  was  no  renowned  warrior.  The  author,  in  his  boyhood, 
knew  him  well,  has  often  seen  him  in  his  wigwam  upon  the  Seneca  Reservation,  and  in 
his  frequent  journeyings  between  his  own  village  and  the  homes  of  his  people  upon  the 
Genesee  River.  He  was  never  popular  with  his  own  race  ;  his  influence  was  acquired 
alone  by  the  force  of  liis  superior  talents ;  he  would  govern  by  his  determined  will  and 
strong  intellectual  powers  ;  not  by  commanding  the  love  or  esteem  of  those  he  govern 
ed.  It  was  common  to  hear  him  called  a  coward ;  indeed  such  was  his  general  reputa 
tion  among  his  own  people.  But,  to  the  reminiscence  : — When  the  Indians  retreated 
before  Sullivan,  and  had  crossed  the  Canandaigua  outlet,  reaching  the  commanding 
bluff,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Lake,  Farmer's  Brother  insisted  upon  a  stand,  and  a  resis 
tance  of  the  invasion,  but  Red  Jacket  opposed  him  and  insisted  upon  a  continued  flight. 
Again,  at  the  old  Indian  orchard,  a  little  south  west  of  Canandaigua,  Farmer's  Broth 
er  was  for  standing  and  giving  battle,  but  met  with  the  same  opposition.  Turning  in  a 
spirit  of  indignation  to  the  squaw  of  Red  Jacket,  he  told  her  not  to  bear  sons  of  which 
He  was  the  father,  for  they  would  be  the  inheritors  of  his  cowardice. 


[NO.  13.] 

SHAY'S  REBELLION". 
[FOUND  AMONG  THE  PAPERS  OF  GEN.  ISRAEL  CHAPIN.] 

NORTHAMPTON,  5th  December,  1796. 
General  Orders  for  the  Militia  of  the  4th  Division. 

Whereas,  the  Legislature,  compose^  of  the  Representatives  of  the  good  people  of  this 
Commonwealth,  have,  at  their  late  meeting  for  that  purpose,  carefully  and  attentively 
examined  our  political  circumstances,  and  the  various  causes,  and  even  pretended  causes 
of  complaint  among-  us  of  late  ;  and  have,  as  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  interest  and 
happiness  of  the  State,  complied  with  the  wishes  of  every  of  its  citizens ;  and  have 
among  other  things,  prepared  and  published  an  accurate  statement  of  all  taxes  that 
have  been  granted,  and  the  sums  paid ;  also  the  sums  that  have  arisen  from  the  Impost 
and  Excise,  and  the  application  of  all  monies  within  the  State.  Also  the  whole  amount 
of  our  foreign  and  domestic  federal  debt,  and  the  particular  debt  of  this  State.  And 
have  enumerated  resources  competent  to  the  payment  of  the  whole,  accompanied  with 
agreements  convincing  to  all  honest  and  well  disposed  members  of  society  ;  and  finally 
have  even  indemnified  all  concerned  in  any  irregular  or  riotous  proceedings  in  any 
part  of  the  State  that  none  who  had  acted  from  mistaken  notions  of  propriety  and  civil 
duty,  might  be  precluded  from  returning  to  the  same. 

Notwithstanding  which,  there  are  still  some  persons  (so  restless  and  abandoned  to 
all  sense  of  social  obligations  and  tranquility  and  not  improbably  influenced  by  the 
clandestine  instigations  of  our  avowed  and  most  implacable  enemies)  again  embodying 


484  APPENDIX. 

under  arms  to  obstruct  the  course  of  law  and  justice,  and  perhaps  by  one  bold  stroke 
overturn  the  very  foundation  of  our  Government  and  Constitution,  and  on  their  ruins 
exert  the  unprincipled  and  lawless  domination  of  one  man.  The  General,  therefore, 
from  a  sense  of  duty,  and  desirous  to  ward  off  impending  evils,  no  less  than  in  compliance 
with  orders  from  his  excellency,  the  Governor,  once  more  entreats  and  even  conjures 
the  militia  of 'his  division,  both  Train  Band  and  Alarm  List,  and  indeed  every  class  of 
citizens,  as  they  prize  their  lives,  their  liberties,  their  prosperity,  and  their  country, 
unitedly  to  exert  themselves  to  prevent  those  ills  which  must  otherwise  inure.  And 
all  officers  commanding  Regiments,  are  hereby  requested  and  commanded  immediately 
to  march  with  all  the  effective  men  of  their  several  regiments  to  Brookrield,  in  the 
county  of  Worcester,  and  to  wait  further  orders  ;  the  commanders  of  regiments  will 
take  care  that  the  men  are  furnished  with  arms,  ammunition  and  accoutrements,  well 
clad,  and  with  fifteen  day's  provisions.  The  General  begs  that  no  little  personal  or 
private  considerations  may  take  place  of  the  very  near  regard  we  all  owe  our  country 
but  that  we  may  with  one  mind  contribute  in  our  several  conditions  to  reclaim  the  de 
luded,  bring  all  high  handed  offenders  to  the  punishment  they  so  justly  deserve,  and 
give  not  only  the  present  but  future  generations  proof  that  the  peace  and  dignity  of 
Massachusetts  is  not  to  be  attacked  with  impunity. 

WM.  SHEPARD,  Maj.  General 


[NO.  14.] 
LORD  DORCHESTER'S  SPEECH  TO  THE  INDIANS. 

"  CHILDREN  :  I  was  in  expectation  of  hearing  from  the  people  of  the  United  States, 
what  was  required  by  them ;  I  hoped  that  I  should  have  been  able  to  bring  you  together, 
and  make  you  friends.  ' 

"  CHILDREN  :  I  have  waited  long,  and  listened  with  great  attention,  but  I  have  not 
heard  one  word  from  them. 

"  CHILDREN  :  I  flattered  myself  with  the  hope  that  the  line  proposed  in  the  year 
eighty-three,  to  separate  us  from  the  United  States,  which  was  immediately  broken  by 
themselves  as  soon  as  peace  was  signed,  would  have  been  mended,  or  a  new  one  drawn, 
in  an  amicable  manner.  Here,  also,  I  have  been  disappointed. 

"  CHILDREN  :  Since  my  return,  I  find  no  appearance  of  a  line  remains ;  and  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  rush  on,  and  act,  and  talk,  on  this 
side ;  and  from  what  I  learn  of  their  conduct  toward  the  sea,  I  shall  not  be  surprised 
if  we  are  at  war  with  them  in  the  course  of  the  present  year ;  and  if  so,  a  line  must  then 
be  drawn  by  the  warriors. 

"  CHILDREN  :  You  talk  of  selling  your  lands  to  the  State  of  New  York.*  I  have  told 
yon  that  there  is  no  line  between  them  and  us ;  I  shall  acknowledge  no  lands  to  be 
their's  which  have  been  encroached  on  by  them  since  the  year  1783.  They  then  broke 
the  peace,  and  as  they  kept  it  not  on  their'  part,  it  doth  not  bind  on  ours. 

"CHILDDEN:  They  then  destroyed  their  right  of  pre-emption.  Therefore  all  their 
approaches  toward  us  since  that  time,  and  all  the  purchases  made  by  them,  I  consider 
as  an  infringement  on  the  King's  rights.  And  when  a  line  is  drawn  between  us,  be 

*  The  Caughnawaga  Indians,  residing  near  Montreal,  were  about  this  time  in  treaty 
with  Governor  George  Clinton,  for  the  sale  of  some  of  their  lands  lying  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  State  of  New  York.  The  late  Egbert  Benson  was  a  Commissioner 
on  the  part  of  the  State. 


APPENDIX.  485 

it  in  peace  or  war,  they  must  loose  all  their  improvements,  and  houses  on  one  side  of 
it,  those  people  must  all  be  gone  who  do  not  obtain  leave  to  become  the  King's  sub 
jects.  What  belongs  to  the  Indians  will  of  course,  be  secured  and  confirmed  to  them. 
"CHILDREN  :  What  farther  can  I  say  t<>  you  ?  You  are  witnesses  that  on  our  parts 
we  have  acted  in-  the  most  peaceable  manner,  and  borne  the  language  and  conduct  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States  with  patience.  But  I  believe  our  patience  is  almost 
exhausted."* 


[NO.  15.] 

WILLIAM  SWING'S   LETTER  TO   GEN.  CHAP1N WAYNE's  VICTORY.     ' 

GENESEO,  Sept.  17th,  1794 

ISRAEL  CHAPIN,  Esq.,  Sir  :  —  Agreeable  to  your  request,  the  26th  ultimo  I  left  this 
place  to  go  and  see  Capt.  Brant,  and  bring  him  forward  to  Canandaigua  if  possible. 
As  I  passed  through  Buffalo  Creek  settlement,  I  was  told  by  Red  Jacket,  one  of  the 
Seneca  chiefs,  that  the  Indians  at  that  place,  and  the  Six  Nations  in  different  parts  of 
the  country  around,  had  not  yet  determined,  whether  they  would  attend  the  treaty  at 
Canandaigua  or  not;  that  they  were  waiting  for  Capt.  O'Bail  (Corn  planter,)  and  other 
chiefs  to  come  in,  whose  arrival  was  hourly  expected,  when  they  should  determine 
what  answer  to  send  to  your  invitation,  though  himself  and  many  others,  from  the 
first,  was  determined  to  attend  your  council  fire.  I  was  also  told  by  young  Jemison, 
a  Seneca  Indian,  that  Col.  Butler  left  that  place  a  few  hours  before  I  arrived,  who 
had  been  in  council  with  the  Indians  some  days  past,  and  that  he  was  of  an  opinion 
that  Butler  was  trying  to  stop  the  Indians,  and  he  did  not  think  they  would  go  to 
Canandaigua.  I  from  this  place  crossed  the  river  to  the  British  side,  and  proceeded  down 
the  river  to  Niagara  Fort.  I  found  the  British  had  been  much  alarmed  at  Gen. 
"Wayne's  advancing  into  the  Indian  country.  The  news  was  that  Wayne  had  an  en- 

*  The  authenticity  of  this  speech  of  Lord  Dorchester  is  denied  by  Chief  Justice 
Marshall,  and  Mr.  Sparks,  in  his  Life  arid  Correspondence  of  Washington,  notes  that 
denial  without  dissent.  Hence  it  has  been  received  as  spurious,  and  Lord  Dorchester, 
with  his  Government,  has  escaped  the  responsibility  of  having  uttered  such  an  un 
warrantable  document.  The  first  copy  was  forwarded  to  President  Washington  by 
Governor  Clinton,  who  did  not  doubt  its  genuineness.  Neither  did  the  President ; 
since,  in  his  letter  to  Governor  Clinton,  acknowledging  its  receipt,  he  states  his  reasons 
at  large  for  dissenting  from  the  opinions  of  those  who  were  proclaiming  it  to  be  spurious. 
On  the  contrary,  he  declared  that  he  entertained  "  not  a  doubt  of  its  authenticity." 
Equally  strong  was  he  in  the  opinion,  that  in  making  such  a  speech,  Lord  Dorchester 
had  spoken  the  sentiments  of  the  British  Cabinet,  according  to  his  instructions.  On 
the  20th  of  May,  the  attention  of  the  British  Minister,  Mr.  Hammond,  was  called  to  the 
subject  bv  the  Secretary  of  State,  Edmund  Randolph,  who  remonstrated  strongly,  not 
only  against  the  speech,  but  against  the  conduct  of  Governor  Sirncoe,  who  was  then 
engaged  in  measures  of  a  hostile  character.  Mr.  Hammond  replied  on  the  22d  of 
May,  rather  tartly  ;  and,  what  renders  the  denial  of  the  speech  by  Marshall  and  Sparks 
the  more  singular,  is  the  fact,  that  the  British  Minister  said  in  that  letter  : — "  I  am 
willing  to  admit  the  authenticity  of  the  speech." — [See  T.  B.  Wait  $?  Son's  Edition 
of  American  State  Papers,  vol.  1,  pages  449 — 453.]  "  But  if  doubt  has  existed  be 
fore,  as  to  the  genuine  character  of  that  document,  it  shall  no  longer  exist.  I  have 
myself  transcribed  the  preceding  extracts  from  a  certified  manuscript  copy,  discovered 
among  the  papers  of  Joseph  Brant  in  my  possession." — Author  of  Life  of  Brant. 

NOTE. — If  confirmation,  other  than  that  furnished  by  Col.  Stone,  is  required,  the 
papers  of  Gen.  Israel  Chapin  will  supply  it.  As  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  in  this 
region,  Gen.  Chapin  obtained  authentic  information  of  the  extraordinary  speech  of  Lord 
Dorchester  a  few  days  after  it  was  delivered. — AUTHOR. 


486  APPEKDIX. 

gagement  with  the  Indians,  that  the  action  commenced  in  what  is  called  the  Glaize, 
and  that  he  had  defeated  and  completely  routed  the  Indians,  and  drove  them  six  or 
seven  miles  down  the  Miami  of  the  Lakes,  below  the  Fort  at  the  rapids,  built  by  the 
British,  and  that  as  he  passed  by  the  Fort  he  demanded  it,  but  the  officer  in  command 
of  it,  refused  to  comply  with  his  request,  and  he  passed  on  without  giving  any  dam 
age  to  the  Fort.  Some  said  there  was  100  Indians,  some  150,  some  60  and  35  killed 
and  taken,  and  that  the  loss  on  Wayne's  side  was  very  great,  two  or  three  hundred. 
But  the  best  information,  and  what  I  most  depended  on  was,  I  lodged  at  what  is  called 
the  Chippewa  Fort,  at  the  head  of  the  Great  Falls,  at  the  head  of  the  carrying 
place,  and  I  overheard  a  Mr.  Powell,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Detroit,  relating  to 
the  officer  the  news  of  that  country,  and  among  the  rest  he  told  him  he  thought  there 
was  eighty  or  ninety  Indians  and  white  people  lost  in  all ;  he  said  also  there  was  no 
dependence  to  be  put  in  the  Militia  of  Detroit,  for  when  Wayne  was  in  the  country 
they  refused  doing  duty  in  the  Fort.  Gov.  Simcoe  had  called  out  all  the  Militia  of 
the  country  about  Niagara,  it  was  said  to  man  the  posts  through  or  to  send  up  to  De 
troit,  but  upon  hearing  that  Gen.  Wayne  had  returned  back  to  his  Forts,  some  were 
discharged,  some  deserted,  and  about  sixty  were  kept  in  Barracks,  so  that  every  thing 
seemed  to  be  suspended  for  the  present.  I  from  Niagara  Fort  proceeded  on  to  the 
head  of  Lake  Ontario,  about  twenty  miles  from  Capt.  Brant's  settlement,  at  which 
place  I  got  certain  information  that  Capt.  Brant  had  set  off  some  days  past  for  De 
troit.  At  this  place  I  also  found  he  had  wrote  you  a  letter  the  day  he  started,  and 
that  a  Dr.  Carr  had  it,  which  I  afterwards  contrived  to  get.  It  was  said  Brant's  object 
was  to  meet  the  Southern  Indians  at  Detroit,  though  I  believe  he  has  taken  150  or  200 
warriors  with  him,  but  his  object  will  be  known  in  a  future  day.  I  returned  by  Ni 
agara  and  Buffalo  creek.  I  was  told  at  Niagara,  that  Gen.  Simcoe  would  set  off  for 
Detroit  in  a  day  or  two  to  meet  Capt.  Brant  and  the  other  Indians,  and  to  strengthen 
the  Fort  at  the  Miami.  The  13th  instant  Simcoe  arrived  at  Fort  Erie  opposite  Buffalo 
creek,  and  Col.  McKay  from  Detroit  met  him  there.  The  day  folloAviug  the  Indians 
from  Buffalo  creek  were  called  over  to  council  with  them.  Simcoe  there  told  them 
when  he  was  going,  and  that  he  was  going  to  make  his  forts  strong,  and  to  put  more 
men  in  them,  that  if  Wayne  should  return,  he  would  not  be  able  to  injure  them,  that 
the  fort  at  the  Rapids  was  not  strong,  nor  but  a  few  men  in  it  when  Gen.  Wayne  came 
past  it,  but  that  he  now  should  make  it  very  strong,  and  put  a  great  many  men 
in  it,  so  that  he  would  be  able  to  protect  the  Indians  for  the  future  ;  he  told  them  the 
Indians  had  lost  but  thirty-five  warriors,  and  five  or  six  white  men  in  the  last  engage 
ment  with  Wayne,  but  that  Wayne  had  lost  a  great  many,  two  or  three  hundred  men 
supposed,  and  that  he  would  not  have  drove  them,  only  the  Indians  were  not  collec 
ted.  This  it  seems  was  the  news  Col.  McKay  brought,  but  times  would  soon  alter,  for 
the  Indians  were  collecting  from  all  quarters,  and  from  all  nations,  that  a  greater  force 
was  already  collected,  and  they  were  coming  in  daily,  and  that  he  observed  Capt. 
Brant  was  gone  with  a  number  of  warriors,  and  that  the  destination  of  the  Indians 
was  to  give  Wayne  a  decisive  stroke,  and  drive  them  out  of  the  country.  This  I  was 
told  by  one  of  the  Indians  who  was  at  the  council.  The  next  day  Simcoe  and  McKay 
sailed  for  Detroit.  After  this  council  I  saw  Red  Jacket,  and  he  informed  me  that  the 
Indians  would  all  go  to  the  treaty  at  Canandaigua,  that  the  next  day  they  would  go 
into  council  among  themselves,  and  agree  upon  the  time  they  should  start,  and  where 
to  meet  you,  and  in  two  days  time  they  should  send  off  runners  to  let  you  know,  but 
that  there  was  not  the  least  doubt  but  all  the  Indians  would  attend,  but  my  opinion  is 
it  will  be  fifteen  or  twenty  days  before  they  all  collect.  I  cannot  perceive  any  differ- 


APPENDIX.  487 

ence  in  the  Indians  at  Buffalo  creek,  they  appear  as  friendly  as  ever,  and  I  do  not 
tliink  they  wish  a  disturbance  with  the  United  States,  were  it  not  for  the  British.  As 
to  Brant,  although  he  is  now  gone  away  to  the  South,  and  will  not  attend  the  treaty 
and  every  appearance  is  hostile,  yet  I  cannot  but  entertain  favorable  ideas  of  his  con 
duct  and  peaceable  wishes  towards  the  United  States  ;  he  acts  open  and  candid  and 
the  part  he  is  now  acting,  it  appears  to  me,  he  is  rather  forced  into  it  by  the  British, 
and  the  promises  he  has  made  to  them  Southern  Indians  heretofore,  though  I  cannot 
but  think  from  the  conversation  I  have  had  with  him  some  time  past,  and  what  I  have 
heard  in  many  other  places,  but  that  his  real  wish  and  desire  is  that  a  peace  might  be 
brought  about  between  the  United  States,  and  all  the  Indian  nations,  and  that  although 
he  now  acts  in  the  capacity  of  a  warrior,  that  he  would  be  as  willing  to  take  hold  of 
the  olive  branch  of  peace,  as  the  bloody  tomahawk. 

I  am,  Sir  with  respect,  your  most  obt.  and  most  humble  servt., 

WM.  EWING. 


[NO.  16.] 
UNPUBLISHED  REMINISCENCES  OF  RED  JACKET. 

"Many  years  ago,"  says  Thomas  Maxwell,  Esq.,  of  Elmira,  "in  conversation  with 
Red  Jacket  at  Bath,  after  a  little  fire  water  had  thawed  his  reserve,  the  chief  remark 
ed,  that  when  a  boy,  he  was  present  at  a  great  council  fire  held  on  the  Shenandoah. 
Many  nations  were  represented  by  their  wise  men  and  orators,  but  the  greatest  was 
Logan,  who  had  removed  from  the  territory  of  his  tribe  to  Shemokin.  He  was  the 
son  of  Shikelleimus,  a  celebrated  chief  of  the  Cayuga  nation,  who  was  a  warm  friend 
of  the  whites  before  the  Revolution.  On  the  occasion  alluded  to,  Red  Jacket  remark 
ed,  that  he  was  so  charmed  with  his  manner  and  style  of  delivery,  that  he  resolved  to 
attain  if  possible,  the  same  high  standard  of  eloquence ;  though  he  almost  despaired 
of  equaling  his  distinguished  model. 

He  said  that  after  his  return  to  his  then  home,  at  Kanadesaga,  near  Geneva,  he 
sometimes  incurred  the  reproofs  and  displeasure  of  his  mother,  by  long  absence  from 
her  cabin  without  any  ostensible  cause.  When  hard  pressed  for  an  answer  he  inform 
ed  his  mother  that  he  had  been  playing  Logan." 

Thus  in  his  mighty  soul,  the  fire  of  a  generous  emulation  had  been  kindled  not  to 
go  out,  until  his  oratorical  fame  threw  a  refulgent  glory  on  the  declining  fortunes  of 
the  once  formidable  Iroquois.  In  the  deep  and  silent  forest  he  practiced  elocution,  or 
to  use  his  own  expressive  language,  played  Logan,  until  he  caught  the  manner  and 
tone  of  his  great  master.  What  a  singular  revelation !  Unconsciously  the  forest  ora 
tor  was  an  imitator  of  the  eloquent  Greek,  who  tuned  his  voice  on  the  wild  sea  beach, 
to  the  thunders  of  the  surge,  and  caught  from  nature's  altar  his  lofty  inspiration. 

Not  without  previous  preparation,  and  the  severest  discipline,  did  Red  Jacket  acquire 
his  power  of  moving  and  melting  his  hearers.  His  graceful  attitudes,  significant 
gestures,  perfect  intonation,  and  impressive  pauses,  when  the  lifted  finger  and  flashing 
eye  told  more  than  utterance,  were  the  results  of  sleepless  toil ;  while  his  high  acquire 
ment,  was  the  product  of  stern,  habitual  thought,  study  of  man,  and  keen  observation 
of  eternal  nature. 

He  did  not  trust  to  the  occasion  alone  for  his  finest  periods,  and  noblest  metaphors. 
In  the  armory  of  his  capacious  intellect  the  weapons  of  forensic  warfare  had  been  pre 
viously  polished  and  stored  away.  Ever  ready  for  the  unfaltering  tongue,  was  the  cut- 


488  APPENDIX. 

ting  rebuke,  or  apt  illustration.  Let  not  the  superficial  candidate  for  fame  in  Senate 
halls,  suppose  for  a  moment,  that  Sa-go-ye-wat-ha,  "The  Keeper  Awake,"  was  a 
speaker  who  sprung  up  fully  equipped  for  debate,  without  grave  meditation,  and  cun 
ning  anticipation  of  whatever  an  adversary  might  advance,  or  maintain. 

By  labor,  like  all  other  great  men,  persevering  labor,  too  — he  achieved  his  renown. 
A  profound  student,  though  unlettered,  he  found  "  books  in  the  running  brooks,  ser 
mons  in  stones."  By  exercising  his  faculties  in  playing  Logan  when  a  boy,  —  one  of 
the  highest  standards  of  mortal  eloquence,  either  in  ancient  or  modem  times  —  he  has 
left  a  lesson  to  all  ambitious  aspirants,  that  there  is  no  royal  road  to  greatness  ;  that 
the  desired  goal  is  only  to  be  gained  by  scaling  rugged  cliffs,  and  treading  painful  paths. 


[NO.  17.] 
CAPT.  BRUFF'S  LETTER. 

"NIAGARA,  Sept.,  1797. 

"DR.  Sir:  —  Recent  information,  not  to  be  disguised,  assures  us  that  emmissaries 
have  been  among  the  Indians  residing  within  the  territorial  limits  of  the  United  States, 
to  engage  them  in  hostile  enterprises  against  the  posts,  and  from  a  combination  of 
circumstances,  it  is  feared  that  they  have  been  too  successful. 

"  Accounts  from  Detroit  say  that  the  Indians  there  are  very  surly,  and  have  planted 
no  crops ;  that  numbers  have  gone  over  the  Mississippi,  and  that  others  have  collected 
in  bodies  near  the  posts  St.  Josephs,  Mackinaw,  and  other  points,  whose  views  are 
unknown,  but  must  be  apprehended.  That  the  French  inhabitants  of  the  post  St. 
Vincent  have  revolted,  taken  the  national  cockade,  and  declared  for  France  and  Spain. 
That  the  attachment  of  these  at  Detroit,  cannot  be  much  relied  upon.  That  the 
Spaniards  have  not  yet  given  up  the  posts,  but  are  collected  in  force,  high  up  the  Mis 
sissippi.  These  menacing  appearances  ;  the  hostile  messages  to  the  western  Indians, 
theLo  to  the  Seven  Nations  of  Canada,  and  theirs  to  the  Six  Nations;  the  doubtful 
disposition  of  the  latter  towards  us ;  the  admonition  of  the  Secretary  of  War  in  his 
last  communication,  "to  use  the  same  precautions  as  if  the  United  States  were  actually 
at  war;"  with  the  remembrance  of  the  deep  laid  schemes  of  Pontiac;  are  sufficient 
to  put  us  on  our  guard,  if  not  to  alarm  us,  on  account  of  our  present  reduced  numbers, 
and  the  distance  from  which  we  are  to  look  for  succor.  For  provided  the  Indians  and 
those  that  set  them  on,  are  politic,  they  may  so  manage  the  attack  upon  the  posts  on 
either  side,  that  the  other  would  hesitate  about  giving  aid  that  might  involve  the 
nation  in  an  Indian  war. 

For  some  weeks  past,  our  neighbors,  the  Tuscaroras,  have  been  very  shy ;  the  few 
that  have  visited  us  are  distant.  There  are  at  present  about  fifty  warriors  of  Chippewa 
and  Ottawa  nations  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  a  large  number  are  expected  in  a  few 
days  ;  ostensibly  to  hold  a  council  with  the  Governor  about  supplies.  Those  already 
arrived  have  been  importunate  for  arms  and  ammunition,  and  I  understand  have  ob 
tained  a  gun  each." 

[Capt.  Bruff  closes  his  long  letter  with  some  account  of  the  indefensible  condition 
of  Fort  Niagara,  and  suggestions  to  as  keeping  watch  of  the  Indians,  and  other  precau 
tionary  measures.] 


[NO.  18.] 
On  his  return  to  England,  John  B.  Church  having  been  a  decided  partizan  in  the 


APPENDIX.  489 

Revolution,  and  moreover,  having  connected  himself  by  marriage,  with  so  notorious  a 
"rebel"  family  as  the  Schuylers,  found  himself  not  in  repute  with  the  high  tory  par 
ty,  and  had  especially  the  disfavor  of  his  patron  uncle.  Fortunately,  however,  the 
American  adventurer  was  as  independent  in  his  purse  as  in  his  politics,  and  soon  grew 
in  favor  with  Fox  and  Pitt,  and  their  party.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  British 
Parliament,  from  Wendover,  warmly  espoused  the  liberal  party,  and  adhered  to  Mr. 
Fox,  when  it  was  said  in  decision  that  "his  party  could  go  to  the  House  of  Commons 
in  a  hackney  coach." 

The  country  residence  of  the  family  was  but  four  miles  from  Windsor  Castle,  and 
the  family  physician  was  the  physician  of  George  the  Third.  Long  before  it  transpir 
ed  publicly,  the  physician  informed  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Church  of  the  King's  aberration  of 
mind,  and  he  did  not  hesitate,  confidentially,  to  attribute  the  developement  of  heredita 
ry  tendency,  to  the  loss  of  American  Colonies. 

The  house  of  Mr.  Church  in  London  was  a  frequent  resort  of  Fox  and  Pitt ;  of  pro 
minent  Americans  who  visited  London  ;  and  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  French  Rev 
olution,  when  the  refugees  fled  to  London,  he  had  as  guests,  Talleyrand,  and  many 
of  his  companions,  with  most  of  whom  he  had  become  acquainted  in  America  and 
Paris.  Judge  Church  speaks  of  the  happy  faculty  of  the  French  to  be  gay  and  light 
hearted  even  in  the  darkest  hours  of  adversity.  The  men  who  had  fled  from  what  M. 
A.  Thiers  calls  the  "  Sanguinary  Republic  of  '93"  —  from  the  rack  and  the  guillotine 
—  statesmen  and  courtiers  —  stripped  of  their  possessions  and  dependent  upon  the 
purses  of  their  friends  for  the  means  of  subsistence ;  were  yet  cheerful  and  seemingly 
happy,  seeking  amusements,  and  endeavoring  to  make  dull  and  smoky  London  as  gay 
as  their  own  deroted  capital  had  been. 

In  Paris,  Judge  Church  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Talleyrand,  and  it  was  by 
means  of  the  assistance  he  rendered  him  that  the  refugee  Minister  was  enabled  to  reach 
this  country,  when  the  British  Ministers  had  ordered  him  to  leave  London  in  twenty- 
four  hours.  Afterwards,  when  he  had  returned  to  Paris,  and  was  flourishing  again  under 
a  new  dynasty,  he  remembered  the  kindness,  but  the  demonstrations  of  his  gratitude 
were  marked  with  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  man.  John  Church,  a  son  of  his 
benefactor,  having  taken  up  his  residence  in  Paris,  received  from  him  a  general  invitation 
to  all  his  evening  parties,  and  besides,  an  invitation  that  at  his  weekly  dinners  there  was 
always  a  "knife,  fork,  and  pbte  for  him."  This  had  continued  for  a  while,  when  the 
welcome  guest,  discovered  that  some  change  had  come  over  his  host ; —  coldness  and 
reserve  had  taken  the  place  of  cordial  welcomes.  An  explanation  followed.  One  evening 
as  Mr.  Church  entered  his  apartments,Talleyrand  beckoned  him  to  a  deep  window  recess 
and  whispered  : — "  Mr.  Church,  I  am  always  happy  to  see  you,  but  you  must  not  feel 
unpleasantly  if  I  pay  no  attention  to  you ;  I  am  so  watched  that  I  cannot  be  civil  to 
any  person  from  England  or  America."  The  anecdote  will  be  adjudged  in  good 
keeping  with  the  whole  character  of  the  man. 

Judge  Church  relates  many  anecdotes  which  illustrates  the  ill  feeling  that  prevailed 
in  England,  after  the  Revolution,  and  especially  pending  the  Jay  treaty,  to  every 
tiling  that  was  American.  His  school-fellows  at  Eaton,  were  generally  the  sons  of  the 
nobility,  and  of  high  toiy  blood,  and  their  boy  partizanship  could  hardly  tolerate  the 
sentiments  of  a  representative  of  the  disenthralled  colonies.  French  politics  was  soon 
introduced,  and  the  young  American,  following  the  lead  of  his  father,  was  inclined  to 
be  a  French  republican  ;  manifesting  upon  one  occasion  a  little  exultation  over  the  fate 
of  Louis  XVI,  he  provoked  the  bitterest  resentments  of  his  school-fellows. 

When  the  family  left  London,  in  '97,  there  was  employed  about  the  King's  home 
stead,  a  young  Frenchman,  in  the  capacity  of  a  cook  or  confectioner.  He  had  made 
31 


490  APPENDIX. 

himself  obnoxious  to  the  tones  by  his  ultra  French  republicanism,  and  would  sino* 
snatches  of  French  revolutionary  ballads,  in  the  very  precincts  of  royalty,  and  at  the  ale 
houses.  Some  official  of  the  King's  household  quietly  arranged  his  employment  by  Mr. 
Church,  and  lie  came  to  America  with  his  family ;  afterwards,  establishing  himself  as  a 
confectioner  in  New  York.  He  was  the  father  of  Godey,  the  founder  of  Godey's  Maga 
zine,  in  Philadelphia. 

Most  readers  are  familiar  with  the  attempt  of  Dr.  B  oilman  and  Huger  to  release  La 
Fayette  from  the  prison  of  Olmutz.  The  daring  adventurers  reaching  London,  made 
acquaintance  of  John  B.  Church,  who  had  known  La  Fayette  when  a  guest  at  his  fath 
er-in-law's  house,  in  Albany,  in  other  places  during  the  Revolution,  and  afterwards  in 
Paiis  and  London ;  and  feeling  a  lively  interest  in  the  project  for  his  release,  he  at  once 
seconded  it ;  in  his  house,  in  London,  the  plan  was  matured,  and  he  contributed  means 
for  prosecuting  it* 

Judge  Philip  Church  bears  upon  his  person  a  relic  of  the  Border  Wars  of  the  Revolu 
tion  ;  a  slight  scar  upon  his  forehead  ;  connected  with  which  is  an  interestipg  liistorical 
reminiscence,  different  versions  of  which  have  already  been  incorporated  in  history.  In 
August,  1797,  a  scheme  was  devised  by  Sir  Frederick  Haldimand,  the  British  comman 
der,  in  Canada,  to  secure  Gen.  Schuyler  at  Albany,  and  by  getting  possession  of  him, 
remove  the  powerful  influence  he  was  exercising  against  the  success  of  the  banded 
British  tones  and  Indians.  John  Waltemeyer,  a  tory  refugee  was  entmsted  with  the 
command  of  the  expedition.  "With  a  gang  of  tories,  Canadians  and  Indians,  he  crossed 
the  Bt  Lawrence,  and  reached  the  pine  plains  between  Albany  and  Schenectady,  where 
they  lurked  about  for  several  days  until  they  could  ascertain  the  precise  position  of 
General  Schuyler's  mansion,  which  stood  upon  the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  then  settled  portions  of  Albany.  Attempts  having  been 
previously  made  upon  his  life,  he  had  a  good  supply  of  arms,  and  a  pretty  strong  body 
guard  of  servants.  He  had  beside  reliable  information  that  Waltemeyer  and  Ms  party 
were  in  the  neighborhood,  and  well  imagined  their  errand. 

With  reference  to  defence,  the  house  was  so  arranged,  that  at  night  the  only  access 
was  in  the  rear,  and  that  was  barred  by  an  iron  gate,  which  was  kept  locked.  Sit 
ting  with  his  numerous  family  in  the  main  hall,  in  a  sultry  evening,  a  servant  came  and 
informed  him  that  a  man  was  at  the  gate  wishing  to  speak  to  him.  In  reply  to  the 
question  as  to  where  the  man  came  from,  the  servant  replied  that  he  "  thought  he  came 
down  the  hill  from  the  woods."  The  moment  the  General  heard  this,  he  ordered  all 
the  lights  to  be  extinguished,  the  servants  to  arm  themselves,  and  the  family  to  retreat 
to  the  garret  Unfortunately,  Mrs.  John  B.  Church,  the  day  previous,  seeing  that  her 

*  When  La  Fayette  visited  Rochester  in  his  American  tour,  a  member  of  the  commit 
tee  of  reception  was  introducing  the  ladies  as  they  one  after  another,  in  quick  succession, 
presented  themselves.  In  the  crowd  was  a  daughter  of  Judge  Church.  As  she 
approached,  La  Fayette  addressed  the  committee  man,  saying  :  —  "  Sir,  you  need  not 
introduce  this  young  lady,  she  is  a  deseendant  of  my  old  friend  Angelica  Schuyler;" 
[wife  of  Gen.  Philip  Sehuyler,]  at  the  same  time  advancing  and  shaking  her  cordially 
by  the  hand.  This  was  the  recognition  of  a  family  resemblance  after  the  lapse  of  over 
forty  years  !  This  is  almost  incredible,  and  yet  the  author  witnessed  in  the  Nation'? 
guest,  similar  instances  of  his  extraordinary  recognition  of  persons,  and  family  resem 
blances.  In  a  letter  to  Judge  Church,  dated  at  La  Grange,  in  1826,  he  alludes  to  the 
circumstance  :  —  "  Happy  I  am  in  the  opportunity  to  remind  vou  of  the  old  friend  of 
your  beloved  parents ;  to  present  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Church,  doubly  dear  to  my  most 
precious  recollections ;  and  to  your  amiable  daughter  whom  a  friendly  image  engraved 
on  my  heart,  made  me  recognize  before  she  was  named  to  me. 

Your  affectionate  friend,  LA  FAYETTE." 


APPENDIX.  491 

infant  son,  (the  present  Judge  P.  Church)  was  meddling  with  tho  muskets,  had  them 
removed  to  a  back  closet  or  entry.  Gen.  Schuyler,  looking  out  at  the  window,  saw 
that  his  house  was  surrounded  by  armed  men,  and  immediately  posted  himself  with 
the  servants  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  with  the  best  defences  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on  ;  resolved  at  least  to  protect  tho  family.  The  banditti  soon  forced  an  entrance  into 
the  house.  At  this  juncture,  Miss  Margaret  Schuyler,  (afterwards  the  wife  of  Gen. 
Stephen  Van  Rensselear,)  discovered  that  her  infant  sister  had  been  left  asleep  in  a 
cradle  upon  the  ground  floor.  Rushing  down  stairs,  and  passing  her  father,  against  his 
remonstrances,  she  seized  the  child  and  was  passing  the  beseigers,  when  "Waltemeyer 
mistaking  her  for  a  servant  maid,  demanded  of  her — "  Where  is  your  master  ?"  "Gone 
to  call  the  guard,"  she  replied  with  great  presence  of  mind,  as  she  made  a  safe  retreat 
with  the  child.  Presuming  that  the  chief  object  of  the  visit  had  escaped,  they  com 
menced  plundering  the  house,  and  were  in  the  dining  room  securing  the  plate.  Three  of 
the  servants  had  possessed  themselves  of  arms,  and  Gen.  Schuyler  having  his  side  arms,  as 
good  a  resistance  was  made  as  their  strength  would  admit,  but  the  superior  force  finally 
obliged  all  to  retreat  to  the  upper  rooms  of  the  house.  Waltemeyer  and  his  party  pur 
sued,  and  just  as  they  were  about  to  make  prisoners  of  the  whole  family,  Gen.  Schuy 
ler  hit  upon  an  ingenious  and  successful  expedient.  Suddenly  raising  a  window,  as  if 
a  host  had  come  to  his  rescue,  hallowing  out  to'the  evening  air,  in  a  loud  voice,  there  were 
no  friends  to  hear  :  —  "  My  friends,  my  friends,  quickly,  surround  the  house  and  let  not 
one  of  the  rascals  escape  1"  The  banditti  were  panic  stricken,  ran  down  stairs,  sweep 
ing  the  silver  from  the  side  board  as  they  passed,  and  hurrying  off  with  them  in  their 
retreat  to  the  woods  as  captives  two  slaves, —  the  first  armed  rescue  perhaps,  of  "per 
sons  held  to  service,"  that  ever  transpired  in  this  State.  No  one  was  killed  in  the 
melee  ;  Waltemeyer  received  a  slight  wound  from  a  pistol  shot  of  Gen.  Schuyler,  a 
servant  was  slightly  wounded.  The  slight  injury  of  the  child,  named  in  the  introduc 
tion,  was  had  in  the  hurried  retreat  to  the  garret. 

The  failure  of  Gen.  Schuyler  to  bring  to  his  aid  any  of  the  then  few  citizens  of  the 
milage  of  Albany,  was  owing  to  a  most  ingenious  contrivance  of  Waltemeyer.  During 
his  ambush  in  the  woods,  he  had  come  across  a  woman,  whom  he  bribed  to  precede 
him  in  his  attack  and  report,  in  the  village  that  there  was  a  dead  man  in  the  woods, 
off  in  another  direction  from  Gen.  Schuyler's  house.  The  trick  succeeded.  When  the 
alarm  was  given  the  men  of  the  village  were  away  searching  for  the  dead  man. 

In  his  retreat,  Waltemeyer  and  his  party  took  General  Gordon  from  his  bed,  at 
Ballston,  and  carried  him  to  Canada. 


NOTE.  —  The  author  gives  the  account  form  memorandums  taken  in  conversation 
with  Judge  Church.  He  had  the  account  from  his  mother  in  1825.  The  relation  does 
not  vary  materially  from  the  account  of  Col.  Stone,  in  his  Life  of  Brant ;  except  that 
he  states  that  in  addition  to  the  servants  of  the  house,  Gen.  Schuyler  had  a  body  guard 
of  six  men,  three  of  whom  were  on  duty.  Col.  S.  gives  their  names,  and  says  that 
Gen.  Schuyler  afterwards  gave  each  of  them  a  farm  in  Saratoga  county.  Gen  Schuy- 
ler  died  in  1805. 

A  writer  in  the  Albany  Express,  a  few  years  since,  speaking  of  the  old  Schuyler 
mansion  in  Albany,  says  :  —  "  Here  also  the  illustrious  Hamilton,  woed  and  won  the 
daughter  of  its  hospitable  proprietor,  that  venerable  and  excellent  woman,  who  still 
lives  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  her  intellectual  faculties,  one  of  the  few  remnants  of  the 
Revolutionary  age.  Another  daughter  of  Gen.  Schuyler,  a  lady  of  great  beauty  and 
accomplishments,  was  also  married  in  this  house,  to  John  B.  Church,  of  London,  who 
came  out  to  this  country  during  the  Revolution.  Among  its  illustrious  guests  have 
been  :  —  Washington,  La  Fayette,  Louis  Phillipe,  Lwd  Sterling,  Talleyrand,  Chaute- 
briand,  and  Chastelleux." 


492  APPENDIX. 

[NO.  19.] 

MR.  JAMES  D.  BEMIS'  COTEMPORARY  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  ADVENT  TC 
GENESEE  COUNTRY. 

Extract  of  a  letter  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daniel  Ward,  of  Albany  :  —  [Mrs.  Ward  was  a 
sister  of  Mr,  Bemis,  -was  the  mother  of  Samuel  and  Henry  Ward,  and  Mrs.  Oran 
Follett] 

"After  being  at  Utica  upwards  of  seven  -weeks,  my  patience  was  so  far  exhausted, 
that  I  determined,  notwithstanding  the  badness  of  the  roads  to  make  one  more  attempt 
to  gain  the  place  of  my  destination,  and  accordingly  hired  two  -wagons  to  take  me  to 
Canandaigua,  They  had  proceeded  about  50  rods  when  one  "f  'hero,  got  mired  to  the 
hub !  Good  start,  you  will  say.  "Well,  we  got  out  in  abor.  •  i  hour,  and  travelled 
eight  miles  the  first  day,  and  put  up  at  Raymond's  inn.  Next  morning  after  taking  a 
warm  breakfast,  I  again  weighed  anchor,  and  trudged  in  solitude  along  the  muddy 
waste,  (for  it  is  indeed  solitary  to  have  no  company  but  swe  ring  teamsters,)  'till  we 
reached  Oneida  village,  an  Indian  settlement,  where  about  irk,  both  wagons  again 
got  mired  to  the  hub !  Zounds  and  alack  !  What  a  pickle  we  were  in  !  !  How  did  I 
invoke  the  aid  of  old  Hercules  to  give  one  tug  at  the  wheel !  However,  after  lifting, 
grumbling,  hollowing  and  tugging  three  hours  and  a  half,  with  the  assistance  of 
an  Indian,  we  once  more  got  on  land.  It  was  now  ten,  and  no  tavern  within  our  power 
to  reach.  Cold,  fatigued  and  hungry,  we  were  glad  to  get  under  shelter;  and  accor 
dingly  stopped  at  the  first  Indian  hut  we  found,  where  there  was  no  bed,  nor  victuals, 
except  a  slice  of  rusty  pork." 

"  After  a  night  spent  in  yawning,  dozing,  gaping,  we  again  got  under  way,  and  hove 
in  sight  of  a  tavern  about  ten  o'clock  ;  but  nothing  like  breakfast  was  to  be  had  —  all 
confusion — and  we  went  on  to  Onondaga,  (50  miles  from  Utica,)  where  we  arrived 
about  ten  at  night.  Here  the  house  was  full,  and  I  obtained  the  privilege  of  sleeping 
with  two  strangers,  by  paying  for  their  lodgings  and  giving  thera  a  glass  of  bitters  ; 
an  odd  bargain  to  be  sure ;  but  I  thought  it  cheap,  had  it  been  my  last  shilling.  But 
fate  decreed  that  the  troubles  of  that  day,  should  not  end  with  going  to  bed." 

*  *  *  *  [The  young  adventurer  had  become  a  room  mate 
with  a  "  snoring  traveller."  He  describes  his  enormous  nose,  and  says,  that  the  sounds 
it  gave  out  all  night  long,  "frightened  Morpheus  from  his  post."] 

"  At  this  place,  (Onondaga)  the  wagoners  got  discouraged  and  dispaired  of  the 
practicability  of  travelling ;  they  accordingly  stored  then-  goods  and  made  the  best  of 
their  way  home  again.  Here  I  was  obliged  to  remain  two  weeks,  when  a  fine  snow 
falling,  I  hired  a  man  with  a  three  horse  sleigh,  to  cany  me  to  Canada,  and  arrived  at 
this  place  on  Saturday  evening,  14th  January,  after  a  short  and  pleasant  passage  of 
SIXTY  TWO  days  from  Albany  !  Here  I  put  up  for  the  night  only,  expecting  to  depart 
early  in  the  morning  for  Canada ;  but  receiving  some  advices  here  from  gentlemen  of 
respectibility,  which  deserved  my  attention,  I  was  persuaded  to  open  my  store  in  this 
village,  for  the  winter  at  least  How  I  shall  succeed  is  yet  among  the  secrets  of  fate  ; 
but  as  yet  I  have  had  no  reason  to  repent  of  having  stopped  here  ;  for  such  is  the  en 
couragement  I  have  already  found,  that  I  think  it  probable  I  shall  continue  here." 

"  I  have  now  only  room  to  add,  that  the  country  is  beautiful  and  flourishing  ;  the 
inhabitants  wealthy  and  respectable  ;  the  citizens  enlightened,  affable  and  friendly ; 
and  there  is  an  agreeable  society  of  young  people,  especially  of  ladies.  Hence  a 
stranger  finds  an  agreeable  reception.  I  am  the  se .  mth  young  man  that  is  here  from 
Albany  ;  all  old  acquaintances." 


!    •'       O 


^SUPPLEMENT, 

,F) 

OR 

EXTENSION  OF  THE  PIONEER   HISTORY 

OF  THAT  PORTION  OF   PHELPS  AND    GORHAM'S  PURCHASE  EM 
BRACED   IN  THE 

COUNTY  OF  MONROE, 

AND  THE  NORTHERN  PORTION  OP  MORRIS'  RESERVE,   • 


CHAPTER    I. 


WHEATLAND. 


THAT  portion  of  the  old  town  of  Caledonia  which  is  now  Wheat- 
land,  was,  as  will  have  been  observed,  the  Pioneer  locality  —  the 
spot  where  settlement  first  commenced  in  all  the  region  between 
the  Genesee  River  and  the  west  bounds  of  the  state.  In  connection 
with  the  enterprises  of  Mr.  Williamson,  the  advent  of  the  Scotch 
settlers,  and  in  another  connection  in  the  body  of  the  work,  the 
town  has  already  been  embraced.  It  remains  in  this  connection  to 
extend  the  notices  of  Pioneer  advents  in  that  locality,  as  far  as  the 
author's  information  will  allow. 

Francis  Albright  came  in  1799,  from  Seneca  county,  and  soon 
erected  the  mills  that  bear  his  name,  and  those  that  were  so  useful 
to  the  early  settlers  west  of  the  River.  He  removed  to  the  Lake 
shore,  in  Niagara  county,  in  an  early  day,  where  he  died  a  few  years 
since.  His  son  Jacob  Albright,  one  of  the  most  successful  and  en 
terprising  farmers  of  that  county,  resides  at  Olcott. 

Donald  M'Vean,  who  came  a  single  man  with  the  first  Scotch 
settlers,  was  a  mill  wright  ;  had  charge  of  the  early  mills  built  by 
the  Wads  worths  at  Conesus.  He  erected  the  first  mill  in  Scotts- 
ville  ;  and  selling  it,  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  which  he  divi 
ded  between  his  sons  ;  rthey  are  Donald  M'Vean,  of  Michigan, 
Duncan  and  Peter  M'Vean  of  Caledonia.  Mrs.  Donald  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  Campbell,  and  Mrs.  James  Cameron,  of  Caledonia,  are  his 
daughters. 

John  M'Naughton  has  been  named  as  one  of  the  advance  corps 
of  Scotch  emigrants,  in  1799.  He  still  survives  at  the  age  of  80 
years.  His  surviving  sons  are  :  —  Duncan  M'Naughton  of  Mum- 
ford  and  Daniel  M'Naughton,  a  resident  upon  the  homestead  ;  Mrs. 
Duncan  M'Vean  of  Scottsville,  and  Mrs.  Merrit  Moore,  of  Church- 
ville,  are  his  daughters  ;  an  unmarried  daughter  resides  with  her 


—  Previous  to  leaving  their  homes  in  Scotland,  certificates  similar  to  the  fol 
lowing,  were  given  to  all  of  the  Scotch  emigrants  who  were  members  of  the  kirk  ; 
such  at  least,  as  were  from  Perthshire  ;  and  it  was  worthily  bestowed  in  this  instance, 
as  a  long  and  useful  life  will  bear  witness  :  — 

"  These  do  certify  that  the  bearer  John  M'Naughton,  and  his  spouse,  Margaret  M» 
Dermid,  are  natives  of  this  our  parish  of  Killin  ;  and  lived  therein  mostly  from  their 
infancy  ;  and  always  behaved  in  their  single  and  married  state,  virtuously,  honestly, 


496  PHELPS  AND    GOEHAM?S   PURCHASE. 

father.  The  mother  died  in  1844.  Mr.  M'Naughton  established 
the  first  brewery  west  of  the  River,  previous  to  1810,  and  a  distil 
lery  which  was  the  next  one  after  that  built  by  Oliver  Phelps  near 
Moscow.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to  engage  in  the  purchase  of 
wheat  to  be  floured  for  the  Canada  market ;  commencing  the  busi 
ness  previous  to  the  war  of  1812. 

Zachariah  Garbutt  was  a  resident  upon  the  river  Tyne  in  England, 
in  the  town  of  Winston,  county  of  Durham,  at  the  period  of  the 
French  Revolution.  Espousing  the  whig  side  in  politics  in  those 
violent  party  times  in  England,  when  freedom  of  speech  was  re 
stricted,  he  subjected  himself  to  proscription  and  persecution  at  the 
hands  of  his  more  loyal  neighbors.  His  windows  were  broken  in 
and  his  children  stoned  in  the  streets.  Leaving  Winston,  he  went 
into  a  retired  part  of  the  country,  where  he  remained  for  three  or 
four  years,  and  then  sought  an  asylum  over  the  ocean  in  a  land  of 
toleration,  of  political  and  religious  liberty.  Borrowing  thirty 

fuineas  to  defray  expense  of  emigration,  it  was  repaid  by  his  son, 
ohn  Garbutt,  with  money  earned  upon  a  shoe  bench,  and  remitted 
to  England.  Arriving  at  New  York  in  1798,  they  remained  near 
Sing  Sing  until  1800,  when  they  came  to  the  Genesee  country,  set 
tling  first  upon  sixty  acres  of  land  in  the  town  of  Seneca.  '  The 
eldest  son  John,  in  1803  purchased  land  on  Allan's  creek,  which 
soon  became  the  residence  of  the  whole  family  —  the  site  of  what 
is  now  known  as  Garbutville.  The  three  brothers,  sons  of  Zach 
ariah  Garbutt,  were,  John,  Philip  and  William.  John  Garbutt 
who  still  survives,  was  the  first  supervisor  of  Wheatland ;  in  1829 
he  was  a  representative  of  Monroe  county  in  the  Legislature. 
Philip  Garbutt,  widely  known  in  business  enterprises,  the  owner  of 
the  mills  and  locality  that  bear  the  name  of  the  family,  also 
survives.  His  wife,  as  will  have  been  seen,  is  the  daughter  of  Esq. 
Shaeffer.  The  father-in-law  was  the  original  owner  of  the  mill  site 

and  inoffensively ;  free  from  all  public  scandal  known  to  us.    That  therefore  we  know 

of  no  reason  to  hinder  their  reception  into,  or  residence  in,  any  congregation,  society 

or  family,  where  God  may  cast  their  lot      *       *       ***       *"*       *       *       *  >? 

[A  few  closing  lines  are  obliterated.] 

"  Signed. 

HUGH  /M'DouGAL,  Minister, 
JAMES  M'JSTABB,  Elder, 
JAS.  M'GiBBiN,  Parish  Clerk." 
"  The  above  is  fact 

CHAS.  CAMPBELL,  ESQ.  of  Lock  Dorcht, 
FRANCIS  M'NABB,  chief  of  M'NABBS. 
John  ROBSON,  Baron,  Bailio  to  the  Earl  of  Bradalbine." 
Dated  Feb.  1798. 

"  Do  me  the  favor  to  name  the  fact,"  said  an  early  merchant  of  the  Genesee  country 
to  the  author,  "  that  when  reverses  came  upon  me,  and  I  was  thrown  upon  jail  limits, 
while  those  who  owed  me  debts  of  gratitude  stood  aloof  ;  a  generous  hearted  Scotch 
farmer,  whom  I  had  but  slightly  known,  in  the  way  of  business,  sought  me  out,  kindly 
invited  me  to  share  his  purse  for  all  that  was  necessary  for  the  comfort  of  myself  or 
family.  And  you  may  add  that  it  was  John  M'Naughton,  of  Wheatland." 


PHELPS   AJSTD   GOKHAM^S   PUECHASE.  497 

of  what  is  now  known  as  Garbutt's  mills  and  the  land  upon  which 
the  celebrated  plaster  beds  are  located.  A  saw  mill  was  erected  by 
Esq.  Shaeffer  in  1810  and  a  grist  mill  in  1811. 

The  venerable  Powell  Carpenter,  now  in  his  80th  year,  became 
a  resident  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Scottsville  in  1804. 
In  1818,  by  purchase  from  Isaac  Scott,  he  became  the  proprietor  of 
most  of  the  site  of  the  present  village  of  Scottsville.  In  1825  or  '6, 
Abraham  Handford  and  Judge  Carpenter  created  a  water  power  by 
conducting  the  waters  of  Allan's  creek  in  a  race,  1J  mile,  and  thus 
obtaining  a  fall  of  19  feet.  This  was  the  commencement  of  any 
considerable  movements  towards  the  founding  of  the  pleasant  and 
prosperous  village;  though  mills  had  been  erected  as  early  as  1815 
by  Donald  M'Vean  and  Abraham  Handford.  Often  sons  of  Judge 
Carpenter,  six  are  now  living,  three  of  \vhom  were  Pioneers  in 
Michigan.  Ira  Carpenter,  of  Scottsville  is  his  son.  He  was  one  of 
the  early  Judges  of  Monroe. 

The  Rev.  Donald  Mann  was  a  native  of  Invernesshire,  Scotland  ; 
emigrated,  settling  on  the  40,000  acre  tract  in  Caledonia,  in  1809  , 
in  1815  removed  to  what  is  now  Wheatland,  where  he  now  resides. 
He  had  been  educated  in  his  youth  for  the  ministry,  in  the  Baptist 
connection,  but  located  'in  the  new  region,  he  united  the  labors  of  the 
field,  (or  rather,  the  forest,)  with  the  duties  of  his  profession  ;  provi 
ding  for  the  respectable  maintenance  and  education  of  a  large  family, 
and  at  the  same  time  itinerating  occasionally  where  primitive  and 
feeble  church  organizations  needed  his  services.  "  When  we  had 
got  together  a  small  Baptist  congregation  in  Le  Roy,"  says  an  in- 

NOTE.  —  The  discovery  of  the  plaster,  which  has  proved  so  valuable  an  acquisition 
to  a  wide  region — the  beds  possessing  more  of  what  constitutes  real  value  than  if  they 
had  been,  the  richest  placers  that  have  been  found  upon  the  slope  o  f  the  Sierra 
Nevada  —  may  not  be  considered  an  uninteresting  reminiscence  :  —  It  was  accidental. 
As  the  grist  mill  drew  near  to  completion  in  the  winter  of  1810,  '11,  Mr.  John  Garbut 
went  to  Cayuga  for  a  load  of  plaster,  with  the  promise  from  Esq.  Shaeffer  that  it 
should  be  ground  in  the  process  of  preparing  the  mill  stones.  In  his  absence,  while 
some  workmen  were  excavating  the  bank  to  procure  earth  to  finish  the  embankment 
of  the  mill  race,  one  of  them,  a  foreigner,  insisted  that  they  were  excavating  plaster. 
Experiments  followed  which  proved  the  fact.  The  demand  for  it  being  but  limited, 
farmers  having  been  slow  in  appreciating  its  value,  its  manufacture  was  not  faiiiv 
under  way  until  1818  ;  since  which  it  has  been  constantly  upon  the  increase  and 
the  beds  would  seem  exhaustless.  • 

NOTE.  —  Judge  Carpenter  emigrated  from  Westchester  county  as  early  as  1794,  loca 
ting  in  company  with  William  Armesley,  near  Cashong  creek,  on  Seneca  Lake.  Major 
Benjamin  Barton  was  then  residing  at  Cashong  in  a  log  cabin,  the  successor  there  ol 
Debartzch  and  Poudry,  Samuel  Wheatou  had  been  in  the  neighborhood  for  thret- 
or  four  years.  After  making  a  little  opening  in  the  forest,  and  building  a  pole  cabin. 
Judge  Carpenter  went  to  Pennsylvania  and  brought  a  small  stock  of  furniture,  and  a 
young  wife  into  the  wilderness.  Coming  up  the  Susquehannah  he  worked  their  pas 
sage  on  a  Durham  boat,  crossed  over  to  Catherinestown,  and  came  down  the  Lake  to 
Cashong  in  a  batteau.  The  wife  that  he  moved  into  his  primitive  cabin,  as  well  as 
himself,  are  among  the  few  surviving  Pioneers  of  that  early  period.  There  are  prob 
ably  not  twenty  persons  living  who  were  adult  emigrants  to  the  Genesee  country 
previous  to  1795. 


498  PHELPS  Am)  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

formant  of  the  author,  "  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mann  used  to  come  up  on 
foot  and  preach  for  us."  The  surviving  sons  are  :  —  Alexander 
Mann,  who  was  a  graduate  of  Burlington  College,  Vt.,  studied  law 
in  the  office  of  Edwards  &  Mann,  New  York,  settled  in  practice  in 
Rochester,  and  changing  his  profession,  is  now  the  highly  respecta 
ble  and  successful  editor  of  the  Rochester  American  ;  —  Angus  C. 
and  Peter  Mann,  of  VVheatland  ;  Duncan  C.  Mann,  of  Rochester  ; 
Donald  Mann,  ofNew  York.  There  are  four  unmarried  daughters. 
The  mother,  who  still  survives,  is  a  daughter  of  the  early  Scotch 
emigrant,  Angus  Cameron. 

In  1806,  '7,  8,  Harris  Rogers,  George  Goodhue,  Joseph  Black- 
mer,  John  Sage,  Elial  Goble-,  Peleg  Weaver,  Marvin  Cady,  Seely 
Frink,  settled  in  what  is  now  Whealfield.  Mr.  Rogers  died  in  1821, 
aged  48  years.  Mr.  Goodhue,  was  a  settler  at  Painted  Post  and 
Canisteo  as  early  as  1793,  and  as  will  have  been  seen,  was  one  of 
the  earliest  in  that  Pioneer  locality,  Braddock's  Bay.  In  1806  he 
removed  to  Wheatland,  where  he  now  resides  with  his  son,  John 
Goodhue,  at  the  age  of  82  years,  surrounded  by  a  large  circle  of 
descendants.  Mr.  Sage,  died  a  few  years  since  in  the  72d  year  of 
his  age  ;  his  son,  Martin  Sage,  and  Warren  Sage  occupy  the  home 
stead.  Mr.  Goble  was  a  resident  of  Seneca  county  as  early  as  1800  ; 
he  died  in  1813;  Nathaniel  Goble  of  Wheatland,  is  his  son.  Mr. 
Frink  had  settled  in  Westmoreland,  Oneida  county,  previous  to 
1811  ;  he  died  in  Wheatland  of  the  prevailing  epidemic  in  1813,  as 
did  also  his  wife  ;  Ephraim  Frink,  of  Wheatland  is  his  son. 

It  was  but  a  following  up  of  pioneer  enterprise  with  Joseph 
Balckmer,  when  he  settled  in  Wheatland  in  1808.  We  have  already 
had  glimpses  of  him  upon  the  very  verge  of  civilization,  in  Oneida 
county,  when  settlement  was  first  commencing  in  the  Genesee 
country  —  in  1788  and  '9.  The  earliest  Pioneers  often  speak  of  his 
hospitality,  when  his  log  house  was  the  only  white  habitation  be 
tween  Judge  Dean's,  in  Westmoreland,  and  Colonel  Dantorth's,  at 


.  —  Mr.  Goodhue  made  his  early  advent  to  this  region,  from  Canisteo,  with 
liis  family  and  household  goods,  upon  an  ox  sled  ;  consuming  six  days  in  the  journey  ; 
in  several  instances  carrying  his  goods  by  hand  over  windfalls.  Arriving  at  the  Gen 
esee  river,  where  Rochester  now  is,  in  the  month  of  February,  he  found  the  ice  thawed 
away  from  the  banks,  to  the  distance  of  15  or  16  feet.  He  had  to  erect  a  temporary 
bridge  to  get  upon  the  solid  ice.  Approaching  the  opposite  shore,  the  same  difficulty 
existed  there  ;  or  at  least  the  ice  was  rotten.  Unyoking  his  oxen,  in  endeavoring  to 
drive  them  across  they  broke  in  and  came  near  being  drowned.  Reaching  the  oppo 
site  shore,  his  wife,  sled,  and  effects,  being  yet  on  the  solid  ice,  to  get  them  over,  he 
went  to  work  to  make  a  bridge  ;  but  while  thus  engaged  the  section  of  ice  upon  which 
they  were,  broke  off,  and  was  moving  with  the  current,  likely  to  be  precipitated  over 
the  Falls.  Seizing  a  pole  and  throwing  it  to  his  wife,  she  fastened  one  end  of  it  to 
the  sled,  and  hitching  his  oxen  to  the  other  end  of  it  he  towed  the  ice  to  the  shore  and 
thus  succeeded  in  saving  his  wife  and  household  effects.  In  a  few  moments  the  cake  of 
ice  from  which  they  had  been  extricated,  went  over  the  Falls  !  Stopping  for  a  day 
or  two  at  the  cabin  near  the  site  of  the  old  Red  Mill,  he  browsed  his  cattle  upon  the 
site  which  is  now  the  centre  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  and  then  went  through  the 
woods  road  the  Atchinson's  had  made,  to  Braddock's  Bay. 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE.      499 

Onondaga.  In  a  letter  from  John  Taylor,  a  State  Indian  agent,  to 
Gov.  George  Clinton,  in  1778,  it  is  mentioned  that  in  co-operation 
with  Oliver  Phelps,  he  had  made  provisions  for  opening  a  road  from 
Onondaga  to  Oneida,  and  that  Mr.  Blackmer  had  contracted  to  do 
a  portion  of  the  work.  He  was  a  native  of  the  town  of  Kent, 
State  of  Connecticut,  and  may  truly  be  said  to  have  been  of  a 
Pioneer  stock,  as  he  was  a  descendant  of  Peregrine  White,  the  first 
born  of  white  parents,  in  New  England.  He  died  in  1848,  aged 
80  years.  He  was  public  spirited,  enterprising,  as  the  reader  will 
infer,  a  good  neighbor,  and  an  efficient  helper  in  all  that  was  tend 
ing  to  the  prosperity  of  his  locality.  He  donated  from  his  farm  the 
site  for  a  meeting  house,  school  house  and  burying  ground.  Jirah, 
Ephraim,  and  Oliver  P.  Blackmer,  of  Wheatland,  are  his  sons. 
Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Jesse  Kinney,  of  Michigan ;  of 
Jerry  Merrill,  of  Orangeville,  Wyoming  county. 

Deacon  Rawson  Harmon  was  a  native  of  New  Maryborough, 
Berkshire  county,  Mass. ;  he  was  a  resident  of  Madison  county 
previous  to  1797  ;  in  1811,  he  removed  to  Clarence,  Erie  county, 
but  soon  changed  his  residence  to  Caledonia,  now  Wheatland.  At 
that  period  he  had  six  sons  and  five  daughters,  nine  of  whom  are 
yet  living,  viz : — Ariel,  Rawson,  Ira,  Sylvester,  Anan  and  Elisha 
Rawson,  ^all  residing  upon  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  home 
stead  ;  Mrs.  Horace  P.  Smith,  Mrs.  James  R.  Flynn,  and  Mrs. 
Oliver  P.  Blackmer.  The  living  descendants  of  Deacon  Harmon 
are,  9  in  the  first  degree,  52  in  the  second,  and  17  in  the  third.  He 
died  in  1850,  aged  85  years. 

Calvin  Armstrong  and  George  H.  Smith,  were  residents  in 
Wheatland  as  early  as  1812.  Mr.  Armstrong,  now  70  years  of 
age,  has  recently  changed  his  residence  to  the  neighborhood  of 
Bushville,  Batavia,  having  become  the  owner  and  occupant  of  the 
well  known  Pendell  farm.  Mr.  Smith  died  in  Wheatland,  at  ad 
vanced  age  ;  he  was  a  native  of  Germany  ;  Daniel  Smith,  of  Wheat- 
land,  is  his  son. 

The  Baptist  church  in  Wheatland,  was  organized  as  early  as  1811. 
Of  all  the  original  members  of  it,  none  survive  but  Jirah  Blackmer, 
who  has  been  a  Deacon  and  Clerk  in  it  for  40  years.  Its  settled 
ministers  have  been : — Solomon  Brown,  Ely  Stone,  Aristarchus 
Willey,  William  W.  Smith,  Horace  Griswold,  John  L.  Latham, 
Daniel  Eldrige,  John  Middleton,  Gibbons  Williams,  Hiram  R, 
Stimpson,  and  Win.  W.  Everts. 

In  observations  made  in  connection  with  Pioneer  history,  the 
author  has  been  frequently  reminded  of  the  benefits  that  have 
accrued  from  the  early  institution  of  public  libraries.  The  books 
were  selected  at  a  better  era  of  our  literature,  of  book  making,  than 
the  present  one ;  before  a  surfeit  of  the  worthless  trash  that  now 
unfortunately  too  much  prevails  in  our  popular  reading ;  they  were 
thoroughly  read,  and  thoroughly  understood ;  the  Pioneers  became 


500  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCIIASE. 

intelligent,  and  inducted  their  sons  and  daughters  into  a  course  of 
profitable  reading.  The  general  intelligence  of  the  citizens  of  all 
of  the  old  town  of  Caledonia,  has  been  proverbial ;  they  enjoyed  the 
benefits  of  a  well  selected  library,  as  early  as  1804.  It  was  the 
Pioneer  Library  west  of  Genesee  river.  The  first  books  were 
bought  at  Myron  Holley's  book  store,  in  Canandaigua,  by  John 
Garbutt,  who  carried  them  to  their  destination  on  his  back.  Peter 
ShaefTer  was  first  Librarian.  The  library  now  consists  of  over 
1500  volumes. 

[Farther  reminiscences  of  Scotch  settlers,  haying  reference  to  the  old  town  of 
Caledonia,  will  be  inserted  in  the  volume,  "Livingston  and  Allegany."  The  author 
has  found  it  difficult  to  separate  them  as  town  and  county  divisions  have  done.] 

In  addition  to  their  purchase  of  the  "  Big  Springs,"  and  water 
power  at  Caledonia,  of  Mr.  Williamson,  in  early  years,  John 
and  Robert  M'Kay  purchased  land  and  water  power  at  what 
is  now  the  village  of  Mumford,  and  had  erected  a  saw  mill  there 
previous  to  1808.  In  1809,  Thomas  Mumford  purchased  the  inter 
est  of  Robert  M'Kay.  In  1817,  Thomas  Mumford  and  John  M'Kay 
erected  a  large  stone  flouring  mill  having  four  run  of  stones.  John 
W.  Watkins  opened  the  primitive  tavern ;  Philip  Garbutt  the  first 
mercantile  establishment. 

Donald  M'Kenzie  may  be  regarded  as  the  earliest  resident  Pio 
neer  of  the  locality.  In  1804,  he  came  from  his  native  place,  In 
verness,  Scotland,  remained  in  New  York  and  Connecticut  two 
years,  and  coming  to  the  Genesee  country  in  1806,  resided  at 
Honeoye  one  year,  after  which,  in  1807,  he  erected  a  log  building 
upon  the  present  site  of  Mumford,  started  the  business  of  cloth 
dressing,  becoming  in  that  branch  of  business  the  Pioneer  in  all  the 
Genesee  country  west  of  the  river.  His  early  customers  were  dis 
tributed  over  a  territory  that  now  constitutes  ten  counties.  The 
venerable  Simon  Pierson,  of  Le  Roy,  in  some  published  reminis 
cences,  gives  a  graphic  account  of  his  first  milling  advent  to  Cale 
donia.  "  I  took  my  wheat  on  my  horse,"  says  the  narrator,  "  rode 
down  Allan's  Creek  7  or  8  miles,  when  I  came  to  a  dark,  dense 
forest  of  evergreens,  which  I  took  to  be  a  cedar  swamp  on  d  hill. 
Near  the  centre  of  this  swamp,  as  I  took  it  to  be,  I  found  a  small 
hut  which  I  entered,  for  I  was  very  cold,  it  being  late  in  November. 
I  found  a  good  fire,  and  the  workmen  were  at  dinner.  I  found  the 
owner  liberal  and  intelligent.  He  told  me  his  name  was  Donald 
M'Kenzie — that  he  was  building  a  fulling  mill,  and  making  prepa 
rations  for  wool-carding  and  cloth-dressing." 

In  1809,  Mr.  M'Kenzie  added  to  his  business,  a  carding  machine, 
which  was  preceded  in  all  the  territory  west  of  the  river  only  by 
one  erected  by  Wm.  H.  Bush,  near  Batavia.  He  still  survives,  af 
ter  a  long,  active,  and  useful  life  ;  a  good  specimen  of  the  energetic 
and  persevering  Pioneers.  Few  men  are  better  versed  in  the  his- 


PHELPS  AKD  OORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  501 

tory  of  early  settlement  in  all  this  region,  and  the  author  is  much 
indebted  to  him  for  written  reminiscences,  and  the  results  of  his 
retentive  memory.  He  is  now  67  years  of  age.  His  surviving 
sons  are  : — William,  in  California ;  Daniel  R.,  in  Laporte,  Indiana ; 
John,  Simon  and  Joseph,  upon  the  homestead.  Daughters  became 
the  wives  of  Daniel  M'Naughton,  of  Wlieatland,  and  Hector  M'- 
Lean,  of  Rochester. 

DGP  For  topography,  &c.,  of  Caledonia  and  Wheatland,  see  Ap 
pendix  to  supplement,  No.  1. 


RIGA. 


The  settlement  of  "  West  Pulteney,"  now  Riga,  commenced 
under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Wadsworth,  in  1805.  The  first  ten  set 
tlers  were  : — Elihu  Church,  Samuel  Shepherd,  William  Parker, 
Amasa  Frost,  Ezekiel  Barnes,  Nehemiah  Frost,  Samuel  Church, 
Joseph  Tucker,  Enos  Morse,  and  George  Richmond.  Elihu  Church 
still  survives,  a  resident  upon  the  land  upon  which  he  settled  in  his 
early  advent,  and  upon  which  the  first  tenement  was  erected,  and 
the  first  improvement  commenced,  in  Riga.  He  is  in  his  77th 
year.  Dennis  Church,  late  Supervisor  of  Riga,  is  his  son ;  daugh 
ters  became  the  wives  of  Erastus  Sprague,  of  Lima,  Dann  Hawes, 
of  Caryville,  Genesee  county,  Oliver  W.  Warner,  of  Lake  county, 
Ohio,  Enoch  Fitch,  of  Wilson,  Niagara  county,  and  an  unmarried 
daughter  resides  at  the  homestead.  His  first  wife  died  in  1823 ; 
a  present  one  was  the  widow  of  Matthew  Fitch,  one  of  the  second 
class  of  early  settlers  in  Riga.  Mr.  Church  was  for  many  years 
a  Supervisor  and  Magistrate  of  Riga. 

Samuel  Church,  a  brother  of  Elihu,  was  the  founder  of  settle 
ment  at  Churchville,  where  he  built  the  first  saw  mill  in  town,  in 
1808,  and  a  grist  mill  in  1811.  He  was  a  Captain  of  the  first  mili 
tia  company  organized  in  Riga  ;  was  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war 
of  1812,  and  participated  with  his  command  in  the  sortie  of  Fort 
Erie.  He  died  in  1850,  in  Chenango  county,  aged  82  years.  His 
surviving  sons  are  : — Rev.  Samuel  C.  Church,  of  Medina,  and  Rev, 
Jared  Church,  of  Tennessee;  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Charles  Robinson,  a  missionary  to  Siam,  who  died  on  ship  board  on 
his  return  to  this  country  in  1848.  Mrs.  Robinson  who,  with  her 
three  children,  was  returning  with  him,  now  resides  in  Medina ;  she 
was  the  first  bora  in  the  town  of  Riga.  Other  daughters  are,  Mrs. 
Casey,  of  York,  Mrs.  Clark,  of  Byron,  and  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Titus  Cohen,  a  missionary  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Jesse  Church,  another  brother,  settled  in  Riga  as  early  as  1807; 
was  an  early  mechanic  of  Churchville  ;  also,  the  Captain  of  a  com 
pany  in  the  wrar  of  1812 ;  was  made  a  prisoner  at  Fort  Erie,  and 


502  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PTTECHASE. 

earned  to  Halifax.  He  died  in  1826  or  '7.  Stoddard  Church,  of 
Ogden,  is  his  son  ;  other  sons  reside  at  the  west. 

Samuel  Shephard  died  but  a  few  years  since.  Benjamin  F. 
Shephard,  of  Riga,  is  his  son ;  his  son  Hiram,  now  deceased,  was 
the  first  male  child  born  in  Riga. 

Amasa  Frost  died  many  years  since  ;  Nelson  A.  Frost  is  his  son ; 
another  son  resides  in  Michigan.  Mrs.  Jacob  Albright,  of  Olcott, 
Niagara  county,  and  the  wife  of  Dr.  Dibble,  of  Rochester,  are  his 
daughters.  Nehemiah  Frost  died  in  1850;  Dr.  Frost,  of  Medina, 
is  his  son.  William  Parker  removed  to  Maple  Ridge,  Orleans  coun 
ty,  and  emigrated  from  there  to  the  west. 

Those  whose  names  follow,  were  all  residents  of  Riga  previous 
to  1810 — most  of  them  settled  there  in  1808,  ''9  : — James  Knowles, 
still  survives ;  Paul  and  William  Knowles,  of  Riga,  are  his  sons ; 
Mrs.  Warner  Brown  and  Mrs.  Montross,  of  Riga,  are  his  daugh 
ters.  Thomas  Bingham  still  survives  ;  Joseph  Bingham,  of  Allega- 
ny,  Justin  Bingham,  of  Michigan,  and  William  Bingham,  of  Riga, 
are  his  sons  ;  Mrs.  Pratt,  of  Allegany,  is  his  daughter.  Clark  Hall 
still  survives,  a  resident  of  Wheatland,  though  his  early  location 
was  in  Riga.  Hall's  Corners,  in  Wheatland,  took  their  name  from 
him.  Thomas  Hill  was  the  first  Supervisor  of  Riga,  still  survies 
at  the  age  of  89  years ;  Rev.  Robert  Hill  is  his  son  ;  another  son, 
George  Hill,  resides  in  Wisconsin ;  Mrs.  Emerson,  of  Riga,  is  his 
daughter.  Joseph  Emerson  still  survives  :  Erastus,  Joseph,  and 
George  Emerson,  of  Riga,  are  his  sons ;  an  only  daughter  became 
the  wife  of  John  Reed,  of  Sweden.  Eber  and  Chester  Orcutt; 
Eber  still  survives.  They  were  brothers  ;  the  father,  Moses  Orcutt, 
was  an  early  Pioneer  in  Pittstown.  Benajah  Holbrook,  emigrated 
to  Michigan ;  Mrs.  Frederick  Davis,  of  Mount  Morris,  is  his 
daughter. 

The  rapidity  of  settlement  warranted  a  mercantile  establish 
ment  in  Riga  as  early  as  1808  ;  that  of  Thompson  &  Tuttle  ;  the 
last  named  of  the  firm,  was  a  non-resident,  engaged  at  the  time  in 
running  a  big  wagon  upon  the  Albany  and  Buffalo  road.  Joseph 
Thompson,  of  the  firm,  was  the  Pioneer  tavern  keeper;  a  part  ot 
the  building  now  occupied  by  the  Riga  Academy,  was  erected  by 
him  for  a  tavern  house.  He  died  many  years  since. 

Dr.  John  Darling  was  the  earliest  physician  in  town  ;  he  died  in 
early  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Richard  Dibble. 

The  first  death  in  town  was  that  of  Richard  Church,  in  180?.  the 
father  of  the  brothers  who  have  been  named. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  ELIEU  CHURCH. 

I  emigrated  from  Berkshire  to  Phelps,   Ontario  county,  in  1796,  and 
purchased  land  upon  Flint  Creek,  where  I  remained  until  1805.    In  that 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.      503 

year,  Mr.  Wadsworth's  handbills  had  reached  Berkshire,  offering  to  ex 
change  wild  lands  for  farms,  and  had  induced  by  brother  Samuel  to 
come  and  see  the  country.  I  accompanied  him  to  what  was  then  West 
Pulteney.  We  found  it  a  densely  and  heavily  timbered  wilderness;  the 
only  occupants,  other  than  wild  beasts,  John  Smith  and  his  surveying  par 
ty,  their  camp  located  on  the  stream  near  my  present  residence.  We  ex 
plored  the  township,  and  were  pleased  with  it.  During  the  next  winter,  I 
selected  for  myself,  my  present  location,  and  for  my  brother,  the  site  of  the 
present  village  of  Churchville.  In  March,  1806, 1  removed  my  family 
from  Phelps  to  my  new  location,  expecting  that  I  had  a  house  ready  for 
them,  as  1  had  contracted  for  the  building  of  one ;  but  on  arriving,  we 
found  ourselves  houseless.  William  Parker,  Samuel  Shepherd  and  Amasa 
Frost,  had  preceded  me  a  few  days,  writh  their  families,  and  were  occu 
pants  of  the  surveyors'  camp,  where  myself  and  family  were  hospitably  ad 
mitted  as  joint  occupants;  and  a  crowded  household  we  had — 28  of  us  al 
together — all  in  one  small  cabin.  We  called  it  the  "  Hotel,"  and  that  gave 
the  name  to  the  stream  upon  the  banks  of  which  it  stocd.  Isaac,  Elisha 
and  David  Farwell,  then  of  "  Springfield,"  now  Wheatland,  hearing  that  I 
was  houseless,  generously  came  and  helped  me  erect  one.  We  put  up 
the  body  of  it  in  one  day;  had  it  ready  to  move  into  on.  the  fourth  day. 
The  floor  was  of  split  basswood,  the  roof  of  cedar  shingles;  no  boards 
were  used  in  its  construction;  I  was  farther  indebted  to  Elisha  Farwell  for 
a  few  nails.  I  had  now  fairly  commenced  a  pioneer  life,  a  small  specimen 
of  which  I  had  already  witnessed,  and  been  a  part  of,  in  Phelps. 

All  of  us  who  located  in  the  spring  of  1806,  raised  small  patches  of 
summer  crops.  In  the  fall  of  that  year.  I  had  fifty  acres  cleared,  which 
I  sowed  to  wheat.  I  had  got  in  debt  in  clearing  land  and  in  building,  and 
though  I  had  an  excellent  crop  of  wheat,  it  was  difficult  to  pay  debts  with 
it;  it  would  not  command  money.  1  exchanged  some  of  it  for  labor,  with 
new  comers.  In  1808, 1  took  wheat  to  Canandaigua:  there  was  no  price 
and  no  sale  for  it  there ;  no  exchanging  of  it  for  store  trade.  I  removed 
it  to  Geneva,  at  a  cost  of  12-J-  cents  per  bushel,  and  paid  a  debt  I  owed 
there  for  a  barrel  of  whiskey  with  it;  the  wheat  finally  netting  me  12-J 
cents  per  bushel,  or  one  gallon  of  whiskey  for  six  bushels  of  wheat.  We 
could  get  some  store  trade  at  Guernsey's  store  in  Lima,  in  an  early  day, 
for  wheat.  The  first  cash  market  was  at  Charlotte;  price,  31  cents  per 
bushel.  *  In  the  cold  season  of  1816,  when  summer  crops  were  general 
ly  destroyed  throughout  the  country,  there  was  an  excellent  wheat  crop  in 
Riga.  In  the  fall,  I  sold  my  whole  crop  to  Bond  and  Hatch,  Rochester, 
for  $2  per  bushel ;  and  after  that,  some  of  my  neighbors  sold  their  crops 
for  $2  50  per  bushel. 

In  some  of  the  earliest  years,  Mr.  Wadsworth  sent  some  pot-ash  kettles 
into  the  township,  and  the  manufacture  of  black  salts  and  pot-ash  was  com 
menced.  It  proved  a  great  help  to  the  new  settlers;  enabled  them  to  pro 
cure  some  of  the  common  necessaries  of  life,  when  wheat  would  not. 

*  Extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Wadsworth.  to  Col.  Troup,  dated  in  1808  : — u  It  is  a 
fact  that  farmers  have  been  compelled  to  sell  their  wheat,  in  some  instances,  for  18d. 
per  bushel,  to  pay  taxes  !" 

KOTE. — The  first  four  pot-ash  kettles  that  Mr.  Wadsworth  procured  in  Albany,  for 
the  new  settlements,  cost  $40  each  ;  transportation  to  the  lauding  place  at  Cayuga 


504  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM7S   PURCHASE. 

The  first  town  meeting  we  attended  was  in  Ogden,  at  the  house  of  Esq., 
Willey,  in  1807.  Then  the  town  of  Northampton  embraced  the  northern 
towns  of  Monroe,  west  of  the  river;  or  "  settlements,"  and  "districts,"  as 
they  were  then  termed.  We  made  choice  of  two  Supervisors  in  succes 
sion,  but  their  election  was  a  nullity,  neither  of  them  being  free-holders; 
free-holders  were  scarce  in  that  early  day.  We  finally  compromised  the 
matter  by  appointing  delegates  from  each  settlement,  to  appoint  town  offi 
cers.  The  proceeding  was  not  exactly  legal,  but  no  objection  being  made, 
it  all  went  off  well  enough. 

Our  first  religious  meetings,  previous  to  the  organization  of  the  Con 
gregational  church,  were  held  in  my  barn,  it  being  the  first  framed  barn 
erected  in  town.  I  think  Elder  Reed,  a  Baptist  missionary,  was  the  first 
to  visit  our  settlement.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Phelps  and  several  Methodist  cir 
cuit  preachers,  visited  us  in  early  years. 


Judge  Henry  Brewster,  now  a  resident  of  Le  Roy,  at  the  ad 
vanced  age  of  77  years,  was  one  of  the  Pioneers  of  Riga.  Though 
laboring  under  the  physical  infirmities  incident  to  old  age,  his  men 
tal  faculties  are  unimpaired  ;  as  a  well  drawn  up  and  intelligent 
account  of  his  early  advent,  which  he  has  furnished  for  this  work, 
attests.  His  surviving  sons  are : — Henry  A.  Brewster,  Rochester, 
Edward  Brewster,  Buffalo,  Albert  Brewster,  Le  Roy,  F.  W.  Brew 
ster,  Brockport ;  a  daughter  is  Mrs.  Norris,  of  Stratford,  Conn. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  HE]NTRY  BREWSTER. 


My  father  was  a  farmer  in  New  London  county,  Connecticut,  town  of 
Prescott.  As  with  most  New  England  farmers,  the  Revolution,  its  per 
sonal  services  and  sacrifices,  its  incidental  burdens,  was  the  occasion  of 
depression  and  embarrassment.  As  soon  as  I  was  old  enough  to  labor, 
my  services  were  required  upon  the  farm,  so  unremittingly  as  even  to  de 
prive  me  of  the  advantages  of  education,  beyond  what  could  be  acquired 
before  I  was  twelve  years  of  age.  I  married  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
years,  and  unfortunately  bought  a  farm  and  settled  upon  it,  in  one  of  the 
poorest  mountain  towns  of  the  county  of  Berkshire.  Unable  to  sell  it,  I 
was  obliged  to  cultivate  the  ungenial  soil  of  the  Berkshire  mountains  for 
ten  of  the  best  years  of  my  life. 

The  day  of  deliverance  came,  however: — In  1805, 1  met  with  a  large 
handbill  sent  out  by  James  Wadsworth,  Esq.,  of  "  Big  Tree,"  proposing 
to  exchange  each  alternate  range  of  lots  of  land  in  "  West  Pulteney  town 
ship,"  for  improved  farms  in  the  county  of  Berkshire.  Daniel  Dewey, 

Esq.,  of  Williamstown,  and Hopkins,  Esq.,  of  Great  Barrington,  were 

named  as  the  agents  in  Berkshire,  who  would  give  applicants  all  needed 

Bridge,  for  the  four,  $156  25.    This  was  in  1807.    In  1808,  he  bought  24  kettles  in 
Albany,at  $35  each  ;  cost  of  transportation  but  little  less  than  in  the  preceding  year . 


PHELPS  AKD  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  505 

information.  The  farms  were  to  be  taken  at  appraised  value,  and  the  wild 
land  given  in  exchange,  at  $4  per  acre. 

In  October,  1805,  Mr.  Samuel  Baldwin,  a  neighbor  of  mine,  and  myself, 
mounted  our  horses  and  came  to  see  the  Genesee  country,  and  especially 
West  Pulteney.  Arriving  at  Avon,  a  guide  had  been  provided  by  Mr. 
Wadsworth  to  conduct  us  to  our  destination.  Reaching  the  ''Hanover 
settlement,"  in  East  Pulteney,  we  went  through  the  woods  to  the  survey 
ors'  cabin  in  West  Pulteney,  where  we  were  lodged,  fed,  and  provided  with 
maps  and  a  guide,  while  we  made  a  pretty  thorough  exploration  of  the 
township.  We  found  that  several  of  our  neighbors  from  Berkshire  had 
been  in,  [those  named  by  Mr.  Church,]  had  visited  the  township,  pur 
chased  and  exchanged  lands;  but  all  that  was  doing  to  prepare  for  settle 
ment,  was  a  chopping  that  was  making  by  Mr.  Elihu  Church  and  his  hired 
man.  Liking  the  country,  and  especially  the  land  we  were  viewing,  Mr- 
Baldwin  and  myself  selected  850  acres  each,  the  quantity  which  the  ap 
praised  value  of  our  farms  in  Berkshire  entitled  us  to.  After  this,  we  visit 
ed  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  ascending  it,  viewed  the.  Falls,  the  Rapids* 
and  the  present  site  of  Rochester.  All  was  a  dreary  wilderness,  in  which 
there  was  no  opening,  save  that  made  by  the  river,  and  a  small  one  imme 
diately  about  the  old  Allan  mill.  There  was  a  narrow  and  crooked  wagon 
path  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  such  it  remained  for  several  years 
after,  during  which  I  wagoned  many  loads  of  pot-ash  over  it  to  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  made  from  the  timber  of  my  lands  in  West  Pulteney. 

We  then  visited  "Big  Tree,"  where  we  were  hospitably  entertained  by 
Mr.  Wadsworth,  our  land  exchanges  arranged,  and  the  deeds  prepared, 
which  we  took  with  us  to  Albany  to  be  signed  by  Col.  Troup.  We  also, 
each  of  us,  purchased  several  lots  upon  credit. 

In  the  fall  of  1806,  I  re-visited  the  country  to  make  preparations  for  the 
removal  of  my  family.  At  the  hotel  in  Canandaigua,  where  I  was  remain 
ing  over  the  Sabbath,  I  met  with  Col.  Troup.  There  being  no  public 
worship  in  the  village,  we  spent  the  day  in  company.  Observing  that  he 
took  a  lively  intei  est  in  all  that  related  to  the  settlement  of  the  country, 
and  especially  in  all  that  related  to  public  worship,  and  a  strict  regard  to 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  I  ventured  to  suggest  to  him  the  happy  in 
fluence  it  would  have  upon  our  new  settlement  in  West  Pulteney,  if  he 
would  set  apart  or  donate  lands  for  religious  and  educational  purposes; 
while  at  the  same  time,  it  would  promote  the  sale  and  settlement  of  the 
township.  He  fell  in  with  my  views,  saying  to  me : — "  Go  on  and  organize 
a  religious  society,  elect  trustees,  and  select  two  one  hundred  acre  lots — 
one  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel,  and  another  for  the  support  of  schools — 
call  on  me  at  Albany  on  your  return,  and  I  will  deliver  you  the  title  deeds." 
During  my  stay  in  the  settlement,  a  meeting  of  the  Pioneers  took  place, 
few  in  number,  and  measures  were  adopted  to  avail  ourselves  of  thedonation. 
There  were  then  five  families  in  West  Pulteney,  and  about  fifteen  heads 
of  families  were  making  arrangements  to  settle  there.  At  the  meeting,  it 
was  agreed  to  take  all  the  necessary  legal  steps  in  the  formation  of  a  reli 
gious  societv:  one  of  which  was  the  requirement,  that  notice  of  intention 

NOTK. — In  a  letter  from  Mr.  Wadsworth  to  Col.  Troup,  in  1805,  in  speaking  of  the 
fine  prospects  he  had  of  settling  West  Pulteney,  he  mentions  Messrs.  Baldwin  and 
Brewster  as  likely  to  prove  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  new  settlement. 
32 


506  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

should  be  read  at  the  "  close  of  public  worship,  three  Sabbaths  in  succes 
sion,"  of  the  time  and  place  to  'licet  to  organize  such  society.  We  ap 
pointed  a  meeting  thr  e  Sabbaths  in 'Succession,  at  the  loo;  house  of  Amasa 
Frost.  Deacon  Neheraiah  Frost  and  myself  were  the  only  professors  of 
religion  hi  ihe  settlement;  we  conducted  the  reading  and  prayer  meetings. 
Every  person,  young  and  old,  attended  the  meetings.  Ou  the  day  appoint 
ed  for  the  organization  of  the  society,  Nehemiah  Frost  was  chosen  modera 
tor,  and  myself  secretary.  Nehemiah  Frost,  Samuel  Church,  Amasa 
Frost,  Samuel  Baldwin,  Elihu  Church  and  myself,  were  chosen  trustees. 
The  society  was  called  the  "First  Congregational  Society  of  West  Pulte 
ney,  in  the  county  of  Genesee."  The  lands  were  secured,  and  devoted  to 
the  objects  designed  by  the  donor,  or  donors,  as  Col.  Troup  acted,  of 
course,  for  l.is  principals. 

In  less  than  three  years  after  the  organization  of  the  society,  a  church 
was  formed,  and  the  Rev.  Allen  HollLster,  from  the  county  of  Dutchess, 
was  settled  as  its  pastor.  The  church  and  society,  thus  early  organized, 
have  uniformly  supported  a  pastor,  up  to  the  present  time,  without  any 
missionary  aid.  1  am  the  only  one  living  of  the  original  members  of  that 
church,  and  I  do  not  know  of  any  of  the  original  members  of  the  society 
living,  except  Klihn  Church,  Esq.,  and  myself. 

I  moved  my  family  from  Berkshire  to  the  then  new  region  of  the  Genesee 
country,  in  Way,  1807.  The  town  of  Riga  had  a  rapid  and  permanent 
settlement,  the  population  being,  with  few  exceptions,  from  New  England, 
We  saw,  perhaps,  less  of  the  harsher  features  of  pioneer  life,  than  most  of 
new  settlers.  \Ve  were  tolerably  well  accomodated  with  a  grist  and  saw 
mill;  the  substantial  necessaries  of  life  were  obtained  at  a  convenient  dis 
tances,  and  at  fair  prices;  the  lack  of  a  market  was  a  serious  drawback. 
Before  the  c  mi^letioa  of  the  Erie  Canal,  in  one  year,  I  raised  three 
thousand  bushels  of  wheat.  After  harvest,  the  nominal  price  was  from  31 
to  37^  cents  per  bushel.  I  tried  the  experiment  of  transporting  flour  to 
Northampton,  Conn.,  by  sledding.  For  this  purpose,  I  had  seventy  bar 
rels  manufactured  from  the  best  quality  of  wheat.  Purchasing  six  yoke 
of  oxen,  I  put  them  upon  two  sleds,  and  two  spans  of  horses,  each  upon  a 
sleigh.  With  the  four  teams.  I  transported  my  70  barrels  of  flour;  was 
on  the  road  twenty  days;  sold  my  flour  at  $6  per  barrel,  and  rny  oxen  at 
a  profit;  all  for  cash  in  hand.  My  teamsters  cost  me  nothing  but  their 
board  going  and  coming,  as  they  wished  to  visit  New  England;  and  that 
was  a  part  of  my  cwn  object; — upon  the  whole,  the  experiment  succeeded 
pretty  well.  We  were  about  twenty  days  on  the  road,  going  down.  I  sold 
the  balance  of  my  crop  of  wheat  the  next  June,  for  56  cents  per  bushel. 
It  went  to  the  Canada  market. 

NOTE.— In  a  btter  to  Mr.  Tronp,  dated  January.  1807,  Mr.  Wadsworth  says  :— 
"When  I  commenced  inviting  settlement  to  West  Pulteney,  it  was  literally  a  wilder 
ness,  without  a  ro-vl  passing  through  it.  It  had  been  for  sale  ten  years,  and  not  a  set 
tler  had  gone  upon  the  tracl.  Sales  had  been  embarrassed  by  the  cheap  lands  of  the 
Holland  Company  ;  and  yet,  notwithstanding  these  obstacles,  it  has  become  the  most 
respectable  settlement  west  of  the  Genesee  river."  In  a  letter  from  same,  to  same,  in 
May  following,  it  is  remarked  : — "  .Mr.  Mjacl  has  erected  a  saw-mill  on  Black  Creek  ; 
nine  new  barns  have  been  erected  in  West  Pulteney.  There  is  not  three  frame  barns 
in  Caledonia. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.       507 

Less  than  a  century  has  produced  such  a  change  in  the  aspect  and  con 
dition  of  all  this  region,  as  is  hardly  to  be  credited  by  those  who  have  not 
resided  in  it;  and  hardly  to  be  realized  by  those  who  have.  Even  those 
who  are  wont  to  "  take  careful  note  of  time,"  have  been  unable  to  keep  up 
with  progress  and  improvement.  Forty  years  have  changed  Rochester 
from  a  wilderness  to  what  it  now  is;  and  Riga  shows  what  has  been  done 
in  a  little  more  than  forty  years  by  the  hardy  enterprise  of  New  England 
yeomanry;  about  half  of  the  time  destitute  of  the  advantages  of  a  mar 
ket.  A  heavy  timbered  wilderness  has  been  converted  into  a  well  cultiva 
ted,  well  fenced,  wealthy  farming  town :  unsurpassed  by  any  town,  in  any 
region  of  country,  in  the  way  of  neat  and  convenient  farm  houses  and 
barns,  and  in  the  general  appearance  of  rural  happiness  and  independence. 

After  observations  made  in  travelling  more  or  less  in  twenty  States  of 
the  Union,  I  regard  the  greater  portion  of  western  New  York,  in  point  of 
soil,  climate,  and  in  all  things  which  go  to  make  up  the  character  of  a 
country,  as  the  most  desirable  spot  of  earth,  in  which  I  could  reside  as  a 
farmer. 


An  excellent  example  was  set  by  the  venerable  Pioneer,  Elihu 
Church,  Esq.,  in  the  spring  of  1850.  He  invited  to  his  ample  and 
hospitable  dwelling,  all  the  Pioneers  of  Riga,  and  they  had  a  plea 
sant,  social  time  of  it.  Old  times  were  reviewed,  anecdotes  and  re 
miniscences  related  ;  the  memories  of  their  departed  friends  and 
neighbors  passed  in  review ;  old  acquaintances  revived  and  friend 
ships  renewed  ;  toasts  and  sentiments  offered  ; — in  all  things,  it  was 
an  agreeable  and  happy  meeting.  Present,  as  "  in  every  good 
work,"  having  reference  to  pioneer  times,  was  the  enthusiastic,  kind 
hearted  Scotchman,  Donald  M'Kenzie.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  such 
social  parties  will  be  multiplied. 

Among  the  reminiscences  related,  was  that  of  Mrs.  Emerson, 
who  said  that  on  one  occasion,  when  their  wheat  was  ripe,  her  hus 
band  "  cut  it  with  a  sickle,  drew  it  out  of  the  field  upon  an  ox  sled, 
threshed  it  with  a  flail,  cleaned  it  with  a  hand  fan,  drew  it  to  Ro 
chester  and  sold  it  for  31  cents  per  bushel."  Elihu  Church,  Esq., 
related  the  affair  of  the  cold  bath  in  Black  Creek,  in  the  winter  of 
1807.  Himself  and  brother  Samuel,  Amasa  Frost,  Samuel  Shep 
herd,  and  their  wives,  were  on  their  way  to  visit  their  neighbor, 
Jehiel  Barnes.  Crossing  the  stream  on  their  ox  sled,  the  hind  board 
come  out  as  they  were  raising  the  steep  bank,  and  the  whole  party 
were  drenched  with  water,  in  a  cold  night,  two  miles  from  the  near 
est  house. 

A  resolution  was  passed,  worthy  of  especial  note  : — It  was  in 
substance,  that  the  male  Pioneers  present,  attributed,  under  Provi 
dence,  a  large  share  of  the  success  that  had  crowned  their  efforts, 
to  the  heroic  fortitude,  self-denial,  fidelity  and  energy,  of  their  "  ex 
cellent  Pioneer  wives." 

The  Pioneers  present,  all  entered  their  names,  ages,  and  the 


508  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

periods  of  their  advents.  A  review  of  the  list,  and  a  reference  to 
other  means  of  observation,  induces  the  conclusion,  that  there  is  no 
town  in  the  Genesee  country,  where  there  is  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  Pioneer  settlers  surviving.  ,*, 

The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Henry 
Waidener,  in  J809.  'Thomas  Hill  was  chosen  Supervisor,  and 
Joshua  Howell,  town  clerk.  The  other  town  officers  were  : — 
Eleazer  T.  Slater,  Jesse  Church,  Israel  Douglass,  Thomas  Bing- 
ham,  Jacob  Cole,  Isaac  C.  Griswold,  Amasa  Frost,  Henry  Waiden 
er,  Thomas  Gay,  Warner  Douglass,  Daniel  Dinsmore,  George  Rich 
mond,  Solomon  Blood.  Elihu  Church  was  Supervisor  in  1811, 
'12,  '13;  and  Horatio  Orton,  town  clerk  in  those  years. 


OGDE^. 


John  Murray,  a  merchant  in  New  York,  was  an  early  proprietor 
of  T.  3,  west  of  Genesee  river,  formerly  Fairfield,  now  Ogden. 
William  Ogden,  of  New  York,  was  his  son-in-law;  consequently, 
one  of  the  heirs  of  the  estate  ;  and  thence  the  name  the  town  bears. 
The  sale  and  settlement  of  the  township  was  embraced  in  the  nu 
merous  agencies  of  James  Wradsvvorth.  Soon  after  1800,  he  made 
himself  acquainted  with  the  valuable  tract,  and  took  preliminary 
steps  to  bring  it  into  market.  Fixing  the  price  at  82  per  acre,  in 
1802,  he  sold  farm  lots,  in  the  township,  to  Benajah  Wiiley,  Abra 
ham  Colby,  John  Gould,  John  Webster,  Sally  Worthington,  Benj. 
Freeman, Snow,  Daniel  Spencer. 

The  Pioneer  of  the  township  was  George  W.  Wiiley,  who  still 
survives  at  the  age  of  83. years.  He  is  living  with  his  third  wife, 
and  of  nine  children,  but  three  survive  : — George  Wiiley,  of  Michi 
gan,  Mrs.  Elisha  P.  Davis,  of  Churchville,  and  Mrs.  Jehiel  Castle, 
of  Parma.  Mr.  Wiiley  moved  in  his  family  from  East  Haddam, 
Conn.,  in  1804.  His  route  from  Avon  was  via  Scottsville  and  the 
Hanover  settlement,  where  Joseph  Carey,  Samuel  Scott,  and  John 
Kimball,  had  located,  and  to  which  point  they  had  opened  a  road. 
Beyond  that,  Mr.  Wadsworth  was  opening  a  road  to  "  Fairfield," 
but  had  it  but  partly  completed.  Mr.  Wiiley  had  been  in  the  year 
before,  and  built  a  log  house,  and  made  a  small  opening,  accom 
panied  by Dillingham,  whom  he  had  found  settled  on  Black 

Creek,  and  persuaded  to  change  his  location.  Each  erected  log 
houses,  the  first  tenements  in  the  township  ;  living  in  a  rude  camp, 
and  procuring  their  provisions  of  the  new  settlers  south  of  them. 
When  they  had  the  logs  ready  for  their  houses,  they  went  in  differ 
ent  directions,  to  Braddock's  Bay,  the  Landing,  Scottsville,  and  the 
Hanover  settlement,  for  help  to  raise  ;  procured  in  all  about  twenty 
men.  Mr.  Wiiley  remembers  that  he  came  very  near  not  being 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  509 

present  at  the  raising  of  his  own  house  ;  for  in  his  tour,  inviting  the 
raisers,  he  got  lost,  remained  in  the  woods  all  night,  and  his  return 
was  thus  delayed  until  after  the  raising  had  commenced.  Mr. 
Wadsworth  had  offered  a  premium  of  six  bushels  of  wheat,  a  barrel 
of  whiskey,  and  a  barrel  of  pork,  for  the  first  dwelling  raised  in  the 
township  ;  and  was  himself  present  at  the  raising  ;  sharing  the 
camp  of  Messrs.  Willey  and  Dillingham  over  night,  but  getting  lit 
tle  sleep ;  for  the  backwoodsmen,  intent  upon  a  frolic,  used  up  the 
whole  night  for  that  purpose,  insisting  occasionally  that  he  should 
participate  in  their  rude  sports,  which  he  knew  well  how  to  do 
when  occasion  required;  and  a  log  house  raising,  away  off  in  the 
wilderness,  was  no  place  to  be  a  non-participant  in  whatever  was 
proposed.  Dillingham  moved  his  family  in  soon  after,  but  getting 
lonesome,  moved  back  to  Black  Creek.  After  the  raising,  Mr.  Wil 
ley  was  taken  sick,  was  removed  to  Geneseo,  and  recovering,  re 
turned  to  Connecticut  late  in  the  fall,  coming  out  with  his  family 
the  next  season,  as  has  been  mentioned.  Before  his  arrival  with  his 
family,  Ephraim,  Abraham,  Timothy,  and  Isaac  Colby,  two  of  them 
with  families,  had  built  a  log  house  and  moved  in.  In  the  same 
year,  Josiah  Mather,  Jonathan  Brown,  Henry  Hahn,  and  William 
H.  Spencer,  settled  in  the  town. 

At  the  Pioneer  Festival  in  Rochester,  in  1849,  the  medal  pro 
cured  for  that  purpose,  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Willey,  as  the  oldest 
resident  Pioneer  in  attendance. 

William  B.  Brown  settled  in  Ogden  in  1806  or  '7  ;  was  from 
Lynn,  Conn. ;  located  near  the  present  village  of  Spencerport ; 
married  in  early  years  the  sister  of  Mr.  Willey ;  still  survives  at 
the  age  of  66.  He  has  been  one  of  the  Judges  of  Monroe  county ; 
a  Colonel  of  militia  ;  was  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war  of  1812,  in 
Colonel  Atchinson's  regiment.  Rev.  Daniel  Brown,  the  father  of 
Judge  Brown,  settled  in  Ogden  as  early  as  1807  or  '8.  He  preach 
ed  the  first  sermon  in  the  village  (now  city)  of  Rochester;  died  in 
Pittsford,  in  1845,  aged  84  years.  William  Brown,  of  Ogden,  is  a 
son  of  his  ;  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Lemuel  Brooks, 
of  Churchville.  Daniel  Arnold  in  1805;  died  in  early  years; 
Daniel,  Aaron  and  Enoch  Arnold,  of  Ogden,  and  Ebenezer  Ar 
nold,  of  Bsrgen,  are  his  sons  ;  a  daughter  of  his  became  the  wife 
of  Samuel  Latta,  of  Greece.  David  Wandle  was  one  of  the  ear 
liest  ;  died  some  25  years  since ;  no  descendants  residing  in  town. 
James  Baldwin  was  a  settler  in  early  years;  removed  to  Royalton, 
Niagara  county,  where  he  died  a  few  years  since,  and  where  many 
of  his  family  now  reside.  James  Pattingill,  Jarvis  Ring,  Stephen 
Gridley,  Oliver  Gates,  were  other  early  settlers  : — Mr.  Pattingill 
died  about  ten  years  since  ;  Benjamin,  Reuben,  Osgood,  and  Moses 
Pattingill.  of  O<j;den,  are  his  sons  ;  a  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Nathaniel 
Rollin,  of  Ogden.  Mr.  Gridley  is  still  living.  Mr.  Gates  died  15 
or  16  years  since ;  Stephen  and  Henry  Gates,  of  Ogden,  are  his  sons. 


510  PHELPS   A1STD    GOEHAM7S   PTJECHASE. 

Daniel  Spencer  from  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  settled  in  Ogden  in 
1804.  His  farm  embraced  the  present  village  of  Spencerport.  He 
died  in  1835,  aged  54  years  ;  his  first  wife  was  a  sister  of  Mr.  Wil- 
ley ;  Joseph  A.  and  Libbeus  Spencer  are  his  sons.  He  was  Col 
lector  of  the  old  town  of  Northampton.  Austin  Spencer,  his  brother, 
settled  in  the  town  in  1808,  locating  near  his  brother.  He  still 
survives  at  the  age  of  67  years.  He  was  the  Supervisor  of  the 
town,  before  and  after  the  organization  of  Monroe  county ;  and  for 
twenty  years  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

John  P.  Patterson  settled  in  Ogden  in  1810.  He  was  the  first. 
Supervisor  of  the  town,  and  afterwards  the  Sheriff  of  Monroe. 
He  emigrated  to  Illinois,  where  he  died  a  few  years  since.  Samuel 
Kilbourn,  now  of  Brockport,  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Sheriff  Pat 
terson,  and  settled  in  Ogden  about  the  same  period ;  was  an  early 
Supervisor  of  the  town,  and  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

The  first  religious  meeting  in  the  town,  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Esq.  Willey,  in  1805;  Revs.  Mr.  Mitchell,  Jenks,  Van  Epps, 
Gatchell,  Lane,  were  early  Methodist  circuit  preachers,  who  visited 
the  settlement.  The  first  settled  minister  was  the  Rev.  Ebenezer 
Everett.  Dr.  Gibbon  Jewett  was  the  first  physician,  and  practiced 
for  many  years.  He  died  at  Parma  Corners  about  15  years  since. 
The  first  school  was  kept  by  a  sister  of  Esq.  Willey,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Judge  Brown.  Benajah  Willey  built  the  first  framed 
house  and  barn  ;  pretty  much  all  the  settlers  who  came  in  in  1804, 
raised  a  few  crops  in  1805.  The  first  born  in  town,  was  John 
Colby,  a  son  of  Abraham  Colby. 

The  settlement  of  the  town  was  pretty  much  arrested  during  the 
war  of  1812  ;  but  after  the  war,  was  rapid,  until  the  whole  was  set 
tled.  Mr.  Wadsworth  recommended  the  township  to  his  New 
England  friends,  as  one  of  the  best  in  the  Genesee  country  ;  and 
well  he  might:  The  soil  is  uniformly  of  the  best  quality  ;  and  what 
is  a  little  remarkable,  there  is  perhaps,  not  50  acres  of  waste  land 
in  the  township. 

Charles  Church  was  the  first  and  the  principal  merchant  in  Og 
den  for  over  thirty  years.  He  died  in  Rochester,  in  1850,  where 
his  widow  (who  is  a  descendant  of  the  Pioneer  of  Bloomfield,  Dea 
con  John  Adams,)  now  resides.  He  left  but  one  son,  a  minor ;  a 
daughter  is  the  wife  of  F.  T.  Adams,  of  Rochester.  Fairchilds  and 
Richards  were  also  early  merchants  in  Ogden. 

Many  of  the  early  settlers  of  Ogden  were  from  Haddam,  Conn. 
When  Mr.  Wadsworth  had  resolved  upon  commencing  the  settle 
ment,  he  visited  that  part  of  New  England,  and  in  Haddam  a  pub 
lic  meeting  was  called  to  hear  his  description  of  the  new  town  of 
"  Fairfield."  It  was  called  the  "  Genesee  meeting."  Following 
this,  Daniel  Arnold  came  out,  saw  the  township,  and  reported  favor 
ably.  Emigration  soon  commenced. 

The  settlement  of  the  town  was  carried  on  under  the  auspices  of 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  511 

Mr.  Wadsworth,  until  1823,  when  Messrs.  Murray  and  Ogden  ap 
pointed  Mr.  Willey  their  local  agent,  and  he  continued  to  act  as 
their  agent  until  the  township  was  all  sold  and  paid  for.  The  father 
of  Mr.  Willey,  (Benajah  Willey)  who  it  will  be  observed  was  the 
first  purchaser  in  the  township,  settled  in  it  in  1806.  He  died  in 
early  years. 

The  late  Win.  H.  Spencer,  as  will  have  been  observed,  located 
first  in  Ogden.  He  built  a  saw  mill  in  1805,  which  furnished  the 
first  boards  used  in  that  region. 


PARMA. 


"  Gore  in  Parma,  north  of  Fairfield." —  This  was  the  designation 
given  by  Mr.  Wadsworth,  under  whose  agency  it  was  sold  and 
settled,  to  all  the  south  part  of  the  town  of  Parma,  oit  either  side  of 
the  Ridge  Road.  Those  who  first  purchased,  or  took  contracts  for 
land,  upon  this  tract,commencing  in  1805,  and  in  the  order  named, 
were:  —  Abner  Brockway  Jr.,  James  Egbert,  Jonathan  Ogden, 
Hope  Davis,  Lazarus  Church,  Samuel  M.  Moran,  Daniel  Brown, 
Bezaliel  Atchinson,  Jarvis  Ring,  Tillotson  Ewer.  It  is  not  to  be 
presumed  that  all  these  became  settlers.  The  reminiscences  of 
two  Pioneers,  as  given  to  the  author,  will  embrace  the  names  of  most 
of  the  settlers,  and  most  of  the  early  events  :  — 


REMINISCENCES  OF  LEVI  TALMADGE. 


I  was  a  resident  of  Wolcott,  N.  H.  In  1803,  James  Wadsworth  visited 
that  town,  called  a  public  meeting,  gave  us  a  description  of  the  Oenesee 

country,  and  urged  us  to  emigrate.  Thomas  Wiard,  Benni  Bishop, 

Stebbins,  Seymour  Welton  and  Abel  Curtis,  with  their  families,  and  Ash- 
bel  Atkins,  John  Curtiss,  and  myself,  unmarried  men,  formed  an  emigant 
party.  There  was  38  persons  in  all.  We  came  with  seven  wagons,  form 
ing  a  considerable  cavalcade  ;  were  21  days  on  the  road.  Geneseo  was 
our  destination  ;  when  we  arrived  there  we  were  all  quartered  in  some  log 
houses  that  belonged  to  Mr.  Wadsworth  ;  were  joyfully  received  by  the 
settlers  ;  we  liked  the  country  ;  and  all  were  cheerful  and  happy. 

I  worked  out  by  the  month  for  a  year  or  two  ;  was  engaged  for  some 
time  in  a  trading  excursion  with  James  Rodgers  who  had  settled  in  Canan- 
daigua  in  an  early  day  ;  we  traded  with  the  Indians  in  Allegany  and 
Cattaraugus.  I  resided  in  Bergen  from  1809  until  1811,  in  which  last 
year,  I  came  to  Parma,  and  purchased  the  tavern  stand  and  the  small  im 
provement  of  Hope  and  Elisha  Davis.  They  had  been  Pioneers  at  Parma 
Corners  ;  had  built  a  comfortable  block  house.  Hope  died  in  184(3  ;  his 
widow  still  survives  ;  Elisha  Davis  removed  to  Riga. 


512  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUHCHASE. 

There  was  settled  at  Parma  Corners  before  the  close  of  1811,  beside 
the  Davisesand  myself  : —  Augustus  Mather;  he  died  four  years  since;  his 
widow  still  survives ;  Mrs.  Amos  Webster  of  Parma  is  his  daughter.  Lendell 
Curtiss;  emigrated  to  Michigan,  some  years  since;  Kinnicone  Roberts  died 
in  early  years;  his  widow  is  Mrs.  Brewer  of  Ogden.  Joshua  Whitney, 
who  in  1811  and  '12,  built  a  grist  and  saw  mill  on  Salmon  creek;  he  emi 
grated  to  Michigan,  where  he  now  resides.  These  were  all  at  the  corners  and 
west  of  them,  on  the  Ridge.  Josiah  Fish  had  removed  from  the  Allan 
mills  at  Rochester,  and  resided  on  the  Ridge  east  of  the  villnge. 

Our  first  merchants  at  Parma  corners,  were  Joseph  Thompson  and  David 
Tuttle;  their  successors  were,  John  Rochester  and  Harvey  Montgomery; 
their  successor  was  William  M'Knight,  now  of  Rochester.  Dr.  Gibbons 
Jewelt,  was  our  first  physician;  Gibbon  H.  Jewett,  of  Parma,  is  his  son; 
he  was  an  early  supervisor  and  magistrate.  John  D.  Higgins  was  the  first 
settled  physician  in  Parma;  remained  but  two  or  three  years  and  removed 
to  Bath.  Dr.  John  Scott  practiced  here  in  several  early  years. 

Zolved  Stevens  settled  in  Parma  in  1813  or  '14;  was  a  merchant  and 
distiller;  a  supervisor  and  magistrate;  died  12  or  14  years  since. 

Seltlementwas  entirely  suspended  during  the  war  of  1812;  some  left,  but 
none  came ;  and  yet  the  beating  up  of  recruits,  the  marching  of  soldiers,  the 
transportation  of  supplies  for  the  army,  made  brisk  times  upon  the  Ridge  Road. 
It  was  a  constant  state  if  excitement  and  alarm,  and  little  was  done  in  the 
way  of  improvements  by  those  who  remained  in  the  country.  Hope  Da 
vis,  the  early  Pioneer  I  have  named,  raised  a  volunteer  company,  and  went 
to  the  Frontier;  was  at  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane,  and  in  several  other 
engagements.  I  have  a  cannon  ball  t  ;at  weighs  sixty-eight  pounds,  that 
was  tired  from  the  British  fleet,  off  the  mouth  of  Genesee  River.  I  saw 
where  it  struck,  and  went  and  picked  it  up. 


The  early  tavern  keeper,  Mr.  Talmadge,  resides  upon  a  fine 
farm  a  mile  west  of  Parma  Corners ;  is  childless  ;  his  wife,  who 
was  the  widow  of  David  Franklin,  whose  sudden  death  is  noticed 
by  Mr.  Pierson,  died  in  1842. 

Samuel  Castle  settled  in  Parma,  north  of  Ridge,  in  1810,  and  was 
joined  next  year  by  his  father,  Abraham  Castle.  The  old  gentle 
man  died  in  1812.  His  surviving  sons,  other  than  the  one  named, 
are: — Jehiel  Castle,  of  Parma;  Isaac  Castle,  of  Greece.  A  daugh 
ter  of  his  became  the  wife  of  Arnold  Markham,  a  brother  of  the 
early  Pioneers  in  Avon  and  Rush.  Samuel  Castle  has  been  one  of 
the  Judges  of  Monroe  county. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  SAMUEL  CASTLE. 


Our  purchase  of  land  when  we  came  in,  was  of  Birdseye  &  Norton ; 
the  location  had  upon  it  a  small  improvement  that  had  been  made  by 
Michael  Beach,  a  previous  occupant.  He  had  been  a  salt  boiler;  had  sev- 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  513 

eral  kettles  set ;  ruined  his  salt  spring  by  endeavoring  to  get  stronger 
water.  Beach  removed  to  Pittsford,  died  several  years  since  in  Clarendon. 
When  our  family  came  in,  there  was  but  one  road  leading  from  the  Ridge 
Road  to  the  Lake;  it  was  called  the  "  Canawaugus  Road;"  another  road 
led  from  Braddock's  Bay  to  "Deep  Hollow  Bridge."  What  was  called 
the  Canawaugus  road  is  now  the  main-  road  from  Parma  Corners  to  Parma 
Centre  and  Unionville.  The  inhabitants  at  that  period  north  cf  Ridge,  in 
Parma,  other  than  those  in  the  immediate  Braddock's  Bay  settlement, 
were: — Alpheus  Madden,  near  Parmi  Centre;  died  here,  his  family  re 
moved;  Timothy  Madden,  a  little  west  of  Castle's  Corners;  died  15  or  20 
years  since;  Silas  Madden,  of  Parma,  is  his  son;  Mrs.  Joseph  Randall,  of 

Parma,  is  his  daughter,  Hicks;  died  in  early  years;  Van  Rensse- 

lear  and  Benjamin  Hicks,  of  Parma,  are  his  sons.  Joshua  Hickson, 
Jeremiah  Perry;  died  here.  Nehemiah  Weston. 

In  1810,  there  was  no  framed  house  or  barn  in  Parma,  north  of  Ridge, 
except  in  the  Braddock's  Bay  settlement;  there  was  but  one  house  at  Par 
ma  Corners.  It  was  very  sickly  north  of  Ridge,  in  all  the  early  years ; 
in  some  localities,  in  the  sickly  seasons,  there  would  not  be  well  ones 
enough  to  take  care  of  the  sick;  deaths  sometimes  occurred  for  the  want 
of  the  ordinary  nursing  of  the  sick.  I  have  often,  when  afflicted  with  the 
ague,  promised  I  would  leave  the  country  when  I  got  well  enough;  many 
did  leave.  The  sickness  used  to  prevail  most  at  Braddock's  Bay,  and  about 
the  Ponds.  A  spirit  of  kindness  prevailed  among  the  new  settlers,  a  sym 
pathy  for  each  others  misfortunes;  those  who  lived  in  settlements  a  little 
more  favored,  would  go  where  sickness  prevailed  most,  in  whole  households, 
and  take  care  of  the  invalids  day  and  night.  The  land  north  of  Ridge, 
was  heavily  timbered,  wet.  It  was  so  hard  beginning,  that  men  who  had 
no  means,  could  not  take  up  land  and  pay  for  it;  most  that  attempted  to 
do  so,  failed;  were  obliged  to  sell  their  improvements  for  what  they  could 
get.  1  knew  of  one  man,  however,  who  persevered  in  this  way,  taking  up 
land,  making  small  improvements,  and  selling  out,  until  he  became  the 
owner  of  a  good  farm.  The  proprietors  of  the  land  were  very  indulgent; 
had  it  been  otherwise,  but  few  of  the  early  settlers  could  ever  become  free 
holders.  There  was,  in  the  earliest  years  of  settlement,  no  market  when 
the  settlers  had  any  thing  to  sell;  in  1810,  they  had  began  to  better  their 
condition  by  the  manufacture  of  pot-ash  and  black  salts. 

During  the  war,  settlement  was  mostly  suspended;  some  left  who  did 
not  return;  others  would  move  off  at  periods  of  excitement  and  alarm,  and 
return  again.  A  singular  circumstance  occurred  with  one  of  our  neigh 
bors  at  the  battle  of  Queenston: — Joseph  Stoddard  was  shot  in  the  fore 
head;  the  army  surgeons  extracted  a  ball;  he  came  home,  and  another  was 
extracted ;  the  two  balls  having  made  but  one  perforation  of  the  skull. 


Parma  Centre  is  three  miles  north  of  Parma  Corners ;  there  is  a 
post-office,  two  meeting  houses,  two  stores,  several  machine  shops, 
and  a  tavern  house  and  dwellings.  Unionville  is  two  miles  north 
of  Parma  Corners  ;  there  at  that  point,  two  meeting  houses,  a  store, 
several  machine  shops  and  dwellings.  The  village  has  started  on 


514  PHELPS  AM)  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

the  farms  of  Jason  Tyler,  and  Jonathan  Underwood.  The  last  of 
whom,  is  especially  remembered  by  many  early  Pioneers.  He  is  a 
bachelor,  nearly  70  years  of  age.  He  had  a  large  improved  farm, 
and  in  an  early  day  raised  large  crops  of  grain.  In  seasons  of 
scarcity  he  would  withhold  from  those  who  had  money  to  purchase, 
and  trust  it  out  to  his  neighbors  who  stood  in  need  of  it.  Let  those 
old  neighbors,  or  their  descendants,  see  that  marble,  as  well  as 
history  records  this  fact. 

The  town  of  Parma  was  erected  in  1808.  At  the  first  town 
meeting  in  1809,  Gibbons  J.ewett  was  elected  Supervisor,  Justin 
Worthington,  town  Clerk  ;  other  town  officers  :  —  Jarvis  Ring, 
Jonathan  Underwood,  Abraham  Colby,  Daniel  C.  Arnold,  Joshua 
Wickson,  Elisha  U.  Brown,  Josiah  Mather,  Benjamin  Freeman, 
Ephraim  Colby,  Hope  Davis,  Stephen  Atchinson. 

The  north  part  of  Parma  was  called  by  Mr.  Wadsworth,  "Brad- 
dock's  Bay  Township."  It  was  surveyed  in  1796,  by  Joseph  Colt. 
Upon  the  original  surveyor's  map,  many  lots  are  marked  as  sold  to 
"  Thayer,"  and  afterwards  it  is  noted  that  they  are  "  released  by 
Thayer  to  Lady  Bath."  1 1  would  seem  that  Mr.  Wadsworth's 
agency,  in  the  township  commenced  in  1806,  or  rather  that  he  first 
turned  his  attention  to  the  sale  and  settlement  of  it  in  that  year.  — 
In  September,  of  that  year,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Troup :  —  "I  have 
just  been  down  to  Braddock's  Bay  Township.  Almost  every  man, 
woman  and  child  was  sick  with  the  fever ;  some  of  them  were 
actually  suffering.  I  supplied  them  with  some  articles  of  necessity. 
I  am  afraid  the  settlement  will  be  abandoned."  How  changed !  The 
region  which  the  enterprising  patroon  of  new  settlements  then 
spoke  of  with  so  much  despondency  —  where  men,  worn  down  by 
disease  and  all  the  trials  incident  to  back- wood's  life  ;  is  now  one  of 
health  and  prosperity.  It  would  take  from  $40  to  860  per  acre,  to 
induce  its  owners  to  "  abandon"  it  now ;  and  most  of  them  are 
under  no  necessity  of  quitting  it  even  at  that  rate. 


GREECE. 


In  a  preceding  portion  of  the  work,  the  early  advent  of  William 
Hencher,  the  proprietors  of  the  "  20,000  acre  tract,"  and  a  few  oth 
ers,  in  what  is  now  Greece,  has  been  noticed.  It  remains  in  this 
connection  to  speak  of  pioneer  events  there  at  a  later  period. 

Messrs.  Troup  and  Wadsworth  would  seem  to  have  contem 
plated  the  making  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  a  commercial  point, 
soon  after  Col.  Troup  succeeded  to  the  agency  of  the  Pulteney 
estate  ;  it  is  often  a  subject  of  discussion  in  their  correspondence ; 
but  it  was  not  until  a  few  years  before  the  war  of  1812,  that  any 
movements  were  made  to  that  end.  Samuel  Latta  was  the  first 


PIIELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  515 

permanent  settler  there,  as  a  local  agent  for  the  Pulteney  estate, 
and  the  locality  having  been  made  a  port  of  entry,  he  was  appoin 
ted  a  collector  of  customs,  and  had  also  a  small  mercantile  establish 
ment.  The  Latta  family  were  early  settlers  at  Geneva ;  Mrs. 
Benjamin  Barton  of  Lewiston,  was  a  member  of  it.  Samuel  Lat 
ta  died  in  Greece  ;  his  widow  is  now  Mrs.  Beal,  of  that  town ;  John 
Latta  of  Brockport,  is  his  son.  George  Latta,  now  the  owner  and 
occupant  of  the  fine  farm  on  the  lake  shore,  near  Charlotte,  was  a 
younger  brother  of  Samuel;  became  a  resident  at  Charlotte,  in  1811. 

Erastus  Spalding,  who  had  resided  at  or  near  Geneva,  settled  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  under  the  auspices  of  Col.  Troup,  some 
time  before  the  war  of  1812.  He  built  and  opened  the  first  hotel; 
a  building  now  standing  on  the  bluff,  a  little  up  the  river  from  the 
present  steam  boat  landing ;  had  a  small  trading  establishment ; 
built  the  first  vessel  at  the  point  —  the  schooner  Isabel,  which  was 
captured  by  the  Bnitish,  in  the  war  of  1812  —  and  was  the  first  to 
commence  the  purchase  of  butt  staves,  a  business  that  became  one 
of  considerable  magnitude  at  that  point.  Mr.  Spalding  afterwards 
became  the  owner  and  occupant  of  the  farm  on  the  river,  which 
embraced  the  eligible  plat  of  ground  now  called  Lake  View,  near 
the  city  of  Rochester.  His  son,  Lyman  A.  Spalding,  was  one  of 
the  earliest  merchants  of  Lockport  and  has  been  for  many  years 
one  of  the  most  enterprizing  business  men  of  W.  N.  York ;  other 
surviving  sons  are,  Holmes  Spalding  of  Michigan  ;  Mark  Spalding 
of  Lockport,  and  Frederick  Spalding  of  Rochester. 

Frederick  Bushnell,  was  established  as  a  merchant  at  Charlotte, 
previous  to,  and  during  the  war  of  1812.  Samuel  Currier  was  an 
early  tavern  keeper  at  Charlotte,  and  had  some  connection  with  the 
lake  commerce.  It  is  mentioned  as  an  extraordinary  fact,  that  he 
was  the  husband  of  seven  wives,  five  of  whom  are  buried  at  Char 
lotte.  He  was  drowned  in  the  Genesee  River,  below  the  Falls. 

The  first  steam  boat  that  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  Riv 
er,  was  the  Ontario,  in  1816  —  Capt.  Eli  Lusher  was  commander. 

John  Mastick,  who  afterwards  settled  at  Rochester,  was  first 
located  at  Charlotte,  previous  to  the  war ;  was  the  Pioneer  lawyer 
of  all  this  local  region.  Giles  H.  Holden,  Esq.,  now  a  resident  at 
Charlotte,  settled  there  at  the  close  of  the  war.  He  remarks:  — 
"As  late  as  1815,  there  were  but  few  settlers  at  Charlotte.  Sick 
ness  and  the  war  had  been  the  principal  hindrances.  When  I  came 
there  were  many  deserted  tenements  in  Greece,  where  the  Pioneers 
had  either  died,  or  had  left  the  country  on  account  of  sickness,  or 
in  fear  of  British  invasion.  For  many  years  after,  the  ague  and 
fever,  and  the  billious  fever  were  very  general  in  July  and  Au 
gust.  In  1819,  diseases  were  most  fatal  —  many  died  —  there 
were  instances  of  three  and  four  deaths  in  the  same  family.  The 
prevalence  of  disease  was  attributed  to  the  low  grounds  on  the  riv 
er  and  lake  ;  to  the  ponds  and  marshes,  of  which  there  are  over 


516  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

4000  acres  in  the  town  of  Greece.  I  attribute  it  rather  to  the 
clearing  up  of  land,  the  letting  in  of  the  sun  upon  wet  lands,  the 
consequent  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter ;  for  now  that  lands 
are  cleared  and  dry,  we  have  little  of  disease,  and  yet  the  ponds  and 
marshes  mostly  remain  as  they  were  in  the  early  settlement  of  the 
country/' 

Immediately  after  the  war  there  was  a  considerable  accession  of 
inhabitants  at  Charlotte  ;  the  purchase  and  shipping  of  lumber  and 
pot  ash,  and  a  small  business  in  the  way  of  shipping  flour  and  grain, 
made  it  a  pretty  busy  place  :  but  as  Rochester  gradually  sprung  up, 
business  declined  there. 

The  mouth  of  the  river  was  an  exposed  point  during  all  of  the 
war  of  1812  ;  in  the  fore  fact  of  the  war,  the  enemy  had  vastly  the 
superiority  in  naval  force  upon  the  lake  :  and  in  fact,  during  the 
entire  war,  there  was  too  little  to  prevent  their  landing  where  they 
chose,  between  Oswego  and  Niagara ;  a  fact  however,  that  they 
were  not  at  all  times  aware  of.  At  the  mouth  of  the  river  there  was 
but  little  to  attract  them,  and  Rochester,  as  will  be  inferred,  was  of 
no  magnitude  that  would  have  made  its  capture  either  glorious,  or 
profitable.  Although  there  were  several  instances  of  disembarking 
and  embarking  of  American  armies  at  Charlotte,  and  of  temporary 
encampments,  there  was  no  regular  force  established  there  during 
the  war.  The  defence  of  the  position  mainly  devolving  upon  the 
local  militia,  and  volunteer  companies,  who  at  some  periods  were 
exempt  from  going  upon  the  Niagara  Frontier  in  consequence  of 
anticipated  exigencies  nearer  home. 

Sir  James  Yeo,  the  British  commander,  made  his  first  appearance 
off  the  mouth  of  the  river,  in  June,  1813.  He  had  contemplated 
an  attack  upon  Oswego,  but  the  weather  proving  unfavorable,  he 
cruisid  up  the  lake,  anchored  off  the  mouth  of  Genesee  River,  and 
sent  a  party  on  shore.  Their  entire  errand  was  plunder;  no  resis 
tance  was  offered,  for  there  was  no  military  organization  to  offer  it. 
The  only  restraint  that  was  put  upon  a  few  captured  citizens,  was  the 
preventing  their  going  out  to  warn  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbor 
hood  of  their  presence. 

In  the  store-house  of  Frederick  Bushnell  there  was  a  quantity  of 
salt,  whiskey,  and  provisions,  which  they  took  off;  in  a  business 
way,  however,  for  they  gave  to  the  clerk,  George  Latta,  a  receipt 
for  the  property.  The  landing  was  made  in  an  afternoon ;  they 
remained  over  night,  keeping  out  sentinels,  and  quietly  retired  early 
in  the  morning ;  probablv  getting  an  intimation  that  an  armed  force 
was  collecting  at  Handford's  Landing.  A  body  of  armed  men 
that  had  collected  there  marched  down,  arriving  at  the  Charlotte 
landing  just  as  the  invaders  were  embarking  on  board  their  boats. — 
Some  shots  were  fired  upon  them,  but  from  too  great  a  distance  to 
be  effective. 

Toward  the  last  of  September,  of  the  same  year,  both  the  British 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.       51Y 

and  American  fleets  were  at  the  upper  end  of  the  lake,  Commo 
dore  Chauncey  making  frequent  demonstrations  to  Sir  James  Yeo, 
of  his  readiness  to  contend  for  the  supremacy  of  the  lake,  but  the 
latter  declining,  and  gradually  making  his  way  down  the  lake.  — 
Arriving  off  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River  the  fleet  was  becalm 
ed  and  lay  almost  motionless  upon  the  water.  The  inhabitants  at 
Charlotte  supposed  the  fleet  had  anchored  preparatory  to  another 
landing,  expresses  were  sent  into  the  country ;  men  armed  and 
unarmed  flocked  from  the  back-wood's  settlements,  and  in  a  few 
hours  a  considerable  number  of  men  collected  ready  to  fight  or  to  run, 
as  chances  of  invasion  should  make  it  expedient.  While  anxiously 
watching  the  British  fleet,  expecting  every  moment  to  see  their  boats 
coming  toward  1  he  shore,  a  light  breeze  sprung  up,  and  soon  after, 
the  fleet  of  Commodore  Chauncey  was  seen  rounding  Bluff  Point. 
It  was  a  welcome  advent,  was  hailed  with  joyous  shouts  from  the 
shore  ;  at  a  moment  when  a  weak  force  had  supposed  themselves 
about  to  engage  with  a  vastly  superior  one,  succor  had  come  —  a 
champion  had  stepped,  or  rather  sailed  in,  quite  equal  to  the  task  of 
defence,  in  fact  seeking  the  opportunity  that  seemed  to  have  occur 
red.  Commodore  Chauncey  brought  his  fleet  within  a  mile  from 
the  shore,  and  when  it  was  directly  opposite  the  becalmed  fleet  of 
the  enemy,  he  opened  a  tremendous  fire  upon  it.  At  first  a  sheet  of 
flame  arose  from  the  American  fleet,  and  then  a  dense  cloud  of 
smoke,  that  rolling  off  before  a  light  breeze,  blowing  off  shore,  as 
completely  shut  out  the  British  fleet  from  view,  as  if  the  curtains 
of  night  had  been  suddenly  drawn;  while  the  American  fleet 
remained  in  full  view.  The  fire  was  returned,  but  as  the  breeze 
increased  both  moved  down  the  lake,  continuing  to  exchange  shots 
until  after  dark.  The  fire  upon  the  British  fleet  was  pretty  effect 
ive,  until  by  its  superior  sailing  abilities  it  had  got  out  of  the  reach  of 
Commodore  Chauncey's  guns.  The  British  fleet  was  a  good  deal 
disabled ;  and  an  officer  and  ten  men  were  either  killed  or  woun 
ded.  A  vessel  of  the  American  fleet  got  a  few  shots  through  its 
hull,  but  no  one  was  either  killed  or  wounded  on  board  of  it.  "  Sir 
James  Yeo,  ran  into  Amherst  Bay  where  the  American  fleet  was 
unable  to  follow  him  on  account  of  the  shoals."'* 

The  next  visit  of  Sir  James  Yeo,  with  his  fleet,  to  the  mouth  of 
Genesee  river,  was  in  May,  1814.  In  anticipation  of  such  ?m 
event,  in  addition  to  other  organizations  for  defence  in  the  neigh 
borhood,  Isaac  W.  Stone,  one  of  the  earliest  Pioneers  of  Roch 
ester,  had  been  commissioned  as  a  captain  of  dragoons,  had  en 
listed  a  company  of  fifty  men,  and  was  stationed  at  Charlotte  ;  and 
the  further  measure  of  defence  had  been  the  sending  to  captain 
Stone,  by  the  orders  of  General  P.  B.  Porter,  from  Canandaigua, 
an  18  and  a  4  pound  cannon.  The  18  pounder  had  been  taken 

*  Cooper's  Naval  History. 


518  PHELPS  AM)  GOEHAM'S  PTJKC&ASE. 

down  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  the  4  pounder  planted  upon  ti 
battery,  or  breast  work,  called  "  Fort  Bender,"  which  the  citizens 
had  thrown  up  on  the  River  road  to  impede  the  crossing,  by  the  in 
vaders,  of  the  bridge  over  Deep  Hollow.  The  fleet  was  first  descried 
by  captain  Stone  and  the  citizens  of  Charlotte,  a  litte  after  sunset 
upon  which  expresses  were  sent  into  the  settlements  in  different  di 
rections,  calling  for  volunteers.  In  what  is  now  the  city  of 'Roches 
ter,  there  were  then  32  men  capable  of  bearing  arms.  These  were 
organized  during  the  forepart  of  the  night,  and  armed  with  muskets 
that  had  been  deposited  with  Harvey  Ely  &  Co.  ;  or  rather  30  of 
them,  one  refusing  to  volunteer,  and  another  being  held  in  reserve, 
with  a  cart,  to  take  off  the  women  and  children  ;  so  few  in  num 
ber,  that  the  means  of  conveyance  was  quite  ample.  The  formida 
ble  force,  marching  through  deep  mud,  and  in  rain,  arrived  at 
Charlotte,  at  2  o'clock  in  the  morning.  They  had  constituted 
Francis  Brown  and  Elisha  Ely  their  officers.  In  addition  to  the 
force  of  captain  Stone,  there  was  stationed  at  Charlotte,  a  volun 
teer  company,  under  command  of  captain  Frederick  Rowe ;  the 
men  principally  citizens  of  what  is  now  the  towns  of  Gates  and 
Greece;  and  Col.  Atkinson's  regiment,  from  what  is  now  the  north 
western  towns  of  Monroe  county,  were  either  there  previously,  or 
as  soon  as  the  exigency  required.  The  only  fortification  at  Char 
lotte,  was  a  breast  work,  upon  the  bluff,  near  the  old  hotel,  so  loca 
ted  as  to  command  the  road  leading  up  the  bank  from  the  wharf 
Jt  was  composed  of  two  tiers  of  ship  timber,  with  a  space  between 
the  tiers  filled  in  with  barn  manure. 

The  hastily  collected  defenders  of  their  country  were  so  impatient 
to  meet  the  invaders,  that  before  any  demonstrations  were  made 
from  the  fleet  toward  shore,  a  volunteer  party  went  out  in  an  old 
boat  that  had  been  used  as  a  lighter,  just  after  day  light,  in  a  heavy 
fog,  to  reconnoitre ;  the  fog  suddenly  clearing  away,  they  found 
themselves  within  range  and  reach  of  the  guns  of  the  whole  British 
fleet.  A  gun  boat  from  the  fleet  put  out  after  them,  but  they  suc 
ceeded  in  making  good  their  retreat. 

All  things  remained  in  a  state  of  suspense  until  about  ten  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon,  when  a  flag  of  truce  was  seen  to  leave  the  British 
fleet,  and  make  toward  the  shore.  At  the  request  of  captain 
Stone,  captainsFrancis  Brown  and  Elisha  Ely  went  to  receive  it, 
with  orders  not  to  let  the  party  who  bore  it  enter  the  river,  or  dis- 
emroark,  but  to  communicate  with  them  from  the  Lake  shore.  For 
this  purpose,  they  went  out  upon  a  fallen  tree,  a  short  distance 
above  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  tied  a  white  handkerchief  to  a 
stick,  as  a  signal.  The  British  boats'  crew  approached,  proposed  to 
land,  as  is  usual  with  the  bearers  of  flags  of  truce,  but  the  orders  of 
cajptain  Stone  were  tenaciously  obeyed.  While  the  parley  was 
going  on,  a  small  party  of  armed  men  approached,  anxious  to  watch 
tHie  progress  of  events.  The  British  officer,  a  stickler  for  all  the 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.      f          519 

rules  and  regulations  of  war,  enquired  : — "  Is  it  your  custom  to  re 
ceive  a  ring  of  truce  under  arms  ?"  To  which  captains  Brown  and 
Ely  replied: — "  You  must  excuse  us,  sir;  we  are  not  soldiers,  but 
citizens."  The  armed  men,  however,  were  requested  to  retire, 
when  the  British  officer  disclosed  his  business.  It  was  to  tender 
the  assurance  of  Sir  James  Yeo,  that  if  all  the  public  property  was 
surrendered,  private  property  should  be  respected.  To  favor  his 
mission,  he  presented  a  paper  signed  by  several  citizens  of  Oswego, 
the  purport  of  which  was,  that  as  the  government  had  left  large 
quantities  of  stores  and  munitions  at  that  place,  without  any  ade 
quate  force  to  protect  them,  they  had  concluded  not  torisk  their  lives 
and  property  in  the  defence.  The  message  and  the  paper  was  for 
warded  to  captain  Stone,  who  decided  at  once  that  the  citizen  sol 
diers  assembled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river,  could  not  follow 
the  precedent  of  their  countrymen  at  Oswego.  "  Go  back  and  tell 
the  officer,"  said  he,  "  that  he  may  say  to  Sir  James  Yeo,  that  any 
public  property  that  may  be  here,  is  in  the  hands  of  those  who  will 
defend  it." 

Soon  after  this,  a  gun  boat,  sloop  rigged,  of  from  90  to  100  tons 
burden,  sailed  out  from  the  fleet,  approached  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
fired  a  six  pound  shot,  which  compliment  was  returned  from  the  18 
pounder  on  the  American  battery.  The  gun  boat  then  fired  15  or 
20  68  pound  shots  ;  but  one  of  them,  striking  the  store-house,  doing 
any  damage. 

Soon  after  this  occurrence,  Peter  B.  Porter  arrived,  and  assumed 
command.  Another  flag  of  truce  came  from  the  British  fleet  at  4 
o'clock  P.  M.,  bringing  a  peremptory  demand  from  Sir  James  Yeo, 
that  the  public  property  be  delivered  up ;  and  the  threat,  that  if  the 
demand  was  not  complied  with,  he  would  make  a  landing  with  his 
marines  and  400  Indians.  To  this,  Gen.  Porter  replied,  through  his 
aid,  Major  Noon,  that  he  would  endeavor  to  take  care  of  any  force 
that  Sir  James  felt  disposed  to  send  on  shore ;  accompanying  the 
reply  with  an  intimation  that  a  third  flag  of  truce  sent  upon  the 
same  errand,  could  not  be  respected.  The  demand  for  the  surren 
der  of  the  public  property  was  not  repeated ;  and  nothing  farther 
occurred,  but  an  occasional  shot  from  the  fleet,  which  did  no  harm. 
Many  of  the  heavy  balls  thrown  on  shore,  were  picked  up,  and  have 
been  preserved  to  this  time,  as  memorials  of  the  event. 

The  whole  force  collected  for  defence,  was  at  most,  800 ;  a  num 
ber  entirely  insufficient  to  contend  with  one  which  could  have  been 
furnished  from  the  British  fleet.  The  reason  why  Sir  James  Yeo 
sailed  down  the  Lake  without  executing  his  threat,  was  probably  an 
over  estimate  of  the  strength  of  the  American  force  ;  many  ingen 
ious  maneuvres  having  been  resorted  to,  well  calculated  to  produce 
that  result.  Or,  he  may  very  wisely  have  concluded  that  a  victory, 
won  with  even  a  small  loss  of  men,  would  have  been  a  barren  one  ; 
for  with  the  exception  of  a  small  amount  of  public  property,  there 
was  little  in  all  the  locality  to  encourage  or  provoke  invasion. 


0  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

GATES. 


The  territory  embraced  in  the  present  towns  of  Gates,  Greece 
and  the  city  of  Rochester  on  the  west  side  of  the  River,  had  a 
separate  organization,  retaining  the  name  of  Northampton  as  early 
as  1809;  the  old  town  of  Northampton,  once  embracing  all  west 
of  the  River,  having  been  thus  reduced  in  territory.  The  freehold 
ers,  within  the  limits  named  were  then  :  —  Charles  Harford,  John 
Van  Sickles,  Samuel  Latta,  Wm.  Hencher,  Jacob  Teeples,  Aug.  B. 
Shaw,  Abel  Rowe,  Moses  Everett,  Samuel  Currier,  Isaac  Vande- 
venter,  Benj.  Cowles,  Frederick  Bushnell,  Silas  O.  Smith,  Daniel 
Budd.  The  votes  given  in  1809,  for  members  of  Assembly,  were 
for  Levi  Ward,  Jr.  9,  Chauncey  Loomis  8.  In  1810  the  town  gave 
on  the  Congress  ticket,  for  Peter  B.  Porter  20,  for  Ebenezer  F.  Nor 
ton  16.  The  first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Jeremiah 
Olmsted,  "under  the  direction  of  Zacheus  Colby,  Esq."  Zhaceus 
Colby  was  elected  supervisor,  Hugh  M'Dermid  town  clerk.  Other 
town  officers:  —  Thomas  King,  Richard  Clark,  John  Williams, 
Mathew  Dimmick,  Moses  Clark,  Nathaniel  Tibbies,  Abel  Rowe, 
Thomas  Lee,  Charles  Harford,  Frederick  Rowe,  Erastus  Robinson, 
Asahel  Wilkinson,  Nathaniel  Jones,  Augustus  B.  Shaw.  A  bounty 
of  "  three  cents  for  each  rattle  snake  killed  in  town,"  was  authorized. 
1810  —  Samuel  Latta  was  supervisor;  the  bounty  upon  rattle 
snakes  was  increased,  and  extended  to  those  "killed  in  the  banks 
of  the  River."  1811  —  Zacheus  Colby  w7as  supervisor;  bounty 
on  rattle  snakes  was  increased  to  12£  cents.  1812  —  John  Mastick 
was  supervisor.  1813  —  bounty  on  wolves  was  raised  to  810. 
1816 — Roswell  Hart  was  supervisor,  John  C.  Rochester,  town 
clerk ;  it  was  voted  that  all  former  laws  authorizing  a  bounty  upon 
rattle  snakes,  black  birds,  and  all  other  birds,  quadrupeds  &c.,  be 
repealed."  The  name  of  the  town  was  changed  to  Gates  in  1813 ; 
the  town  of  Greece  was  set  off  in  1822. 

Previous  to  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  settlement  was  princi 
pally  confined  to  that  part  of  the  town  which  is  now  Greece.  In 
1817,  Ezra  Mason,  who  will  be  named  in  connection  with  early 
events  in  Rochester,  purchased  the  farm  upon  which  he  now  re 
sides,  a  mile  and  a  half  beyond  the  city  bounds  on  the  Lisle  road, 
moved  upon  it,  and  commenced  improvements ;  the  farthest  advan 
ced  settler  upon  that  road.  The  Hartford  family  had  also  made 
an  improvement  of  about  30  acres  on  that  road,  and  built  a  house  ; 
upon  the  farm  now  occupied  by  Melancton  Whitemore.  In  the 
same  year,  Richard  Paul  made  a  commencement  upon  the  farm 
which  was  purchased  by  Philip  Lisle,  in  1818;  now  owned  by 
William  Otis.  Lovell  Thomas  made  a  commencement  upon  the 
Lisle  road  in  1817.  In  1819,  William  Williams  advanced  beyond 
Mr.  Mason,  and  commenced  improvements  on  the  Chauncey  farm. 


PHELPS  ATO  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  521 

As  late  as  1817,  there  were  but  a  few  settlers  living  in  small  open 
ings  of  the  forest,  on  the  Buffalo  road  in  Gates.  The  town  em 
bracing  all  of  Rochester,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  has  little  of 
history  disconnected  with  village  and  city.  It  contained  but  a 
scattered  population — there  were  but  few  openings  in  the  forest — 
when  Rochester  was  started.  The  same  remark  is  applicable  to 
Brighton,  beyond  what  will  be  found  in  the  body  of  the  work. 


PENTIELD. 


The  advent  of  Gen.  Fassett,  his  attempt  to  settle  the  town,  will 
have  been  noticed  in  the  body  of  the  work.  He  sold  the  township 
to  Gen.  Silas  Pepoon  of  Stockbridge,  who  sold  it  to  Samuel  P. 
Lloyd,  who  sold  it  to  Daniel  Penfield,  or  rather  it  passed  into  Mr. 
Penfield's  hands  by  reason  of  some  liabilities  he  had  assumed  for 
Mr.  Lloyd. 

Mr.  Penfield  was  a  native  of  Guilford,  Conn.,  a  son  of  Isaac  Pen- 
field.  In  the  Revolution  he  had  been  the  clerk  of  Oliver  Phelps,  in  the 
commissary  department ;  after  which  he  commenced  the  mercantile 
business  in  Hillsdale,  where  he  was  burned  out  during  the  Shay  re 
bellion.  He  subsequently  established  himself  in  the  commission 
business  in  the  city  of  New  York.  After  becoming  the  proprietor  of 
the  town  that  afterwards  took  his  name,  he  appointed  Zachariah 
Seymour,  Esq.,  his  agent,  under  whose  immediate  auspices,  settle 
ment  progressed,  until  Mr.  Penfield  emigrated  to  the  town  in  1810 
or  '11.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Gen.  John  Fellows,  who  has 
been  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  first  settlement  of  Bloom- 
field.  He  died  in  1840,  at  the  age  of  82  years,  after  a  long  and  active 
life,  during  more  than  forty  years  of  which  he  was  prominently  inden- 
tified  with  the  history  of  this  region.  His  surviving  sons  are  Henry 
F.  Penfield,  of  Buffalo,  and  George  Penfield,  Poughkeepsie.  Daugh 
ters  :  —  Mrs.  Judge  Gelston,  of  Black  Rock,  and  Mrs.  Andrew 
Young,  of  Maumee,  whose  first  husband  was  Francis  Brown,  of 
Rochester. 

The  permanent  settlement  of  Penfield  commenced  in  1801.  In 
that  year  Libbeus  Ross  and  Calvin  Clark  settled  a  short  distance 
north  of  the  present  village.  The  former  died  in  1816,  the  latter  in 
1810;  sons  of  both  reside  in  Penfield.  The  settlers  who  came  in 
in  1804,  were: — Josiah  J.  Kellogg,  Daniel  Stillwell,  Benj.  Minor, 
Jonathan  and  David  Baker,  Isaac  Beatty,  Henry  Paddock.  Capt. 
Miner  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Rochester,  in  the  76th  year  of  his 
age.  Jonathan  Baker  was  a  keeper  ot  an  early  public  house  in 
Penfield;  was  an  early  auctioneer  in  Rochester;  a  deputy  sheriff 
of  Ontario ;  was  at  one  period  the  keeper  of  the  Eagle  Tavern  in 
Palmyra.  Both  of  the  brothers  survive.  Isaac  Beatty  died  in 
33 


522  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

1835,  aged  73  years  ;  Mrs.  David  Baker  Mrs.  Luke  Thompson,  Mrs, 
John  D.  Scovell,  are  his  daughters.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  Rev 
olution,  in  the  Jersey  line.  Mrs.  Paddock  still  survives. 

In  180fi,  Capt.  Wm.  M'Kihster  opened  the  first  store  of  goods, 
with  which  he  connected  a  distillery.     He  was  from  Hudson,  the 
son  of  the  Col.  M'Kinster  whose  life  was  saved  by  Joseph  Brant 
during  the  border  wars.     Mr.  Fellows  gave  the  author  an  interest 
ing  account  of  Brant's  visit  to  Hudson  in  1805.     He  was  on  his 
way  to  England,  and  had  stopped  there  to  see  Daniel  Penfield  in 
reference  to  some  land  titles  on  the  Grand  River  in  Canada.     The 
business  delayed  him  for  two  weeks,  in  which  time  he  received  much 
attention  from  the  citizens  of  Hudson,  many  of  the  men  of  the  Rev 
olution  calling  upon   him,  who  had  met  him  in  the  battle  field,  or 
learned  to  dread  him  as  the  master  spirit  of  border  warfare.     Col. 
M'Kinster,  who  lived  at  Livingston  Manor,  went  down  to  Hudson, 
and  the  two  had  a  happy  meeting.     It  was  the  first  time  they  had 
met  since  Brant  had  saved  the  Col's,  life.     Among  the  rest  who 
came  to  see  him  was  a  loquacious  Dutchman  who  had  known  him 
before  the  Revolution.     In  a  boasting  and  rather  uncivil  way,  the 
Dutchman  told  him  if  he  had  met  him  in  the  border  wars,  he  would 
have  put  a  stop  to  his  career.     Brant  parried  the  attack  with   a 
pleasant  anecdote  :  —  "And  if  you  had  met  me,"  said  he,  "  it  would 

have  been  with  you  just  as  it  was  with  your  neighbor .     He 

had  boasted  just  as  you  are  boasting  now.  In  a  skirmish  I  happened 
to  meet  him  ;  he  took  to  his  heels,  and  hardly  stopped  to  take  breath 
until  he  arrived  in  Albany,  where  a  fire  had  just  broke  out,  and  the 
Dutchmen  were  in  the  streets  crying,  "braiint!"  "  braunt !  !  "• 
(fiire!  fire  ! )  Stopping  short  he  exclaimed  in  amazement :  —  "  The 
d — d  Indian  has  got  here  before  me!" 

While  in  Hudson,  Brant  was  free  to  say  that  he  regretted  having 
espoused  the  British  side  in  the  Revolution  ;  and  that  in  another 
contest  such  would  not  be  his  position. 

Capt.  M'Kinster  was  upon  the  frontier  in  the  war  of  1812,  in  com 
mand  of  a  company  at  the  battle  of  Queenston.  In  1814  Jacob 
B.  Bryan  became  his  business  partner  ;  the  firm  was  continued  un 
til  1820,  until  Mr.  M'Kinstry  returned  to  Hudson.  Mr.  Bryan,  who 
was  the  early  P.  M.  of  Penfield,  continued  the  business  until  1841  ; 
died  in  1843. 

Dr.  Van  Dake  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Penfield 
in  1804,  died  in  1810;  Dr.  Rich  in  1808,  died  in  3814.  Dr.  Arms 
in  1810  ;  removed  to  Michigan  in  1833,  where  he  died  in  1838. 

Dr.  Oliver  Reynolds  commenced  practice  in  the  village,  in  1815: 
in  1818  removed  to  what  is  now  Webster,  where  he  now  resides. 
Dr.  Daniel  Durfee  settled  in  the  east  part  of  the  town  in  1818, 
where  he  still  continues  the  practice  oi  his  profession,  at  the  age  of 
70  years. 

The  first  settled  minister  was  the  Rev,  Asa  Carpenter,  as  early 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE.  523 

as   1813;    he  was  the  founder  of  the   Presbyterian  church.     He 
died  in  1835. 

Mr.  Penfield  erected  a  grist  and  saw  mill,  at  the  Falls  of  the 
lyondequoit,  in  J805.  As  has  been  observed,  he  did  not  become  a 
resident  until  1811.  In  1813.  Henry  Ward  (who  has  been  named 
in  connection  with  reminiscences  of  Try  on  Town,)  became  his- 
clerk,  continuing  as  such  until  1821.  Mr.  Penfield  erected  a  flouring 
mill  at  an  expense  of  815,000.  It  is  now  owned  by  J.  B.  Roe.  In 
1836,  James  K.  Livingston  erected  a  stone  flouring  mill,  at  an  ex 
pense  X)f  830,000,  which  is  now  owned  by  Samuel  Miller. 

Tliere  has  grown  up  in  the  locality,  a  pleasant  rural  village,  hav 
ing  all  the  signs  of  enterprise  and  prosperity ;  of  which  much  more 
could  be  said,  but  it  is  only  primitive  things  that  come  within  the 
design  of  this  work. 

Henry  Fellows  was  the  son  of  Gen.  John  Fellows  ;  (see  page  174.) 
After  graduating  at  Williams'  College,  he  studied  law  with  Peter 
Van  Schaik,  at  Kinderhook.  In  1800  he  was  admitted  to  practice, 
and  settled  in  Canandaigua,  where  he  remained  until  1812,  when 
he  removed  to  Penfield,  where  he  still  survives,  the  occupant  of  a 
fine  farm,  a  successful  agriculturist  and  horticulturist,  exhibiting  but 
little  of  physical,  and  nothing  of  mental  infirmities  usually  conse 
quent  upon  the  age  at  which  he  has  arrived.  He  was  at  one  period 
a  member  of  the  State  legislature,  as  all  will  remember,  who  are 
conversant  with  the  political  history  of  the  State.  He  is  the  father 
of  five  sons,  all  residing  in  Penfield ;  of  Mrs.  Daniel  E.  Lewis,  of 
Penfield,  Mrs.  John  L.  Livingston,  of  Shortsville,  Mrs.  John  Van 
Buskirk,  of  Newark. 

It  was  not  until  1805  or  '6  that  settlement  commenced  in  north 
part  of  present  town  of  Penfield,  and  what  is  now  Webster.  In  those 
years  and  soon  after,  there  went  into  that  neighborhood,  John  Shoe- 
craft,  Isaac  Straight,  Daniel  Harvey,  Deacon  Foster,  Paul  Ham 
mond,  William  Mann,  William  Harris,  John  Letts,  Samuel  Pierce, 
Michael  Dunning,  Justin  Walker,  William  Straight,  Gerard  Dun 
ning,  Rufus  Herrick,  Robert  Woodhull,  Brooks  Mason. 

Mr.  Shoecraft  was  a  native  of  Ulster  county,  a  Pioneer  upon  the 
Mohawk  previous  to  the  Revolution,  an  active  partisan  in  the  Bor 
der  wars  ;  was  in  Sullivan's  expedition,  and  helped  bury  the  mangled 
remains  of  Lieut.  Boyd.  In  the  command  of  a  picket  guard,  near 
Cherry  Valley,  he  with  one  Broadhead  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Indians,  and  carried  to  Chemung.  While  their  Indian  guards  were 
asleep,  they  made  their  escape,  killing  several  of  their  captors.  In 
the  war  of  1812.  he  was  upon  the  frontier,  in  command  of  a  com 
pany  of  Silver  Greys ;  John  Shew  was  his  lieutenant.  He  died  in 
1833,  aged  77  years.  Peter  and  John  Shoecraft,  of  Penfield,  are 
his  sons  ;  two  other  sons  and  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Fox,  leside  in  Michi 
gan.  Mr.  Letts  was  the  pioneer  tavern  keeper,  upon  the  state  road ; 
still  survives.  The  Dunnings  were  enterprising  pioneers ;  it  is  per- 


524  PHELPS  AND    GOBHAM  S    PURCHASE. 

haps  worthy  of  record,  that  Michael  built  the  first  cider  mill  in  all 
that  region. 

William  Mann  is  the  son  of  John  Mann,  the  founder  of  Mann's 
mills  on  the  Irondequoit,  in  Pittsford.  He  settled  where  he  now 
resides  in  1808,  upon  100  acres  his  father  purchased,  and  upon 
which  he  had  erected  the  first  saw  mill  in  all  that  region.  William 
Mann  added  a  grist  mill  in  1812.  A  life  of  industry,  perseverance 
and  endurance,  has  been  that  of  most  of  all  the  early  Pioneers ; 
even  where  all  this  has  been  common,  there  are  some  things  in  the 
history  of  William  Mann  worthy  of  note.  Possessed  of  but  a  slight 
frame,  with  apparently  a  feeble  physical  constitution,  his  life  has 
been  one  of  constant  and  persevering  toil,  uninterrupted  by  sickness. 
Taking  charge  of  his  own  saw  mill  in  an  early  day,  he  has  been 
known  for  weeks  to  have  no  i-leep,  except  during  the  intervals  of  the 
sets  of  his  saw  for  each  board  ;  in  the  labor  of  the  field,  he  has  been 
earliest  and  latest ;  foremost  at  logging  bees  or  raisings,  where  hard 
work  was  to  be  encountered  ;  and  even  now,  there  is  with  him  but 
little  falling  off,  or  suspension  of  labor.  The  reader  will  be  glad  to 
learn  that  comfort  and  competence  is  the  reward  of  all  this  ;  but  he 
seems  to  work  on  as  if  he  did  not  know  how  to  stop. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  WILLIAM  MANN. 


In  most  of  North  Penfield,  what  is  now  Webster,  the  forest  was  heavy? 
the  ground  wet,  and  it  was  hard  beginning.  The  new  settlers  used  to 
change  works ;  many  of  them  could  not  command  a  team,  and  had  to  work 
for  their  neighbors  to  procure  team  work.  "  Bees  "  would  be  made  to  help 
the  weak  handed ;  all  were  friendly ;  sickness,  privation,  hardship,  created 
unity  and  mutual  regard  for  each  other's  interest  and  welfare.  Deer  and 
other  wild  game  were  plenty ;  salmon  in  the  spring  and  fall  would  come 
several  miles  up  the  Four  Mile  creek.  No  money  could  be  obtained  in  the 
earliest  years  ;  in  fact,  our  first  resources  for  a  little  money  and  a  little  store 
trade,  was  when  the  brothers,  Comings,  and  Amos  Dunning,  and  Amos 
Harvey,  started  asheries,  and  made  market  for  ashes  and  black  salts.  The 
Bidore  Road  was  an  Indian  trail.  It  was  not  cut  out  so  as  to  be  passable 
for  wagons,  until  a  little  while  before  the  war  of  1812.  There  was  great 
scarcity  of  food  after  the  (old  summer  of  1816.  I  had  ten  acres  of  rye, 
stout  and  early;  five  acres  of  it  was  cut  and  eaten  before  the  remainder, 
or  any  other  grain  in  the  neighborhood  was  cut.  In  1807,  Amos  Stone,  of 
Pittsford,  harvested  wheat,  threshed  and  carried  it  to  Mann's  Mills  to  be 
ground  in  good  condition,  on  the  4th  of  July  A  peacli  tree  was  planted 
on  my  farm,  in  1807;  it  lived  and  bore  peaches  until  1849.  Solomon  Ful 
ler,  in  1806,  built  a  small  mill  on  the  Irondequoit,  in  Brighton;  used  the 
old  mill  stones,  and  mill  irons  of  the  Allan  mill  at  the  Falls;  I  have  one  of 
the  gudgeons.  The  first  school  in  North  Penfield  was  organized  in  1810, 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  525 

in  the  Sehoolcraft  neighborhood ;  Wm.  Harris,  a  Scotchman,  was  the  first 
teacher.  Methodist  circuit  riders  were  our  first  ministers.  The  llev.  So 
lon  Pierce  organized  a  Methodist  church  in  1812, 


Ebenezer  Spear,  (see  page  381.)  removed  from  Palmyra  to  Perm- 
field,  in  1807;  went  into  Schoolcraft  neighborhood,  via.  Pittsford 
and  Penfield  village  ;  that  being  the  then  only  road  opened  ;  cut  his 
own  road  from  Mason's  Corners. 

As  early  as  1806,  Norton  &  Richards,  of  Canandaigua,  bought  of 
the  English  association  the  Salt  Works  tract,  3000  acres.  There 
was  upon  the  tract,  about  two  miles  north  of  Webster  Corners,  a 
salt  spring  that  was  first  known  as  a  much  frequented  deer  lick.  — 
As  agents  for  the  proprietors,  Stephen  Howard  and  Stephen 
Sprague,  sunk  a  well  60  feet  deep  and  obtained  tolerably  strong  wa 
ter  ;  24  kettles  were  set,  and  salt  of  a  good  quality  was  manufactur 
ed  for  a  wide  region  of  new  settlements.  The  price  was  $1.00  per 
bushel.  Christopher  Prentice  succeeded  Howard  and  Sprague  as 
agents ;  as  early  as  1809  or  '10  the  business  of  salt  manufacture  fell 
into  the  hands  of  Daniel  Hudson  and  his  son-in-law,  Joel  Thayer. 
The  property  fell  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Greig,  the  manufacture  of 
salt  was  suspended,  and  the  lands  reserved  to  furnish  timber  for  salt 
boiling  forms  now  a  landscape  of  beautiful  highly  cultivated  farms. 

The  first  town  meeting  in  Penfield,  was  held  in  1811.  William 
M'Kinster  was  elected  Supervisor,  Brooks  Mason  town  clerk. 
Other  town  officers  : — Nathaniel  Case,  Charles  P.  Moore,  Josiah  T. 
Kellogg,  Caleb  Lyon,  John  Shoecraft,  David  Lee,  Benjamin  Tripp, 
Willie  Spear,  Daniel  Wilson,  Joseph  T.  Shaw,  Reuben  Bailey. 
The  following  list  of  path  masters  will  exhibit  pioneer  names,  and 
indicate  where  settlements  were  made  as  late  'as  1811  : — John 
Stroger,  Gurdon  Lewis,  David  Camp,  Stephen  Butler,  Peleg  Ross, 
Henry  Shew,  Enos  Hawley,  Samuel  Pierce,  Ebenezer  Spear,  David 
Welsher,  Joseph  Hervey,  Zoeth  Eldridge,  Elisha  Smith,  Rufus  D. 
Stephens,  Rufus  Herrick,  Jason  Graves,  Elisha  Case,  John  Pierce, 
Michael  Hibnor,  Reuben  Brace,  Zaccheus  Horton,  Abner  Brown, 
Wm.  Cole,  Jonathan  Carpenter.  William  Spear  was  Supervisor  in 
1812,  '13,  '14,  '15.  The  town  of  Webster  was  taken  from  Penfield 
in  1838. 

Brooks  Mason  was  an  early  Judge  of  Ontario,  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  and  in  other  respects,  a  prominent  Pioneer.  Russell  B. 
Mason,  of  Penfield,  and  Isaac  Mason,  of  Michigan,  are  his  sons  ; 
Mrs.  Andrew  Lincoln,  of  Perinton,  is  a  daughter. 

NOTE.  —  It  has  been  said  that  a  Yankee  Pioneer  wanted  nothiug  but  an  "axe,  a 
gimblet  and  augur,  a  drawing  knife  and  jack  plane"  to  build  himself  a  house.  Mr. 
Mann  had  not  as  much ;  but  having  a  bellows  and  anvil  he  made  his  own  gimblets, 
augurs  and  plane  irons,  with  which  he  built  not  only  frame  buildings,  but  mills. 


526  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

The  village  of  Webster  has  grown  up  on  the  farm 
Reynolds.     The  earliest  merchants  there,  were  Stea 
the'permanent  ones,  William  and  Timothy  Corning. 


PITTSFORD. 


The  names  of  the  first  eight  heads  of  families  will  be  found  on 
page  431.  They  were  principally  from  Salem,  Washington  coun 
ty.  Israel  Stone  died  in  early  years ;  his  widow  became  the  wife 
of  Paul  Richardson,  and  after  his  death  that  of  Moses  Barr ;  she 
died  a  few  years  since  at  an  advanced  age.  Eri  Stone,  of  Pitts- 
ford  is  a  son  of  Israel  Stone.  Simon  Stone  died  15  or  20  years 
since.  Orrin  Stone,  of  Pittsford,  is  a  son  of  his.  Jesihel  (not  Jo 
seph,  as  on  page  431,)  Farr,  died  soon  after  1812  ;  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Farr  was  the  first  that  occurred  in  "  Stonetown;"  Jesihel  Farr,  of 
Pittsford  is  a  son ;  a  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Caleb  Nye.  Silas 
Nye  came  into  the  new  region  at  an  advanced  age ;  had  held  a 
commission  in  the  Revolution ;  he  was  the  first  supervisor  of  the 
town;  died  in  early  years.  His  surviving  sons  are,  Nathan  and 
Silas  Nye,  of  Pittsford.  Nathan  who  is  now  78  years  of  age,  has 
been  a  supervisor  of  the  town,  and  justice  of  the  peace.  A  daugh 
ter  of  Silas  i\ye  the  elder,  became  the  wife  of  one  of  the  brothers, 
Beckwiths,  early  merchants  in  Palmyra  ;  another,  the  wife  of  Carmi 
Hart,  of  Pittsford.  Thomas  Cleland  died  soon  after  1830.  Josiah 
Gimminson  did  not  become  a  permanent  resident,  neither  did  — 
Dodge,  who  was  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  town.  Alexander 
Dunn  was  a  son  in  law  of  Silas  Nye. 

Other  Pioneers,  as  early  as  1790,  and  mostly  before  1800:  — 
Anson  Stone,  John  Stone,  Amos  Stone,  Samuel  Stone,  Daniel  Per- 
rin,  (the  father  of  Darius  Perrin,  P.  M.  Rochester,)  Caleb  Hopkins, 
Wm.  Acker,  Noah  Norton,  Thomas  Billinghurst,  Wm.  Agate,  Rich 
ard  Welsh,  Nehemiah  Hopkins,  Robert  Holland,  Henry  Bailey, 
Jared  Barker,  Elihu  Doud,  Nathan  Calhoun,  Ezra  Patterson,  Ben 
jamin  Weeks,  Daniel  Brown,  (an  early  Baptist  preacher,)  Israel 
Canfield,  Benjamin  Miller,  William  Hill,  Robert  Holland.  Wm. 
Acer,  was  the  father  of  John  Acer,  the  widely  known  landlord  of 
Pittsford ;  Ezra  Acer,  of  Pittsford,  is  a  son ;  daughters  became  the 

wives  of  Theron  Noble,  Dwellie  Clapp,  and May.     Caleb 

Hopkins  was  breveted  a  Colonel  in  the  war  of  1812,  had  com 
mands  upon  the  Niagara  frontier,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Geriesee 
River  ;  was  an  active  and  efficient  partizan  in  all  the  trying  crisis; 
Marvin  Hopkins,  late  supervisor  of  Pittsford  is  his  son.  Nathan 
Calhoun  still  survives  at  the  age  of  73 ;  has  been  a  supervisor  of 
the  town  8  years,  a  magistrate  30  years  ;  is  the  father  of  eight 
daughters,  6  of  whom  have  become  wives. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  527 

Simon  Stone  2d,  a  connexion  of  the  numerous  family  of  that  name 
who  were  pioneers  in  the  locality,  was  the  primitive  lawyer.  He 
was  located  in  practice  soon  after  1800;  filled  the  office  of  super 
visor,  and  justice  of  the  peace  ;  he  died  ]  5  or  16  years  since.  Wm. 
G.  Taylor  was  the  next  practicing  lawyer,  locating  in  early  years  ; 
he  emigrated  to  the  west.  Ira  Bellows,  who  has  been  so  loner  iden 
tified  with  the  locality,  yet  survives,  in  the  practice  of  the  profession. 

The  early  physicians  were,  Dr.  John  Ray  and  Dr.  Daniel  Rood ; 
succeeding  them  were,  Dr.  Achilles  G.  Smith,  and  Dr.  Hartwell 
Carver.  Dr.  Carver  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  John  Carver  who 
came  over  in  the  Mayflower,  and  of  Jonathan  Carver,  the  ear 
ly  western  explorer.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  settled  at 
Pittsford  soon  after  the  war  of  1812.  Although  making  that  his 
hailing  place,  a  spirit  or'  enterprise  and  adventure,  has  made  him  a 
traveller  in  Europe,  a  resident  in  New  Orleans,  in  Florida,  and  in 
Minnesota;  few  men  are  more  widely  known,  or  have  obtained 
more  professional  celebrity.  Though  a  wandering  bachelor,  he 
would  seem  to  be  becoming  a  fixture  now,  as  he  is  building  the  un 
ique  dwelling  place,  that  may  be  observed  upon  the  outskirts  of  the 
pleasant  rural  village  of  Pittsford. 

Although  Israel  Stone  in  an  early  day,  did  a  little  in  the  mercan 
tile  way,  the  first  considerable  mercantile  establishment  was  founded 
by  Dr.  A,  G.  Smith,  Nathan  Nye,  Caleb  Hopkins  and  John  Acer. 
Samuel  Hildreth,  a  brother  of  the  Hildrelh's  of  Vienna,  was  an 
earl v  merchant,  tavern  keeper  and  stage  proprietor ;  founding  the 
first  line  of  public  conveyance  from  Canandaigua  to  Rochester, 
and  with  others,  the  first  on  the  Riga  road  from  Rochester  to  Can- 
andaigua;  his  widow  survived  until  recently;  John  Hildreth,  of 
Pittsford  is  a  son ;  Mrs.  Babcock  and  Mrs.  Richardson  of  Pittsford 
are  his  daughters.  Augustus  Elliott  was  an  early  merchant  and 
distiller  ;  and  in  an  early  day  erected  an  iron  forge  in  Penfield.  He 
was  the  founder  of  the  fine  private  mansion  that  was  afterwards  oc 
cupied  by  James  K.  Guernsey. 

Glover  Perrin  who  is  mentioned  as  the  pioneer  of  Perrinton,  got 
tired  of  his  solitary  life  there,  vacated  his  log  cabin  soon  after  the 
death  of  his  friend  Caleb  Walker,  and  became  the  pioneer  landlord. 
He  died  childless ;  John  Acer  was  his  successor. 

Pittsford  village,  in  point  of  time,  may  be  said  to  have  been  a 
Pioneer  locality  next  to  Canandaigua,  and  as  early  as  Geneseo, 
Avon,  Palmyra  and  Lyons.  The  fine  bluff  which  forms  its  site,  at 
the  base  of  which  was  a  valuable  spring,  drew  the  attention  of  the 
early  adventures  to  the  spot.  There  were  long  years  in  which  the 
principal  business  of  a  wide  region  Was  transacted  there  ;  and  though 
it  is  now  one  of  the  out  pdsts  of  an  over-shadowing  city,  time  was, 
(and  that  within  the  memory  of  hundreds  who  survive,)  when  the 
few  settlers  in  the  small  openings  of  the  dense  forest  on  the  site 
of  that  city,  thought  themselves  out  in  the  world  again,  when  they 


528  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCITASE. 

had  reached  that  village,  where  there  were  dry  streets,  comfortable 
public  and  private  dwellings,  merchants,  mechanics,  lawyers,  and 
doctors,  and  "  stated  preajhing." 

N  The  town  of  Northfield  was  organized  in  1704.  It  was  then  all 
of  what  is  now  Pittsford,  Peniield,  Perrinton,  Henrietta,  Brighton, 
Jrondequoit,  and  Webster.  The  first  town  meeting  was  in  1796. 
It  was  "  opened  by  Phineas  Bates."  Silas  Nye  was  chosen  super 
visor,  John  Ray  town  clerk.  Other  town  officers,  Noah  Norton, 
Caleb.  Hopkins,  Glover  Perrin,  Jonas  Sawen,  Jesihel  Farr,  Aaron 
Stone,  Ezra  Patterson,  Samuel  Bennett,  Henry  Bagley,  Alexander 
Dunn,  William  Acer,  Paul  llichardson.  In  1798,  the  name  of  the 
town  was  changed  to  Boyle.  In  1813,  the  town  of  Boyle  was 
divided  into  three  towns,  Penfield,  Perrinton  and  SmallwoocI  .  and 
in  1814  the  town  of  Brighton  was  erected  ;  and  in  the  same  year, 
what  is  now  Pittsford  and  Henrietta,  was  made  to  constitute  a  town 
which  was  called  Pittsford.  Henrietta  was  erected  in  1818.  There 
was  no  such  town  as  "  Stonetown  ;"  this  was  the  early  designation  of 
the  settlement ;  as  in  the  case  of •'  Boughtontown,"  "  Pittstown,"  &c. 

A  school  was  organized  in  what  is  now  Pittsford,  as  early  as  1794  ; 
a  Congregational  church  in  1809. 

John  Mann,  saw  the  Genesee  country  immediately  after  the  close 
of  the  Revolution  —  as  early  as  1784.  A  resident  of  New  Jersey, 
in  company  with  Allen  Nixon  and  -  —  Scritchfield,  he  came 
through  the  wilderness  from  the  Delaware  River,  following  the 
Indian  trails  to  Niagara  River.  Failing  to  make  some  contempla 
ted  arrangements  with  Gov.  Simcoe  in  Canada,  for  a  settlement 
there,  the  party  returned  to  New  Jersey.  Upon  the  Genesee  river 
they  made  the  acquaintance  of  Ebenezer  Allan,  who  offered  to  ob 
tain  for  Mr.  Mann  the  Indian  grant  of  500  acres  of  the  present  site 
of  the  city  of  Buffalo,  for  the  horse  he  rode.  Mr.  Mann  visited  the 
country  again  in  1803  in  company  with  his  son,  Win.  Mann  of  Pen- 
field.  He  found  at  that  early  period  a  sister  of  his  wife  —  a  Mrs. 
Field  —  who  had  settled  with  a  large  family  of  sons  and  daughters, 
in  a  small  Indian  village  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wiscoy,  in  Allegany 
county.  In  1804  Mr.  Mann  moved  his  famly,  consisting  of  a  wife 
and  ten  children,  to  Victor,  and  renting  land  of  Enos  Boughton, 
raised  500  bushels  of  wheat  for  his  own  share,  which  he  exchanged 
with  Zachariah  Seymour,  of  Canandaigua,  for  the  hundred  acres  of 
land  in  Penfield,  upon  which  his  son  now  resides.  In  1805  he 
bought  of  Simon  Stone  fifty  acres  of  land  on  the  Irondequoit  near 
the  great  embankment,  upon  which  Mr.  Stone  had  erected  a  small 
grist  mill  and  saw  mill  soon  after  1790.  Mr.  Mann  re-built  the  mills 
in  1812.  As  "  Stone's  mills"  and  "  Mann's  mills,"  they  were  known 
in  early  years  throughout  a  wide  region.  Millwrights  of  the  pre 
sent  day  may  learn  something  of  the  expedients  of  the  early  period 
in  which  the  saw  mill  was  built ;  6t  what  "necessity,  the  mother  of 
invention,"  used  to  accomplish ;  from  the  fact,  that  the  saw  used  in 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUEOHASE.  529 

Mr.  Stone's  primitive  mill  was  made  by  Samuel  Bennett,  a  black 
smith,  by  welding  together  old  scythes.  Mr.  Mann  died  1824,  aged 
75  years.  His  son,  other  than  the  one  already  noticed  in  connec 
tion  with  Penfield,  is  Jacob  Mann,  of  Pittsford ;  daughters  became 
wives  of  Wm.  B.  Jobson,  of  Canandaigua,  Calvin  R.  Cheeny,  of 
Michigan  ;  Mrs.  Asahel  Baker,  of  Iowa. 

Stephen  Lusk,  whose  early  advent  is  noticed  in  connection  with 
Brighton,  became  a  resident  of  Pittsford  in  1807,  establishing  there 
a  primitive  tannery,  and  continuing  it  for  many  years.  He  is  now 
the  occupant  of  a  fine  farm,  a  mile  east  of  the  village  on  the  Victor 
road. 


PERRINTOK 


It  has  little  of  pioneer  history  distinct  from  that  of  Pittsford,  with 
which  its  territory  was  blended  previous  to  1810;  and  it  is  one  of 
those  localities  from  which  the  author  has  been  favored  with  no 
account  of  its  early  settlers.  It  will  be  observed  that  its  original 
proprietor  made  a  commencement  there  as  early  as  1790,  and  died 
in  that  year  at  Canandaigua;  his  companion,  Glover  Perrin,  leaving 
soon  after ;  it  was  several  years  before  its  settlement  was  again 
attempted.  Among  the  earliest  settlers  were,  Jesse  Perrin,  Asa 
Perrin,  Edward  Perrin,  Major  Norton,  John  Scott,  Levi  Treadwell, 
Richard  Treadwell,  John  Peters,  and  Gideon  Ramsdell. 


With  reference  to  the  uplands  of  Victor,  Mendon,  Pittsford,  Per- 
rinton,  Penfield  and  Irondequoit ;  oak  openings,  and  to  a  small  ex 
tent,  pine  plains,  a  marked  change  has  occurred.  It  was  an  inviting 
soil  when  settlement  commenced  ;  far  easier  beginning  upon  it,  and 
making  more  speedy  returns  for  labor  expended,  than  the  heavily 
timbered  lands.  But  long  years  of  discouragement  and  stinted 
crops  succeeded.  The  sandy,  light  soil  became  almost  unproduc 
tive,  in  some  instances  their  cultivation  was  abandoned,  and  the 
vallies  and  intervals  became  the  chief  dependence.  In  Victor,  as 
late  as  1820,  uplands  were  sold  as  low  as  from  $3  to  $6  per  acre. 
Since  about  that  period  a  change  has  been  going  on,  until  from  the 
poorest,  these  lands  have  become,  if  not  the  best,  equal  in  value  to 
any  in  all  this  garden  of  the  State.  Their  prices  now  range  from 
$40  to  880  per  acre ;  in  Pittsford,  farms  have  been  sold  this  sum 
mer  ns  high  as  $80.  Time,  and  each  successive  cultivation,  im 
proves  the  soil. 

Omitting  any  speculations  or  any  theories  of  his  own,  the  author 


530       PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

will  give  the  opinions  of  others,  as  to  the  cause,  or  causes  of  all  this. 
Mr.  Wm.  C.  Dryer,  of  Victor,  a  man  of  intelligence  and  careful 
observation,  says  that  the  frequent  burning  over  of  these  openings 
that  preceded  settlement  and  cultivation,  had  rendered  inert  and 
unproductive,  the  surface  soil,  while  it  had  been  making  deposites  in 
the  sub-soil,  of  some  of  the  mo?t  essential  elements  of  vegetation, 
which  deeper  plowing  has  been  developing,  and  other  of  improved 
cultivation,  making  available.  The  late  Timothy  Backus,  of  Le  Roy 
and  Lockport,  (one  of  nature's  students,  as  well  as  one  of  her  "  noble 
men,")  a  few  years  before  his  death,  in  conversation  with  the  author, 
was  citing  the  fact  that  the  first  board  of  commissioners,  sent  out 
by  our  government  to  explore  the  peninsula  of  Michigan,  made  a 
report,  which  is  upon  record,  in  substance,  that  it  was  unfit  for  hab 
itation  or  cultivation,  and  would  never  repay  the  cost  of  survey  and 
sale.  "They  judged,"  said  he,  "that  the  heavily  timbered  lands  were 
generally  too  wet  for  cultivation,  and  that  the  burr  oak  openings, 
which  predominated,  were  unproductive  barrens,  because  they  saw 
upon  them  but  stinted  herbage,  and  a  feeble  undergrowth  of  shrub 
bery.  There  was  in  the  soil  rich  and  abundant  elements  of  agri 
culture,  as  time  and  experiment  has  demonstrated,  but  it  was  in  the 
sub-soil ;  the  surface  soil  had  been  depleted  by  fire,  and  deteriorated, 
or  poisoned  by  the  acids  of  the  oak  and  chestnut  leaves.  This 
remark  is  applicable  to  the  same  kind  of  lands  in  our  own  region ; 
the  new  settlers  could  at  first  realize  but  stinted  crops  upon  them. 
Even  now,  wherever  the  oak  or  chestnut  leaf  has  fallen  and  decayed 
ior  a  long  succession  of  years,  it  requires  time  and  cultivation  to 
make  the  soil  productive." 


MENDON. 


Township  11,  R.  5,  what  is  now  Mendon,  containing  23,040 
acres,  was  the  last  sale  made  by  Phelps  and  Gorham  previous  to  the 
sale  made  to  Sir  Wm.  Pulteney  and  his  associates.  The  purchasers 
were  "  Franklin  and  Boughton,"  or  the  entry  of  sale  is  to  them. 
The  township  was  soon  subdivided,  arid  Jeremiah  Wadsworth  be 
came  the  owner  of  1 1,000.  Other  large  early  proprietors  of  the  re 
mainder  of  the  town  were,  Catlin  &  Ferris,  Waddington  &  Pepoon, 
Jonathan  Ball.  Ebenezer  Barnard,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  became 
the  owner  of  half  of  the  Wadsworth  tract.  The  whole  1 1 ,000  acres 
was  settled  under  the  auspices  principally  of  James  Wadsworth, 
either  as  owner  or  agent,  The  Ball  tract  was  sold  to  Augustus  and 
Peter  B.  Porter,  and  Zel  ulon  Norton.  Zebulon  NortoiCfrom  Ver 
mont,  was  the  Pioneer  in  the  township,  erecting  mills  as  early  as 
1791,  on  the  Honeoye  Falls.  He  died  in  1814 ;  his  son  Ezra,  upon 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUEcnASE.  531 

( 

whom  the  care  of  the  mill  and  farm  devolved  in  early  years,  died 
two  years  previous. 

Sales  of  farm  lots  were  commenced  by   James  Wadsworth,  on 
the  11,000  acre  tract,  in  June,   1793  ;  in  that  and  the  succeeding 
year,  sales  were  made  to  "  Dan  Williams,  Cornelius  Treat,  Elijah 
Williams,  Benjamin  Parks,  Ebenezer  Rathbun,  Rufus  Parks,  Nathan 
Williams,  Moses  Everett,  Wm.  Hickox,  Lorin  Wait,  Reuben  Hill;" 
not  all  of  whom,  it  is  presumed,  became  actual  settlers.     The  prices 
;  they  paid  were  from   $1   25  to  $2  per  acre.     Treat,    Williams, 
Hickox,  and  Parks,  "all  from  Berkshire,"  were  actual  settlers  in 
I  1794.     Other  early  Pioneers  in  the  township,  in  succession,  all  be- 
!  fore  the  close  of  1800,  were,  John  Parks,  Jonas  Allen,  Joseph  Bryan, 
j  Samuel  Lane,  Charles  Foote ;  and  soon  after  1800,  Moses  Rowell, 
;  Elijah  Leland.    Charles  Foote,  of  Mendon,  and  Elias  Foote,  of  Alex- 
*  ander,  Genesee  Co.,  are  sons  of  Charles  Foote ;  daughters  became 
f  wives  of  Enos  Blossom  and  Gaius  Lane ;  other  sons  and  daughters  re- 
!  side  at  the  west.    Capt.  Treat  died  in  1848,  at  the  advanced  age  of  81 
I  years  ;  his  wife,  whose  first  husband  was  Benjamin  Palmer,  an  early 
j  settler  at  Palmyra — father  of  Geo.  Palmer  of  Buffalo — died  in  1849. 
1  Capt.   Treat  was  not  only  an  early  settler,  but  for  more  than  half 
j  a  century  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  town,  of  whom   much 
I  could  be  said,  as  in  hundreds  of  other  instances,  if  the  necessary 
j  briefness  of  these  sketches  would  allow  of  it.     Dr.  John  Jay  Treat 
|  and   Ellery  Treat,  of  Rochester,   Nelson   Treat,  upon  the  home 
stead,  and  Joseph  Treat,  residing  at  the  wes.t,  are  surviving  sons. 
Amaziah,   Calvin,   and    Thomas  Parks,  of  Mendon,  are  the  sons  of 
Benjamin  Parks.     Joseph  Williams,  of  Canandaigua,  is  the  son  of 
j   Nathan  Williams.     Rufus,   John,  Benjamin,  and  James  Parks,  of 
i    Mendon,  are  the  sons  of  John  Parks,  who  still  survives.     The  sur 
viving  sons  of  Capt.  Jonas  Allen  are,  Ethan,  in  California ;  Daniel, 
residing  upon  the  homestead  ;  and  George,  a  magistrate  in  Mendon ; 
a  daughter  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Milton  Sheldon.     Of  eight 
sons  of  Samuel  Lane,  but  one  survives,  Gaius  Lane  of  Rochester. 
Judge  John  Bryan,  of  Michigan,  is  the  only  surviving  son  of  Joseph 
Bryan. 

Other  early  settlers  of  Mendon:  —  Marvin  Smith,  Henry  Shel 
ters,  Jacob  Young,  John  and  William  Dixon.  John  Moore,  John 
Sims.  Benjamin  of  Mendon,  and  Isaac  Smith,  of  Rush,  are  sons 
of  Marvin  Smith.  Lyman  Shelters,  of  Mendon,  and  Cabot  Shel 
ters  of  Bloomfield,  are  sons  of  Henry  Shelters.  Jacob  Young  was 
an  early  and  enterprising  manufacturer  at  the  Falls ;  now  survives, 
as  do  in  fact,  a  larger  number  of  the  early  Pioneers  named,  than  is 
usual  in  other  localities.  Amos  Dixon  at  the  Honeoye  Falls,  is  a 
son  of  John  Dixon. 

The  early  physician  was  Dr.  Knickerbacker,  who  was  the  foun 
der  of  Knickerbacker  Hall,  Avon,  now  a  resident  of  Rochester. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Harvey  Allen,  who  is  yet  in  practice. 


532  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Dr.   Wm.  Brown  was  the  early  physician  in  East  Mendon,  is  now 
a  resident  of  Pembroke,  Genesee  county. 

Zebulon  Tovvnsend  was  an  early  settler  on  what  was  called 
"  Abraham's  Plains,"  still  survives,  at  the  age  of  75  years.  Surviv 
ing  sons  are:  —  Geo.  P.  Tovvnsend,  an  Attorney,  in  Penfield,  Jo 
seph  B..  of  Mendon,  Jeremiah,  Seth  and  Gideon,  of  Marengo,  Mich 
igan.  Mrs.  John  R.  Stuart  and  Mrs.  Orra  Case,  of  Honeoye  Falls, 
and  Mrs.  S.  N.  Degroff,  of  Marengo,  are  his  daughters. 

Timothy  Barnard,  who  was  the  brother  of  the  early  land  propri 
etor,  (but  not  resident,)  named  above,  removed  from  the  city  of 
Hartford  —  exchanging  a  comfortable  home  for  a  log  cabin  in  the 
new  region  —  in  1808.  He  died  in  1847  or  '8,  aged  91  years.  It 
is  a  singular  fact,  that  although  he  brought  a  large  family  into  the 
new  country,  and  his  descendants  in  the  second  degree  became  nu 
merous,  his  was  the  first  death  that  occurred  in  the  whole  family 
circle.  He  was  an  early  Judge  of  Ontario,  and  in  other  respects  a 
prominent  and  useful  citizen.  He  was  the  father  of  Daniel  D. 
Barnard,  the  U.  S.  Minister  to  Prussia,  of  Timothy  and  Henry 
Barnard  who  reside  on  the  homested. 

Among  the  reminiscences  of  the  early  settlers  of  Mendon,  is  that 
of  an  oak  stump,  on  the  farm  of  Capt.  Treat,  nine  feet  in  diameter. 
The  tree  was  supposed  to  have  been  cut  down  by  the  Indians.  On 
the  farm  of  Mr.  Parks,  a  section  of  a  hollow  sycamore  was  cut  off, 
6  feet  in  length,  through  which  a  pair  of  oxen,  of  ordinary  size,  was 
driven  in  their  yoke.  John  Stimpson,  a  trapper,  caught  on  Capt. 
Treat's  farm,  9  wolves  in  one  night,  for  which  he  received  a  bounty 
of  $90 ;  a  large  sum  of  money  in  those  primitive  times.  Wolves 
pursued  Capt.  Treat  one  night  for  miles ;  and  nothing  but  the  supe 
rior  speed  of  his  horse  saved  him  from  becoming  an  inhabitant  of 
an  older  settled  country,  "where  wolves  cease  from  troubling."  Dr. 
Joel  Brace,  the  early  physician  in  Victor,  was  going  from  Norton's 
Mills  towards  home,  on  the  old  Indian  trail.  When  near  what  is 
now  Miller's  corners,  his  horse  suddenly  stopped,  and  looking  ahead 
of  him  he  saw  in  his  path  a  huge  panther,  crouched  and  ready  to 
spring  upon  him.  An  attempt  to  turn  around  would  have  been  fatal. 
With  much  presence  of  mind  he  suddenly  spread  his  umbrella,  and 
shaking  it,  the  animal  walked  off. 

The  town  was  organized  in  1813.  Jonas  Allen  was  the  first 
supervisor;  Daniel  Dunks  town  clerk.  A  Baptist  church  was  or 
ganized  in  1809  ;  the  first  pastor,  the  Rev.  Jessee  Bray  man  ;  a  Con 
gregational  church  in  1817  or  '18,  the  first  settled  minister  the  Rev. 

NOTE.—  "The  empire  region  of  the  Empire  State,"  is  a  designation  occasionally 
given  to  our  favo/ed  and  prosperous  locality  ;  rather  vauntingly  perhaps  ;  but  it  lias 
really  come  to  be  something  more  than  a  figure  of  speech.  From  the  "Geuesee  Coun 
try,"  a  wilderness  when  our  national  existence  commenced,  and  for  long  years  after 
wards,  there  has  gone  out  a  President  of  the  United  States  ;  a  Post  Master  General; 
a  Foreign  Minister ;  and  a  Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor  of  our  State ;  at  one 
and  the  same  period. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  533 

Nathaniel  Taylor.  The  early  mechanics  were  :  —  Nathaniel  Wil- 
\iams,  Wm.  Hickox,  Nathaniel  Bryan,  Samuel  Lane  ;  Gen.  Chalotte 

Cady,  of  Michigan,  was  the  first  merchant.     Elliott  erected 

the  frame  of  the  first  saw  mill  on  the  Irondequoit ;  the  mill  was 
owned  and  finished  by  Jonas  Allan.  The  first  grist  mill  on  Pond 
Brook  was  built  by Haze. 


RUSH. 


Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  was  the  purchaser  of  5,000  acres,  and  "Mor 
gan  and  his  associates,  of  4,750  acres  of  what  is  now  Rush,  of 
Phelps  and  Gorharn. 

The  author  is  unable  to  give  the  years  in  which  each  of  the  prim- 
;  itive  settlers  came  in,  but  those  named  were  the  earliest,  and  gener- 
i  ally  in  the  order  named. 

Joseph  Morgan,  who  had  first  settled  on  the  west  side  of  the  river, 
'  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the  town,  his  farm  the  same 
I  which  now  constitutes  the  homested  of  Joseph  Sibley —  the  beau- 
•  tiful  sweep  of  flats  and  upland  at  the  junction  of  the  Honeoye  creek 
!  with  the  Genesee  river.  The  property  passed  from  Morgan  into 

the  hands  of Spraker,  one  of  the  well  known  Mohawk  fam- 

I  ily  of  that  name,  who  died  there. 

In  1801,  to  the  few  settlers  that  were  previously  located  in  the 
township,  there  was  added  a  considerable  number  from  Frederick 
county,  Maryland  :  —  The  families  of  Philip  Price,  Chrystal  Thom 
as,  Jacob  Stull,  John  Bell, Otto. 

The  family  of  Philip  Price,  consisted  of  seven  sons  and  one 
daughter.  The  sons  were :  —  John  Price,  of  Gorham,  Ontario 
county,  who  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  county  Judges  of  On 
tario,  for  one  or  two  terms  a  representative  in  the  Legislature,  and 
a  member  of  the  State  Convention  of  1821.  Peter  Price,  who  in 
the  war  of  1812  was  a  Lieutenant  in  a  volnnteer  corps,  and  served 
upon  the  Niagara  Frontier.  He  was  an  early  Judge  of  Monroe 
county,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  for  18  years  was  the  supervisor 
of  Rush,  and  for  several  years  chairman  of  the  board  of  Supervi 
sors  of  Monroe  county.  Improving  the  opportunities  that  judicial 
offices  gave  him,  by  study,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  court 
of  Common  Pleas,  of  Monroe,  and  ultimately  in  the  Supreme  Court. 
He  was  emphatically  a  self  made  man,  and  what  is  not  always  the 
case  with  self  made  men,  the  work  was  well  done.  He  died  after  a 
long  and  useful  life,  in  Feb.  1848,  leaving  an  only  daughter  who  is 
the  wife  of  A.  D.  Webster,  a  merchant  in  West  Henrietta.  His 
wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Nathan  Jeffords,  still  survives.  Ja 
cob  Adam,  and  Philip  Price,  emigrated  to  Michigan  in  1824.  Geo. 


534  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PTJECHASE. 

Price  resides  in  Rush  on  the  homestead  of  the  family.  The  daugh 
ter  was  the  wife  of  Jacob  Stull. 

The  surviving  sons  of  Jacob  Stull,  are:  —  John  P.  Stull,  George 
Stull,  James  Stull,  all  residents  of  Rush.  Chrystal  Thomas,  died  in 
1844.  He  erected  the  first  saw  mill  in  Rush,  on  Stony  Brook,  in 
1805.  Jacob,  Chrystal,  and  David  Thomas  are  his  sons.  Mrs. 
Mook,  of  Henrietta,  is  a  daughter.  John  and  Frederick  Bell  of 
Rush,  are  the  sons  of  the  early  emigrant  from  Maryland,  John  Bell. 

In  addition  to  these  that  have  been  named,  there  were  settled  in 
Rush  previous  to  1806,  Thomas  Daily,  who  still  survives.  The 
Harmon  family,  who  were  afterwards  early  settlers  in  Sweeden, 
and  original  proprietors  of  a  large  portion  of  the  village  plat  of 
Brockport.  John  Hartvvell;  a  surviving  son  is  Thomas  Hartwell, 
of  Rush.  Joseph  M'Farland  ;  the  father  of  Peter  M'Farland,  of 
Rush.  Zephaniah  Branch.  A  large  family  of  GofFs,  of  which  the 
early  and  widely  known  Elder  Goff,  was  a  member. 

Joseph  Sibley  came  to  the  Genesee  country  in  1804  —  in  1806, 
located  in  Rush.  He  was  from  Renssealer  county,  N.  Y.  Like 
nine-tenths  of  all  the  early  adventurers,  he  came  into  the  wilderness 
with  little  to  aid  him  in  his  enterprise  ;  but  with  an  indomitable 
spirit  of  perseverance,  he  looked  at  its  rugged  features  undismayed, 
and  boldly  and  successfully  wrestled  through  long  years  with  all  of 
its  hardships  and  privations.  With  youth  and  health,  courage  and 
fortitude,  he  seized 

"  The  axe  that  -wondrous  instrument, 
That  like  the  talisman,  transforms 
Deserts  to  fields  and  cities," 

and  first  in  one  locality,  and  then  in  another,  made  openings  in 
the  forest ;  and  now  in  his  declining  years,  favored  with  almost  un- 
interupted  health,  and  a  sound  constitution/he  is  enjoying  the  fruits 
of  his  labors  —  is  settled  down  in  the  midst  of  broad,  highly  culti 
vated  fields,  constituting  one  of  the  many  large  and  beautiful  farms 
in  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Genesee. 

In  1812  he  changed  his  residence  from  Rush  to  Riga,  and  was  one 
of  the  first  to  commence  clearing  a  farm  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Churchville;  and  after  that  was  a  resident  of  Chili,  founding  the 
milling  establishment  on  Black  creek,  now  owned  by  D.  Cope. 
When  in  anticipation  of  the  declaration  of  war,  Gov.  Tompkins 
ordered  drafts  from  the  militia,  he  was  one  of  the  six  hundred  vol 
unteers  that  supplied  the  necessity  of  a  draft,  and  promptly  marched 
to  the  frontier,  under  the  command  of  Col  Swift.  He  was  an  early 
supervisor  of  Genesee  and  Monroe,  a  member  of  the  State  Legis"- 
lature ;  for  five  years  a  canal  superintendant ;  and  more  recently 
the  collector  of  the  port  of  Genesee.  His  wife,  the  sister  of  Elihu 
and  Samuel  Church,  of  Riga,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1807,  still 
survives ;  a  more  than  usual  mortality  has  prevailed  with  their  large 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PTJECHASE.  535 

family  of  sons  and  daughters;  of  a  family  of  ten  children,  most  of 
whom  became  adults,  but  three  survive :  — Horace  J.  Sibley  a  stu 
dent  of  law  in  Rochester;  Mrs.  John  P.  Stull,  of  Rush  ;  and  Mrs, 
James  M'Gill,  of  Cincirmatti. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  JOSEPH  SIBLEY. 


When  I  came  to  Rush,  in  1806,  there  was  no  surveyed  road  in  the 
township.  The  fall  previous,  Mr.  Wads  worth  had  contracted  with  Major 
Markham  to  cut  out  a  wood's  road  as  far  as  the  line  of  Henrietta;  but  it 
was  several  years  before  it  was  carried  any  farther.  The  first  surveyed 
road  through  the  town  and  West  Henrietta,  was  the  State  road  from  Ark- 
port  to  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river.  A  road  was  surveyed  from  the 
line  of  Mendon  through  the  "  Goff  settlement,"  in  1807;  and  in  1808,  a 
bridge  was  built  by  the  volunteer  labor  of  settlers,  over  the  Honeoye,  near 
where  State  road  crosses.  In  1809,  a  bridge  was  built  over  the  Honeoye, 
in  West  Rnsh,  on  r.ver  road,  by  the  town.  In  1817,  the  bridge  on  the 
State  road,  went  off  in  a  freshet,  and  about  the  same  period,  Austin  Wing, 
a  brother  of  Dr.  Wing,  of  Albany,  was  drowned  in  crossing  the  stream. 

There  were  large  patches  r.f  rushes  both  on  Hats  and  uplands,  along  the 
river  and  the  Honeoye  Creek;  the  locality  was  called  "Rush  Bottom  "— 
thence  the  name  of  the  town.  Cattle  would  winter  well  and  thrive  on 
the  rushes:  the  Wadsworths  would  send  large  droves  here  to  winter,  and 
many  were  sent  from  Lima,  Bloomfield,  and  Victor,  ihe  rushes  finally  run 
out  by  being  repeatedly  fed  down. 

The  greatest  amount  of  sickness  and  death  that  I  knew  of  in  any  locali 
ty  in  the  Genesee  country,  was  as  late  as  1821,  in  the  settlements  along 
on  Black  and  Sandy  Creek.  The  prevailing  disease  had  all  the  distinctive 
character  of  the  yellow  lever,  and  in  a  dense  population,  woull  have  been 
equally  as  fatal.  It  was  principally  owing  to  the  erection  of  mill  dams, 
and  consequent  flooding  of  timbered  lands.  When  the  mill  dams  were 
drawn  off,  the  sickness  subsided.  In  one  of  the  earlier  years,  when  Riga 
and  Chili  were  one  town,  it  was  ascertained  that  GO  died  in  a  population  of 
less  than  3,000.  At  one  period,  in  a  population  of  83,  within  the  distance 
of  1-g-  miles  along:  on  the  Braddock's  Bay  road,  63  were  sick,  principally 
with  billions  intermittents.  In  many  seasons,  along  on  the  river,  the  per 
cent  of  sickness  was  greater  than  has  ever  prevailed  in  any  of  the  large 
cities  of  the  United  States,  not  excepting  even  the  seasons  of  cholera. 
This  was  the  case  in  many  of  the  early  years.  I  have  seen  instances 
when  entire  families  would  be  prostrated,  deaths  would  occur  wiihout  any 
medical  aid,  and  sometimes  even  without  nursing.  Physicians  would  be 
worn  out,  over-run  with  business;  often  it  would  be  twenty-four  hours  af 
ter  they  received  a  call  before  they  could  attend  to  it. 

In  1805,  crops  were  very  light,  and  before  th3  harvest  of  1806,  there 
was  much  suffering  for  food;  wheat,  went  up  to  $2  50  per  bushel.  The 
season  of  1804  had  been  very  wet,  especially  along  about  corn  harvest; 
and  the  seed  corn  planted  in  1805,  seemed  to  have  lost  in  a  great  measure 


536  PHELPS  AIND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCUASE. 

its  germinating  principle;  much  of  it  rotted  in  the  ground.  The  harvest 
of  1806  was  an  abundant  one ;  many  fields  of  wheat  were  fit  to  cut  on 
the  4th  of  July.  Wheat  and  corn  became  a  drug;  neither  would  sell  for 
store  trade,  nor  could  they  be  bartered  for  the  ordinary  necessaries 
of  life.  I  chopped,  cleared,  and  sowed  to  wheat,  twenty  acres  the  fiist  year 
I  commenced  in  Rush.  I  harvested  from  6  to  700  bushels,  but  could  sell  it 
for  nothing  that  I  wanted,  except  in  a  few  instances.  I  gave  a  blacksmith 
in  Bloomtield,  a  bushel  of  \\heat  for  putting  a  small  wire  bail  into  a  tea 
kettle.  Leather,  wheat  would  not  buy:  and  so  we  had  to  go  barefoot. 
This  state  of  things  produced  a  large  amount  of  distilling,  and  whiskey 
became  far  too  cheap  for  the  good  of  the  new  country.  The  seasons  of 
1807,  '8'  '9,  '10,  '11,  were  productive,  but  that  of  18T2  was  unproductive, 
and  they  grew  worse  until  1816  inclusive.  In  that  year,  most  of  the 
wheat  was  not  fit  to  cut  until  September;  the  corn  crop  was  almost  entire 
ly  lost;  but  little  summer  crops  of  any  kind  were  raised.  From  the  6th  to 
the  12th  of  June,  there  was  frost  every  night.  I  sold  pork  that  year  for 
810  percwt,  fresh;  and  beef  for  $6.  The  harvests  of  1817,  '18,  were 
tolerable  ones:  from  1819  to  '24,  they  were  universally  prolific.  In  1819, 
wheat  went  down  to  31  cents  per  bushel. 

In  early  years,  there  was  none  but  a  home  market,  and  that  was  mostly 
barter; — it  Was  so  many  bushels  of  wheat  for  a  cow;  so  many  bushels  for 
a  yoke  of  oxen,  (fee.  There  was  hardly  money  enough  in  the  country  to 
pay  taxes.  In  the  way  of  clothing,  buckskin  breeches  and  those  made 
from  hemp  grown  upon  the  river,  were  quite  common.  A  young  man 
would  then  have  to  work  six  months  for  such  a  suit  of  clothes  as  he  could 
now  buy  for  $12.  Few  wore  shoes  or  boots,  except  in  winter.  I  have 
seen  men  who  are  now  wealthy  farmers,  barefoot  long  after  snow  came. 
The  price  of  a  common  pair  of  cow-hide  boots  would  be  $7,  payable  in 
wheat  at  62  cents  per  bushel.  Judge  Peter  Price  told  me  that  the  first 
horse  he  ever  owned  in  Rush,  he  paid  ten  bushels  of  corn  for  shoeing. 
As  a  matter  of  necessity,  horses  mostly  had  to  be  used  without  shoeing. 
When  we  began  to  have  a  few  sheep,  ic  cost  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to 
keep  them  from  the  wolves;  the  coarsest  wrool  was  worth  50  cents  per  lb., 
and  cash  at  that.  Woolen  shirts  were  a  luxury;  the  most  common  ones 
were  of  flax  and  hemp. 

Along  in  years  previous  to  the  war,  there  was  extensive  hemp  culture 
on  the  river.  The  Wadsworths  introduced  it,  raising  much  themselves,  and 
furnishing  seed  for  others;  upon  their  Honeoye  farm,  in  1811,  18  acres  of 
hemp  were  raised.  Samuel  M.  Hopkins,  and  his  brother,  Mark  Hopkins, 
were  largely  engaged  in  the  business  at  one  time,  at  what  is  row  Cuyler- 
ville.  The  principal  market  was  at  Albany.  It  finally  became  a  losing- 
business;  cultivation,  harvesting,  preparation  for  market,  transportation,  cost 
too  much.  It  was  abandoned  after  an  experiment  of  a  few  years. 

Game  was  very  plenty: — The  hills  of  Rush,  Avon,  Caledonia,  Wheat- 
land,  valleys  and  uplands,  were  favorite  ranges  for  the  deer.  In  the  win 
ter  of  1806,  '7,  a  deep  snow  came  suddenly  in  December — a  thaw  suc- 


NOTE.— In  1816,   the  author  paid  some  Indian  women  at  Mount  Morris,  $2  per 
hvfhel  for  a  one  hoire  Avngon  load  cf  corn,  and  helped  pound  it  out  in  the  b.in:;;a;i, 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

ceeded,  leaving  the  openings  pretty  much  bare,  but  there  was  eight  or  ten 
inches  of  snow  left  in  the  woods,  which  was  suddenly  crusted  over.  This 
drove  the  deer,  in  large  flocks,  into  the  openings.  They  were  in  good  con 
dition,  and  we  could  easily  kill  all  we  wanted.  The  Indians  of  Canawau- 
gus  had  fine  sport,  and  laid  in  stores  of  venison.  In  all  the  early  years, 
those  Indians  were  frequently  upon  the  trails  that  went  down  to  Ironde- 
quoit,  the  Falls,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river.  On  their  return, 
their  ponies  would  be  loaded  down  with  the  spoils  of  the  chase,  the 
fish-hook  and  spear. 

The  winter  I  have  spoken  of,  was  generally  a  very  severe  one ;  toward 
the  last  of  March  and  beginning  of  April,  there  was  a  heavy  fall  of  snow ; 
through  Canandaigua,  Phelpstown,  and  in  all  that  region,  it  was  from  four 
to  five  feet  in  depth ;  on  the  river,  three  and  half  feet.  All  the  roads  were 
entirely  blocked  up.  A  thaw  came  suddenly  and  swept  the  flats  of  the 
river  throughout  their  whole  extent.  It  was  a  singular  fact,  that  the  robin 
remained  in  the  country  throughout  this  generally  hard  winter.  In  the 
winter  of  1808,  '9,  another  deep  snow  and  crust  occurred.  The  wolves 
and  dogs  made  terrible  havoc  among  the  deer;  the  poor  creatures  would 
take  to  the  roads,  and  flee  into  farmers'  yards  for  refuge.  Venison,  in  the 
way  of  meat,  was  a  great  help  to  new  settlers.  I  have  never  heard  of  a 
region  where  deer  were  so  plenty. 

In  the  winter  of  1815,  we  had  a  general  wolf  hunt,  or  drive,  as  it  proved 
to  be.  The  inhabitants  of  the  whole  region  turned  out,  and  surrounded 
all  the  swamps  in  Gates,  Chili,  Wheatland,  and  Caledonia;  sounded  horns, 
fired  guns,  halloed,  shouted,  and  raised  a  din  of  discordant  sounds. 
Many  q[eer,  bear  and  foxes  were  killed;  the  wolves  fled,  and  after  that, 
there  was  but  few  seen  in  this  region. 

Ducks  were  abundant  in  the  river  and  tributary  streams  in  early  years. 
There  was  the  wood  duck,  another  species  bearing  a  strong  resemblance  to 
the  common  tame  duck,  shell  drakes,  dippers,  or  divers;  and  occasionally, 
the  real  canvass  back.  Wild  geese  would  come  everv  fall  and  sprino-. 

Pigeons  would  in  some  seasons  come  in  large  flocks,  and  seriously  injure 
the  newly  sown  crops.  I  have  known  an  hundred  dozen  to  be  caught  in  a 
net  in  one  day.  In  1812,  they  made  a  roost  in  a  cedar  swamp  on  Dugan's 
creek.  They  occupied  the  trees  of  seventy -five  or  eighty  acres;  there 
were,  in  some  instances,  as  many  as  thirty  nests  on  H  single  tree.  The 
young  squabs  were  brought  away  by  the  inhabitants  in  cart  loads.  When 
the  young  ones  left  the  nests,  they  would  go  off  and  remain  about  the 
neighborhood  in  flocks  by  themselves,  and  it  was  several  months  before  the 
old  and  young  ones  mingled. 

The  black  squirrel  was  a  great  nuisance  in  early  years.  I  have  seen 
thirty  on  a  single  tree.  They  would  sometimes  destroy  whole  fields  of 
corn.  They  have  been  gradually  diminishing. 

The  advent  of  the  crow  in  this  region  was  in  1817.  They  had  been 
preceded  by  the  raven,  their  natural  enemy,  as  I  am  led  to  infer.  The 
crow  made  cautious  and  gradual  approaches;  at  first,  they  flew  over,  then 
ventured  to  light  on  the  tops  of  the  highest  trees,  in  which  position 
would  seem  to  be  determining  if  it  were  safe  to  locate.  It  was  some  time 
before  they  became  permanent  residents,  and  had  fairly  expelled  the  raven. 
34 


538  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

In  after  years,  when  a  raven  would  venture  to  revisit  the  region,  the  crows 
would  seem  to  be  gathered  here  and  there  in  council,  to  determine  how 
the  intruder  was  to  be  expelled.  The  occupancy  of  the  crow,  was  the  re 
sult  of  conquest. 

In  the  earliest  years,  there  were  a  few  turkey  buzzards  upon  the  river, 
but  they  soon  disappeared.  A  constant  revolution  has  been  going  on 
with  birds,  animals  and  quadrupeds;  old  settlers  have  been  disappearing, 
and  new  ones  succeeding.  There  is  scarcely  a  year  in  which  some  strange 
bird  does  not  make  its  appearance;  and  within  a  few  years,  the  opossum  of 
Virginia  and  Maryland  has  become  a  permanent  resident. 


Elisha  Sibley.  a  brother  of  Judge  Sibley,  was  among  the  early 
settlers.  He  died  in  1832.  His  surviving  sons,  are  :  —  Samuel  Sib 
ley,  William  Sibley,  Rev.  Jeremiah  Sibley,  of  Rush,  Elisha  Sibley, 
of  Henrietta,  Charles  Sibley,  of  Groveland,  and  Martin  and  Joseph 

Sibley,  of  Michigan.     Daughters  became  the  wives  of Hoit, 

of  Rush,  Calvin  Norton,  of  Groveland,  and  Jehiel  Markham. 

Elnathan  Perry  was  a  settler  in  Rush,  as  early  as  1806.  He  was 
in  service  during  the  Revolution,  and  came  to  this  region  in  Sulli 
van's  expedition.  At  some  period  during  the  Revolution  he  had 
made  the  acquaintance  of  La  Fayette,  and  was  recognized  by  him 
at  Rochester,  in  his  tour  through  this  region  in  1825.  He  died  in 
1848  ;  his  widow  still  survives.  His  surviving  sons  are,  John  Perry, 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  George  Perry*,  of  Rush;  Mrs.  Nathan  Green 
and  Mrs.  Sturgess  of  Rush,  are  his  daughters. 

Benjamin  Campbell,  who  afterwards  was  a  merchant  and  miller 
in  Rochester,  was  an  early  merchant  in  Rush ;  soon  after  the  war 
of  1812.  He  is  now  a  resident  of  Buffalo.  John  Webster  and 
Miner,  were  early  merchants. 

Dr.  Alexander  Kelsey  was  an  early  settled  physician  —  as  early 
as  1811.  He  was  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  tree,  fifteen  or  twenty  years 
since ;  was  a  good  physician  and  useful  citizen.  Levi  Kelsey,  of 
Rush,  late  one  of  the  members  of  Assembly  from  Monroe,  is  a  son 
of.  his ;  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Sibley,  of  Rush,  and  Mrs.  Robert  Martin,  of 
Henrietta,  are  his  daughters. 

Dr.  Socrates  Smith  commenced  practice  soon  after  the  war  of 
1812,  and  is  yet  a  practicing  physician  in  the  town.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  the  early  Pioneer,  Col.  Wm.  Markham. 

The  first  religious  society  organized  in  Rush,  was  of  the  Baptist 
order ;  their  early  settled  clergyman,  Elder  Goff.  They  erected  a 
stone  church  about  1830.  Elder  Badger  organized  a  Christian  so 
ciety  in  early  years.  A  Lutheran  society  was  organized  in  early 
years;  and  built  a  church  about  1830. 

The  town  of  Rush  was  organized  in  1818.  The  first  town  meet 
ing  was  held  at  the  house  of  Benajah  Billings.  The  officers  chosen 
were: — William  Markham,  supervisor,  Peter  Price,  town  clerk. 


PHELPS    AND    GOEBLOfS   PURCHASE.  539 

Other  town  officers  :- — Nathan  Jeffords,  Jacob  Stull,  John  Mark- 
ham,  Nathan  Rose,  Dudley  Brainard,  Clark  Davis,  George  Liday, 
Peter  Price,  Adolphus  Allen,  Alfred  Jones,  John  Ford,  Benj.  Camp 
bell,  Daniel  Hulburt,  Philip  R.  Rich,  Alexander  Kelsey,  Oliver  Case, 
Jeriel  Smith,  Nathan  Gilpin,  Henry  Hart. 


HENRIETTA. 


James  Sperry,  Esq.,  who  is  generally  familiar  with  the  deductions 
of  land  titles  in  this  region,  is  under  the  impression  that  T.  12, 
7th  R.,  which  now  constitutes  the  town  of  Henrietta,  was  sold  by 
Phelps  and  Gorham,  previous  to  the  general  sale  to  the  London  As 
sociates.  In  the  general  deed  of  conveyance  there  is  no  reservation 
of  that  township,  except  that  of  900  acres  to  "  Major  E.  Scott," 
and  the  author  therefore  concludes  that  the  main  portion  of  the 
township  became  a  part  of  the  Pulteney  estate ;  and  this  belief  is 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  township  assumed  the  name  of 
the  daughter  of  Sir.  Wm.  Pulteney.  Mr.  Wads  worth  sold  the 
township  during  a  tour  in  Europe,  to  William  Six,  of  Hague,  in 
Holland,  and  two  associates,  as  the  agent  of  the  London  Associ 
ates,  as  is  inferred.  When  he  returned  from  Europe,  the  sale  and 
settlement  of  the  town,  constituted  one  of  his  numerous  agencies. 
He  did  not,  as  would  seem,  bring  it  into  market  until  the  late  period 
of  1806.  In  that  year,  Stephen  Rodgers  surveyed  it  into  farm  lots. 

The  name,  "  Major  E.  Scott,"  as  entered  in  the  office  of  Messrs. 
Phelps  and  Gorham,  should  have  been,  Major  Isaac  Scott.  He  had 
been  either  an  agent  or  surveyor,  for  Phelps  and  Gorham,  and  to 
satisfy  a  claim,  or  to  fulfill  a  promise  of  reward,  they  apportioned 
to  him  900  acres,  on  the  River,  in  the  south  west  corner  of  the 
township.  Although  displeased  with  the  location  that  had  been  as 
signed  him,  he  settled  upon  it  soon  after  1790,  built  a  log  house, 
cleared  some  ten  or  fifteen  acres,  remained  in  his  solitary  wood's 
home  for  two  or  three  years ;  but  becoming  discouraged,  from  sick 
ness  in  his  family,  and.  other  endurances  incident  to  pioneer  life, 
he  gave  up  his  enterprise,  and  the  tract,  by  some  exchange  or  com 
promise,  was  again  merged  in  the  township.  This  was  the  untoward 
commencement  of  settlement  in  what  is  now  the  wealthy  and  flour 
ishing  town  of  Henrietta.  It  was  a  hard  region  to  begin  in,  desirable 
as  it  would  now  seem ;  the  lands  were  most  of  them  flat,  wet  and 
heavily  timbered ;  and  the  whole  region  had  a  forbidding  aspect,  as 
many  will  recollect,  in  the  earliest  year?  of  settlement. 

The  next  adventurers,  and  in  fact  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  town, 
in  reference  to  permanent  settlement,  were :  —  Jessee  Pangburn, 
Lyman  and  Warren  Hawley.  They  came  in  in  1806.  Besides 
them,  the  purchasers  in  the  township,  in  this  year,  were  :  —  Charles 


540  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Rice,  William  Thompson,  Moses  Goodale,  Thomas  Sparks,  George 
Dickinson,  Sela  Reed,  Asa  Charnplin,  Gideon  Griswold.  In  Octo 
ber,  1807,  there  were  settled,  and  about  to  settle  in  the  east  part  of 
the  township,  mostly  on  what  was  called  the  "  Wadsworth  Road  :  " 

—  Joseph  Came,  Ira  Hatch,  Moses  Wilder,  Charles  Rice,  Jonathan 

Russell,  Benjamin   Bales,  Parish,   Barnes,  Elias 

Wilder  ;  and  soon  after  the  period  named,  there  were  added  to  the 
settlement,  the  Baldwin  family  and  Elisha  Gage. 

But  few  sales  and  settlement  took  place  in  1807  and  '8 ;  in  1809, 
'10,  nearly  all  the  most  desirable  lands  in  the  township  were  contrac 
ted.  In  the  latter  part  of  1811,  the  sales  were  arrested  in  conse 
quence  of  the  discovery  that  the  foreign  proprietors  had  neglected 
to  put  their  deeds  upon  record  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  as  they  were  required  to  do  by  a  special  statute.  The  set 
tlers  were  advised  by  Mr.  Wadsworth  to  use  their  means  in  making 
improvements,  and  in  preparing  to  pay  the  purchase  money  when 
the  difficulty  in  the  way  of  title  was  removed,  in  the  winter  of 
1813,  '14,  Mr.  Wadsworth  drew  up  a  petition,  which  was  generally 
signed  by  the  settlers,  praying  the  legislature  to  pass  a  law  which  in 
effect  would  allow  the  proprietors  to  supply  the  omission  of  record 
within  one  year  after  the  close  of  the  then  pending  war.  The 
prayer  was  granted,  and  in  1817  title  was  perfected.  Soon  after 
this,  Mr.  Wadsworth  purchased  of  the  foreign  proprietors,  all  of  the 
unsold  lands  in  the  township. 

On  the  perfection  of  title,  a  somewhat  stringent  policy  was  adop 
ted  by  the  proprietors,  in  reference  to  the  outstanding  expired  con 
tracts  :  —  The  contract  price,  $4  per  acre,  had  been  fixed  at  a  time 
when  Henrietta  was  looked  upon  as  a  quite  out  of  the  way  place 

—  a  back  settlement  —  "thirty  miles  from  Canandaigua,"  and  pros- 
pectively  far  removed  from  market  facilities.     In  1817  the  whole 
face  of  things  had  changed,  and  was  changing:  —  A  village  had 
sprung  up  at  "  the  Falls,"  (Rochester,)  milling,  and  other  manufac 
turing  was  in  progress  there,  and  large  expectations  had  began  to 
be  formed  in  reference  to  the  locality  ;  and  what  was  still  more  im 
portant,  the  speedy  prosecution  of  the  then  projected  Erie  Canal, 
was  confidently  anticipated.     New  terms  were  imposed  upon  the 
settlers,  or  rather  what  amounted  to  new  terms,  fur  although  they 
had  had  a  long  time  to  prepare  for  payment,  they  were  mostly  un 
prepared  ;  —  it  was  in  years  when  new  settlers  could  do  little  more 
than  provide  for  present  support  of  themselves  and  families.     The 
conditions  imposed  were  :  —  payment  in  full  upon  their  contracts  at 
contract  price,  within  about  four  months,  or  payment  in  full  for 
twenty  acres  or  more  at  contract  price,  and  a  new  contract  for  all 
that  remained  unpaid  for,  at  an  advance  of  66  per  cent ;  or  paying 
nothing,  and  taking  new  contracts,  the  66  per  cent  was  to  be  ad 
ded.     The  new  conditions  imposed  were  upon  the  principle  that 
the  proprietors  and  settlers,  were  entitled  to  an  equal  share  of  what 


PHELPS  AKD  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  541 

would  be  regarded  as  a  fair  estimate,  of  the  rise  in  value  that  had 
occurred  since  the  original  contracts  were  made ;  a  principle  that 
governed  large  land  proprietors  in  other  similar  instances,  but  which 
did  not  give  due  weight  to  the  consideration,  that  it  is  the  pioneers 
who  first  break  into  new  tracts  of  land  —  commence  improvements 
—  who  principally  give  the  lands  their  enhanced  value.  But  few 
of  the  settlers  could  meet  the  prompt  payment  demanded ;  most  of 
them  were  obliged  to  submit  to  the  terms  of  renewed  contracts;  un 
toward  years  followed,  and  the  finale  was  the  loss,  with  many,  of 
their  improvements ;  while  many  were  obliged  to  sell  at  a  sacrifice, 
and  renew  in  some  western  region,  a  pioneer  life.  Such  has  been 
the  fate  of  many  early  settlers  in  other  localities  of  the  Genesee 
country,  but  in  few  instances  perhaps,  were  there  as  large  a  propor 
tion  of  changes  of  ocupants  as  in  Henrietta.  But  few,  in  fact,  of 
the  early  settlers  became  permanent  residents. 

The  Sperry  family,  as  will  have  been  observed  in  another  con 
nection,  settled  in  Henrietta  in  1809,  —  or  a  part  of  it  in  that  year, 
and  a  part  in  1813;  their  location,  what  was  termed  "Methodist 
Hill."  John  Briminstool  was  the  first  settler  on  the  River  road,  in 

1810.  His  father,  Michael  Briminstool,  settled  on  the  same  road  in 

1811.  In  that  year,  the  only  settlers  on  the  River  road  from  Enos 
Stone's,  in  Brighton,  to  south  line  of  Henrietta,  were  the  Brimiri- 

stool's,  John  Cook, Russell,  and  a  family  in  a  log  house  near 

Mt.  Hope ;  to  whom  were  added  before  the  close  of  the  year,  Lu 
ther  C.  Adams,  Charles  Case,  Isaac  F.  Nichols,  Hugh  and  Frederick 
Sample,  Simon  Moore,  Bethuel  Hitchcock,  and  Charles  Colegrove. 
In  the  same  year,  Andrew  and  John  Bushman,  and  John  Gould  set 
tled  on  cross  road  between  River  and  State  road.     With  a  little 
assistance  from  Mr.  Wads  worth  the  River  road  was  opened  through 
Henrietta  to  the  Falls,  in  1812  :  —  "  but,"  says  Deacon  Briminstool, 
"  we  had  but  little  business  in  that  direction ;  we  used  sometimes  to 
go  down  the  river  to  fish,  and  sometimes  to  mill."     In  1812  Joshua 
Briminstool  and  William  Frazier,  and  soon  after,  Daniel  Bly  and 
Timothy  Torrence  settled  upon  the  road.     Of  the  early  settlers  in 
that  part  of  the  town,  the  surviving  residents  are,  Michael  Brimin 
stool,  Charles  Case,  and  Andrew  and  John  Bushman.    Deacon  Brim 
instool  is  now  in  his  81st  year.     Jacob  Briminstool,  of  Henrietta,  is 
a  surviving  son ;  a  daughter  of  his  became  the  wife  of  James  Mc- 
Nall. 

Moses  Wilder  set  out  the  first  orchard  in  town,  and  built  the  first 
framed  house ;  Elias  wilder  the  first  barn.  Elias  Wilder  moved  to 
Conneaut,  Ohio,  soon  after  the  war  of  1812.  His  surviving  sons, 
are,  Amasa  Wilder,  of  Richmond,  Moses  Wilder  and  Palmer  B. 
Wilder,  of  Rochester ;  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Jonathan 
Rood,  of  Pittsford,  Clark  Marshall,  of  Waterbury,  Vt.,  Orrin  An 
derson,  of  Orleans  county,  Jairus  Bryant,  of  Pontiac,  Michigan. 
Ira  Hatch  removed  to  Cattaragus  county.  Jonathan  Russell  is 


542  PHELPS  AM)  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

still  living  in  Henrietta.  Benjamin  Bales  removed  in  an  early  day 
to  Ontario,  Wayne  county ;  and  also  the  Barns  and  Parish  families. 

The  first  religious  meetings  held  in  town,  were  at  the  house  of 
Moses  Wilder,  by  circuit  preachers  :  —  Elder  S.  Puffer,  Lacey,  Fill- 
more.  The  first  school  on  Wadsworth  road,  was  opened  in  1809, 
in  a  log  school  house  that  stood  near  Stephens'  corners.  The  school 
was  kept  by  Sarah  Leggett.  The  first  military  muster  in  town, 

was  in  1810.     Joseph  Bancroft  was  captain;  -  Hodge,  who 

was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Queenston,  was  the  Lieutenant.  It  was 
remembered  that  but  few  of  the  trainers  had  guns,  and  most  of  them 
were  barefooted.  A  saw  mill  was  erected  in  1811  or  '12,  by  Jon 
athan  Smith. 

In  1814,  Elder  Thomas  Gorton  settled  on  the  river  road.  He 
had  previously  resided  in  Lima.  A  Baptist  society  had  been  or 
ganized  two  years  previous,  and  meetings  had  been  kept  up,  Deacon 
Briminstool  generally  leading  in  them.  After  Elder  Gorton  settled 
in  the  neighborhood,  a  block  meeting  house  was  erected.  The  Elder 
emigrated  to  Michigan  in  1840.  He  had  thirteen  children  who  be 
came  heads  of  families.  The  first  school  on  River  road,  was  opened 
in  1810,  by  Lucy  Branch,  now  Mrs.  Solomon  Nichols,  of  Cattarau- 
gus  county.  A  religious  reading  meeting  was  started  in  181 1,  by  the 
elder  Mr.  Sperry,  on  the  State  road,  which  terminated  in  the  forma 
tion  of  a  Congregational  society,  in  1815.  A  log  meeting  house 
was  erected,  but  no  stated  preaching  was  maintained  until  the  Rev. 
Wm.  P.  Kendrick  was  employed  by  the  society  in  1823.  In  1833, 
the  society  was  merged  with  another  that  had  been  organized  in  the 
east  part  "of  the  town,  and  their  present  meeting  house  near  the 
Academy  was  erected. 

In  1813  or  '14,  a  Baptist  society  was  organized  in  the  east  part 
of  the  town,  over  which  Elder  John  Finney  was  settled  for  several 
years.  In  1827  the  east  and  west  societies  were  merged,  and  a 
house  erected  at  Henrietta  corners.  Over  this  united  church  Elder 
Miner  was  settled  until  1838,  when  a  division  took  place,  and 
churches  were  erected  at  West  Henrietta,  and  in  the  east  part  of 
the  town. 

To  the  enterprise,  and  just  appreciation  of  the  cause  of  education, 
on  the  part  of  a  few  citizens  of  the  town  of  Henrietta,  the  inhabitants 
of  all  this  region  were  indebted  for  an  early  flourishiug  literary  insti 
tution.  Monroe  Academy  was  projected  as  early  as  1825.  Before 
the  close  of  1826  a  sufficient  amount  of  subscriptions  were  obtained 
to  warrant  the  erection  of  a  building.  The  contract  went  into  the 
hands  of  Benjamin  Baldwin,  a  young  merchant  of  the  town ;  the 
Academy  building  was  completed  and  the  whole  enterprise  was 
fairly  under  way  under  the  auspices  of  David  Crane  as  Principal, 
in  the  winter  of  '28  '9.  Among  its  most  active  projectors  and  pat 
rons,  were:  —  Luther  C.  Ohamberlin,  Richard  Wilkins,  Richard 
and  Charles  Daniels,  Elish'aGage,  Bedjamin  Baldwin,  Abijah  Gould. 


PHELPS  AKD  GORUAM'S  PURCHASE.  543 

Ozias  Church,  (father  of  the  present  Lieut.  Governor,)  of  Henrietta, 
and  Giles  Bolton.  of  Rochester.  Its  success  exceeded  the  most  san 
guine  anticipations  ;  its  students  soon  numbering  as  many  as  350. 
It  continued  to  be  a  flourishing  institution  in  all  the  early  years  of  its 
existence,  and  supplied  a  local  deficiency  that  had  existed  in  the 
means  of  education ;  and  only  declined  when  similar  institutions 
were  rapidly  multiplied  in  other  localities. 

Early  settlers  of  Henrietta,  other  than  those  named  :  — Ebenezer 
Goo.ling,  a  son  of  the  early  pioneer  in  Bristol,  Warren  Burr,  Ros- 
well  Wickvvire,  Elijah  Little,  Stephen  Legget,  Alfred  Jones,  Noble 
Dayton,  Charles  Balwin, Scudder. 

The  Pioneer  settlement  of  Henrietta,  owing  to  its  secluded  posi 
tion,  its  heavy  timber,  and  the  prevalence  generally  of  level  lands 
and  wet  soil,  to  which  was  added  years  of  questionable  title ;  was 
slow  and  discouraging.  As  with  all  the  rest  of  this  region  —  but 
especially  with  that  and  several  other  localities — the  "good  time" 
came  with  the  Erie  canal ;  or  when  that  great  promoter  and  diffuser 
of  prosperity  had  become  a  settled  measure.  The  town  is  now 
justly  ranked  among  the  best  agricultural  towns  of  Western  New 
York  ;  and  no  where,  perhaps,  do  farms  bear  a  higher  average  value. 


CHAPTER    II 


MORRIS'  RESERVE. 


The  territory  thus  designated  is  bounded  on  the  east  oy  Phelps 
and  Gorham's  purchase ;  north  by  Lake  Ontario ;  west  by  the 
Transit,  or  Holland  Company's  eastern  line;  south  by  the  Penn 
sylvania  line;  —  containing  in  all,  not  far  from  500,000  acres.  It 
was  a  reservation  made  by  Mr.  Morris,  in  his  sale  to  the  Holland 
Company,  and  afterwards  sold  in  large  tracts  to  others  — principally 
to  preferred  creditors.  The  northern  portion  of  it,  the  settlement 
of  which  will  only  be  included  in  this  connection,  was  divided  into 
two  tracts :  — the  "  Triangle,"  and  the  "  Connecticut,"  or  "  100,000 
acre  Tract." 


THE  TRIAXGLE. 


This  is  a  tract,  which  as  will  be  observed  by  reference  to  maps, 
has  its  base  upon  Lake  Ontario,  and  terminates  in  a  sharp  point,  a 


544  PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

little  south  of  Le  Roy  village.  The  peculiar  shape  had  its  origin 
in  the  north  easterly  direction  it  was  necessary  to  give  the  west 
line  of  Phelps  and  Gorham's  Purchase,  in  order  to  have  it  corres 
pond  with  the  course  of  the  Genesee  River,  and  be  an  average  dis 
tance  of  twelve  miles  therefrom.*  The  tract  contains  87,000  acres  ; 
embraces  the  towns  of  Clarkson,  Sweeden,  and  part  of  Bergen  and 
Le  Roy.  Mr.  Morris  sold  it  to  Le  Roy,  Bayard  and  M'Evers,  who 
were  then  merchants  of  the  city  of  New  York.  It  was  not  sur 
veyed  until  1801.  In  the  spring  of  that  year,  Mr.  Ellicott,  as  agent 
for  the  proprietors,  employed  Richard  M.  Stoddard  who  then  resi 
ded  in  Canandaigua,  and  had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  Holland 
Company,  to  survey  the  tract ;  and  after  the  survey  he  became  the 
local  agent  for  its  sale  and  settlement. 

Mr.  Stoddard  had  married  the  sister  of  Dudley  Saltonstall,  of 
Canandaigua,  who  took  an  interest  with  him  in  the  purchase  of  500 
acres  of  the  tract,  which  constitutes  the  site  of  Le  Roy  village. 
Mr.  Saltonstall  soon  sold  his  interest  to  Ezra  Platt,  who  was  also  a 
resident  of  Canandaigua,  and  one  of  the  early  Judges  of  Ontario. 
Stoddard  and  Platt,  became  the  Pioneers  of  Le  Roy,  and  all  of  the 
Triangle.  Before  the  close  of  1801  they  had  built  a  log  house  on 
the  banks  of  Allan's  creek,  opened  a  land  office,  and  were  erecting 
mills  at  what  was  then  called  "  Buttermilk  Falls/'  Mr.  Stoddard 
was  sheriff  of  Genesee  county  soon  after  its  organization ;  in  all 
early  years  a  prominent  and  useful  citizen.  His  widow  still  sur 
vives,  a  resident  with  her  son,  Thomas  B.  Stoddard,  Esq,  near  Irving, 
Chautauque  county.  The  only  daughter  was  the  first  wife  of  the 
Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  of  Wyoming.  Mr.  Stoddard  died  in  1810. 
Ezra  Platt,  who  was  at  one  period  First  Judge  of  Genesee,  died  in 
1811 ;  Elijah  and  George  Platt  of  Le  Roy,  and  Ezra  Platt,  of  Ann 
Arbor,  are  his  sons ;  Mrs.  Stephen  M.  Wolcott,  of  Le  Roy,  is  a 
daughter  of  Judge  Platt. 

This  pioneer  commencement  has  reference  to  the  immediate  vil 
lage  of  Le  Roy.  Near  the  village,  on  the  main  road,  east,  it  will 
have  been  observed,  Capt.  Ganson  had  succeeded  Charles  Wilbur 
in  a  public  house  in  1798.  In  reference  to  the  whole  town  Mr.  Wil 
bur  was  the  pioneer.  He  was  the  first  justice  of  the  peace  west  of 
Caledonia.  Removing  from  Le  Roy,  he  located  at  the  Cold  Springs, 
near  Lockport,  becoming  the  first  settler  in  all  that  part  of  Niagara 
county.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Deacon  Handy,  of  West 
Bloomfield  ;  a  daughter,  the  first  born  in  Le  Roy,  is  Mrs.  Standart, 
of  Cleavland.  Jessee  and  Philip  Beach,  Chapman  Hawley,  Gil- 

*  The  surrey  of  the  Mill  Tract  was  first  made  by  Col.  Hugh  Maxwell.  He  ran 
twelve  miles  west  from  the  river,  and  then  due  north  to  Lake  Ontario.  This  being 
objected  to  by  the  Indians,  the  late  Judge  Porter  ran  a  new  line,  which  was  as  near 
an  average  of  twelve  miles  distant  from  the  River  as  a  straight  line  would  allow.  In 
after  surveys,  west  of  this  line,  the  tract  which  Porter's  survey  struck  out  from  the 
Maxwell  survey,  became  what  has  been  termed  the  Triangle. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  545 

bert  Hall, Douglass,  Samuel  Davis,  and  Hinds  Chamberlin, 

were  soon  added  to  the  new  settlement  east  of  the  present  village 
site.  The  Beaches  removed  to  Niagara  county  where  many  of 
their  descendants  now  reside.  Deacon  Hinds  Chamberlin,  who  is 
named  in  another  connection,  came  a  young  man  to  Scottsville,  as 
early  as  1795.  He  was  elected  a  constable  in  1798,  for  the  whole 
region  west  of  the  River ;  first  serving  precepts  issued  by  a  magis 
trate  at  Avon  ;  and  afterwards  those  issued  by  Esq.  Fish.  As  a 
road  commissioner  he  laid  out  the  first  road  west  of  theRiver,  from 
Scottsville  to  Hall's  corners.  He  married  previous  to  1800,  the 
widow  of  Malcolm  M'Laren,  of  Caledonia.  He  died  in  1849,  aged 
84  years.  Some  reminiscences  of  his,  will  be  found  in  Holland 
Purchase,  p.  321 ;  to  a  son  of  his,  Mr.  S.  Chamberlin,  of  Le  Roy, 
the  author  has  been  indebted  for  some  farther  reminiscences  obtain 
ed  from  the  early  pioneer,  previous  to  his  death.*  Mr.  Davis  be 
came  an  early  tavern  keeper,  a  mile  east  of  Le  Roy.  He  was  from 
Bloomfield ;  lived  in  early  life  with  General  Hall ;  married  a  daugh 
ter  of  Isaac  Scott,  the  pioneer  of  Scottsville.  He  was  murdered  in 
his  own  house,  in  1827  or  '8,  by  James  Gray,  who  was  excuted  at 
Batavia.  The  father  of  Gray,  who  was  implicated  in  the  murder, 
was  sentenced  to  the  States  prison,  pardoned  by  the  Governor,  and 
died  in  Le  Roy  a  few  years  since.  The  Grays  were  intoxicated ; 
the  immediate  provocation  was  the  refusal  of  Mr.  Davis  to  give  up 
a  child  of  James  Gray  that  was  indented  to  him. 

Gen.  Daniel  Davis  was  a  settler  as  early  as  1801,  and  also  became 
an  early  tavern  keeper.  He  was  an  early  military  officer,  succeed 
ing  Joseph  Hewitt  in  the  command  of  a  company  of  militia ;  had 
attained  the  rank  of  Brig.  General  on  the  occurrence  of  the  war  of 
1812;  was  killed  at  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie. 

Asa  Buell  was  a  settler  soon  after  1800  ;  had  held  a  commission 
in  the  Revolution ;  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Conn. ; 
died  in  1825  or  '6 ;  a  son  was  killed  with  Gen.  Davis  at  the  sortie  of 
Fort  Erie  ;  a  surviving  son  occupies  the  homested. 

The  following  list  embraces  the  names  of  all  who  purchased  land 
upon  the  Triangle,  from  commencement  of  sales  until  the  close  of 
1809.  Generally  it  is  the  names  of  the  early  Pioneers,  though  in 
some  instances,  it  is  presumed,  the  purchasers,  or  holders  of  contracts 
never  became  residents.  And  it  is  also  to  be  considered  that  many 

NOTE.  —  In  reminiscences  ef  Le  Roy,  reference  will  be  had  to  the  whole  town,  with 
out  any  distinction  as  to  that  portion  of  it  which  is  on  the  Triangle. 

*  Mr.  Chamberlin  has  forwarded  to  the  author  the  first  deed  given  for  a  farm  lot, 
west  of  Caladonia.  John  Johnstone,  as  the  agent  of  William  Hornby,  conveys  100 
acres  of  land  in  Le  Roy,  to  Joseph  Hewitt.  The  blank  was  printed  by  "  L.  Gary, 
Canandaigua."  Mr.  Hewett  paid  for  his  farm  thus  early  with  the  proceeds  of  a  con 
tract  with  Mr.  Ellicott,  for  building  the  first  bridge  over  Allan's  creek,  at  Le  Roy.  He 
removed  to  Lewiston,  Niagara  county,  in  early  years,  where  he  became  a  successful 
farmer,  and  where  his  descendants  now  reside. 


546 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM  S  PURCHASE. 


transfers  of  contracts  were  made,  in  which  cases  the  names  of 
the  actual  settlers  may  not  appear :  — 


TOWNSHIP  1. 
Dudley  Saltonstall, 
R.  M.  Stoddard, 


TOWNSHIP  1. 
Elias  Underwood, 
E.  Bacon, 
William  Gilmore, 


TOWNSHIP  1. 
Isaac  Marsh, 

TOWNSHIP  4. 
Moody  Freeman.] 


TOWNSHIP  1. 
Philemon  Nettleton, 
James  Bates, 
John  Fordham. 

TOWNSHIP  2. 
Benj.  Fox, 


1801. 

TOWNSHIP  1. 
David  Fail-child, 
Thaddeus  Keys, 

1802. 

TOWNSHIP  1. 
Lemuel  F.  Prindell, 
Nathan  Harvey, 
Jeremiah  Hascall, 

1  803. 

.TOWNSHIP  5. 

John  Bams, 
Amos  W.  Sweet, 
John  Cobb. 

1804. 

TOWNSHIP  2. 
David  Scott, 
John  Landon, 
Benajah  Worden. 

TOWNSHIP  4. 
James  Sayres, 

1805. 


TOWNSHIP  1. 
Ebenezer  Green, 
Aaron  Scribner. 


TOWNSHIP  1 . 
Abraham  Russell, 
Horace  Shepherd, 
Joshua  Woodward. 


TOWNSHIP  2. 
Jacob  Fuller. 


TOWNSHIP  4. 
Elijah  Blodgett. 

TOWNSHIP  5. 
James  M'Casson. 


TOWNSHIP  1. 

TOWNSHIP  2. 

TOWNSHIP  4. 

Gaines  Brown, 

James  Austin, 

John  Fowle, 

Jessee  Foskett, 

David  Potter, 

Wm.  Davis, 

Cephas  Fordham,^ 

Solomon  Leach, 

Simeon  Daggett, 

Martin  Kelsey, 

Cotton  Leach, 

David  Stariton, 

James  Bates, 

Gideon  Elliott, 

Noah  Owen, 

Jessee  Griswold, 

Isaac  Leach, 

Benj.  Boyd, 

Daniel  Le  Barron, 

Levi  Leach, 

Isaac  Farwell, 

Sylvanus  Fail-field, 

Daniel  Kelsey, 

John  Farwell. 

Joseph  Mapes, 

David  Franklin, 

Ella  Smith. 

John  Pierson. 

^OWNSHIP  5. 

TOWNSHIP  2. 

TOWNSHIP  3. 

Abigal  Sayer, 

Richard  Abbey, 

Isaiah  White, 

John  Chapman, 

Abraham  Davis, 

Jonathan  Freeman, 

Alexander  White, 

Thomas  White. 

1806. 

TOWNSHIP  1. 

TOWNSHIP  2. 

TOWNSHIP  4. 

Simon  Pierson, 

Roger  Kelsey, 

Aretas  Haskell, 

Joseph  Pierson, 

James  Gano. 

Julius  Curtiss, 

Oliver  Bates. 

TOWNSHIP  3. 

Samuel  Chiswell, 

TOWNSHIP  2. 

Jas.  D.  Mowlat, 

Ebenezer  Towle, 

Samuel  Gleason. 
William  Peters, 

Archibald  M'Knight, 
Joseph  Hopkins, 

Sylvester  Eldridge, 
Noah  Owen, 

Jonathan  Thompson, 

Levi  Gilbert, 

Olney  F.  Rice, 

Willard  Leach, 

Gideon  Orr, 

Carr  Draper. 

George  Letson, 

John  Ellis, 

Joseph  Eldridge, 

TOWNSHIP  4. 

TOWNSHIP  5. 

Samuel  Farley, 

Wm.  Spafford, 

Perry  G.  Nichols. 

David  Johnson, 

Samuel  Algur, 

PHELPS    AND  GORHAM'S   PUECHASE. 


547 


TOWNSHIP  1. 
Oliver  Bates, 
James  Bates, 
Lockwood  G.  Hoyt, 
Sylvanus  Franklin, 
Philo  Pierson. 

TOWNSHIP  2. 
Abraham  Davis, 
Levi  Russell  Jr., 
Philip  Conklin, 
John  A.  Lackor, 
Aaron  H.  Kelsey, 
Eber  Griswold, 
Wheaton  Southworth, 
Henry  D.  Gifford, 
Jeremiah  Hart, 
Abner  Lovejoy, 
D.  R.  Peters, 
Benj.  Woodward, 
Win.  Woodward, 


TOWNSHIP  1. 
John  Richards, 
Leonard  Parmelee, 
Win.  Wolcott, 
Daniel  Waite. 
Nathaniel  King. 

TOWNSHIP  2. 
Benj.  Wright, 
Levi  Ward,  Sen. 
John  Ward, 
Levi  Ward,  Jr., 
Betsey  Whipple. 
Wm,  Munger, 
John  Wright, 
Joseph  Throop, 
Polly  Gifford, 
Peleg  Thomas, 
Abijah  C  apron, 
Simeon  Gray, 
Wm.  H.  Munger, 

TOWNSPIP  3. 
Samuel  Lincoln, 
Johnson  Bedell, 
Amos  Parks, 
Edward  Parks, 


TOWNSHIP  2. 
Joshua  Green, 
Daniel  Guthrie, 
Azariah  Hay  wood, 
George  Orman, 
Jacob  Orman. 

TOWNSHIP  3. 
Mathias  Pease, 
Ebenezer  Champney, 
Gale  Furman, 


1807. 

TOWNSHIP  2. 
James  Landon, 
Sylvanus  Durlam, 
Aug.  Buell, 
John  Gifford, 
Cyrus  Gifford, 
Dyre  Thomas, 
Joseph  Tliroop, 
Orange  Throop, 
David  Johnson, 
A.  Bissell. 

TOWNSHIP  3. 
John  Ellis, 
John  Reed, 
Samuel  Bishop, 
Stephen  Johnson, 
Joseph  Hopkins, 
Wm.  Dunsha, 
Samuel   Lincoln, 
Luke  Chase, 

1808. 

TOWNSHIP  3. 
Walter  Palmer, 
Lincoln  Palmer, 
Cyrus  Hatch, 
Rufus  Harman, 
John  A.  Tone, 
Reuben  Stickney, 
Joseph  Eldridge, 
Stephen  Lyman, 
Joshua  Green, 
Cyrus  Galloway, 
Wm.  M.  Bentley, 
Charles  Warren, 
Wm.  B.  Worden, 
Aaron  Hill, 
Moses  J.  HiU, 
Judah  Church, 
Nathaniel  Pool, 
Daniel  C.  Stone, 
David  Lovett, 
Jacob  Bartlett, 
Benj.  Knight, 
Nathaniel  Pool. 
Micajah  Moon, 
Reuben  Downs, 

1809. 

TOWNSHIP  3. 
Amos  Frink, 
Alanson  Thomas, 
Isaac  Howard, 
Zadock  Hurd, 
Joseph  Langdon, 
Levi  Merrills, 
Joshua  Green, 
John  Marshall, 
Stephen  Clark, 


TOWNSHIP  3. 
Ephraim  Carter, 
Bethuel  Barron, 
Amos  Parks, 
Uriah  L.  James, 
Wm.  James, 
W.  Stewart, 
Elisha  Stewart, 
Benj.  Sheldon, 
Elisha  Ewer. 

TOWNSHIP  4. 
Patrick  Fowler, 
Joseph  Grover, 
Wilbur  Sweet, 
Levi  Leach, 
Eli  Glass, 
Wm.  Dickinson, 
Anthony  Case, 
S.  Bigelow. 


TOWNSHIP  3. 
Wm.  Bentley, 
Nicholas  Lake, 
Oramel  Butler, 
Simeon  Gray, 
Joseph  Luce. 

TOWNSHIP  4. 
Eldridge  Farwell, 
John  Mallory, 
Isaac  Lincoln, 
Eli  Mead, 
Wilbur  Sweet, 
L.  W.  UdaU, 
Robert  Clark, 
Robert  Hoy, 
Robert  Brown, 
Jas.  M.  Brown, 
Oliver  Hamlin, 
Danforth  Howe, 
Macy  Brown. 
Eli  Rundcil, 
Jonathan  Mead, 
Elisha  Lake. 


TOWNSHIP  3. 
Reuben  Stickney.  Jr., 
Thos.  W.  Taylor, 
Reuben  Downs, 

TOWNSHIP  4. 
Isaac  Holmes, 
James  Hoy, 
Joshua  H.  Brown, 
Walter  Billings, 
Orange  Risden. 


548  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

The  successor  of  R.  M.  Stock! ard  in  the  land  agency,  was  Gra 
ham  Newell,  who  was  succeeded  by  Egbert  Benson,  Jr.  The  suc 
cessor  of  the  last  named,  was  Jacob  Le  Roy,  a  son  of  one  of  the 
proprietors.  In  1839,  Mr.  Le  Roy  returned  to  New  York,  and 
Joshua  Lothrop  who  had  been  his  clerk,  succeeded  him  in  the 
agency,  which  position  he  still  retains ;  though  the  affairs  of  the 
agency  are  pretty  much  closed ;  the  whole  tract  being  sold,  deeded, 
and  paid  for,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  amount  which  remains 
in  the  form  of  loans. 

The  reader  by  a  cursory  examination  of  the  list  of  early  settlers,  will 
observe  that  for  the  first  few  years,  settlement  of  the  Triangle  beyond 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Le  Roy,  had  a  slow  progress.  In 
1803,  there  were  but  two  lots  sold  in  Bergen ;  in  1804,  but  seven  ; 
in  1805,  but  twenty-one.  In  1805,  but  three  in  Sweden  ;  in  1806? 
but  nine  ;  in  1807,  but  twenty-six.  In  1803,  but  one  in  Clarkson  , 
in  1804,  but  three;  in  1805,  but  twelve.  And  it  is  not  to  be  pre 
sumed  that  all  who  purchased  became  actual  settlers  ;  in  fact,  many 
did  not. 

Jeremiah  Hascall  removed  from  Canandaigua,  where  he  had  set 
tled  in  1800,  to  Le  Roy,  with  his  family,  in  1805  ;  having  pur 
chased  a  part  of  the  present  Murphy  farm  in  1802.  He  was  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  when  his  jurisdiction  embraced  all  the  territo 
ry  west  of  Genesee  river.  He  died  in  1835,  aged  96  years ;  his 
wife  in  1834,  aged  84  years.  They  had  thirteen  children,  twelve 
of  whom  arrived  at  adult  age.  The  surviving  sons  are  : — David, 
Amasa,  and  Augustus  P.  Hascall,  of  Le  Roy,  the  last  named  being 
the  member  of  Congress  elect,  from  the  county  of  Genesee  ;  John 
Hascall,  of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan.  Daughters : — Mrs.  Wiard,  of 
Le  Roy;  Mrs.  Harvey,  of  Pike;  Mrs.  Austin,  of  Le  Roy;  Mrs 
Knowlton,  of  Ohio. 

James  Austin  was  an  officer  of  the  Revolutionary  army  ;  settled 
first  in  Bristol;  in  Le  Roy  soon  after  1800.  He  died  in  Bergen. 
His  widow  still  survives,  over  90  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Bissell  and 
Mrs..  Lee,  of  Bergen,  Mrs.  Allen,  of  Mendon,  were  his  daughters. 

Nathan  Harvey  settled  in  Le  Roy  in  1802.  He  and  Jeremiah 
Hascall  were  both  engaged  in  opening  what  is  now  called  the  Brock- 
port  road.  It  was  done  at  the  expense  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Trian 
gle.  The  road  makers  took  camp  equippage,  and  encamped  as 
they  progressed.  Mr.  Harvey  died  in  1839.  Harmon  Harvey,  of 
Le  Roy,  and  Nathaniel  Harvey,  of  Allegany,  are  his  sons ;  Mrs. 
Hiram  Butler,  of  Le  Roy,  is  a  daughter. 

Richard  Waite  was  the  Pioneer  blacksmith  ;  was  an  early  officer 
of  the  militia.  He  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Alexander.  He  is 
the  father  of  the  Rev.  Richard  L.  Waite,  of  Caryville ;  Daniel  D. 
Waite,  editor  of  the  Advocate,  Batavia ;  Elisha  Waite,  of  Adrian, 
Michigan ;  Mrs.  Newton,  of  Alexander,  is  a  daughter. 

Stephen  Stilwell  was  the  Pioneer  shoemaker  ;  coming  in  with  a 


PHELPS  AKD  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  549 

large  family  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  for  the  want  of  a  better  tene 
ment,  he  was  obliged  to  cover  and  make  a  small  addition  to  a  frame 
raised  by  Major  Waite  for  shoeing  oxen;  in  which  he  wintered, 
and  began  the  shoeing  of  the  new  settlers.  He  was  not  only  a 
shoemaker,  but  a  preacher,  and  a  famous  coon  hunter.  One  of  a 
family  of  emigrants  dying  at  Capt.  Gansons,  he  preached  the  fu 
neral  sermon  in  the  bar-room.  This  was  the  first  death  and  burial 
in  Le  Roy. 

The  Parmalee  family  were  early  settlers.  Col.  Farm  alee,  of 
Wilson,  Niagara  county,  is  one  of  the  survivors.  Martin  Kelsey, 
Timothy  Hatch,  Washington  Weld,  Isaac  Marsh,  Hugh  Murphy, 
David  Scott,  Martin  O.  Coe,  were  in  Le  Roy  previous  to,  and  be 
fore  the  close  ot  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Kelsey  survives  at  the  age 
of  70  years  ;  Mrs.  Elmore,  of  Le  Roy,  is  his  daughter.  Mr.  Hatch 
died  in  1844;  his  widow  still  survives ;  M.  P.  Hatch,  of  Oswego, 
is  a  son  of  his  ;  Mrs.  Martin  0.  Coe,  of  Le  Roy,  a  daughter.  Mr, 
Weld  died  in  1849  ;  Willard  Weld,  residing  near  Lockport,  is  a  son 
of  his  ;  the  widow  still  survives.  Mr.  Marsh  died  many  years 
since ;  some  of  the  family  are  residing  in  Bushville,  near  Batavia. 
Mr.  Murphy  settled  first  in  Cambria,  Niagara  county;  in  1810, 
changed  his  residence  to  Le  Roy,  purchasing  the  tract  which  now 
constitutes  the  fine  farm  occupied  by  his  sons  and  daughters,  border 
ing  upon  the  eastern  boundaries  of  the  village.  He  died  in  1826. 
David  Scott  was  an  officer  of  the  regular  army  in  1812  ;  now  re 
sides  in  Michigan.  Mr.  Coe  still  survives  :  George,  Joseph  and 
Charles  Coe,  of  Le  Roy,  and  William  Coe,  of  Boston,  are  his  sons. 
Dr.  Ella  Smith  was  the  first  settled  physician  in  Le  Roy.  Dr. 
William  Sheldon  settled  there  in  1811,  and  has  continued  practice 
up  to  this  period.  William  H.  Sheldon,  of  Le  Roy,  who  married 
a  daughter  of  one  of  the  early  pioneers  at  Allen's  Hill,  Ontario 
county  ;  Joseph  Garlinghouse  ;  Lucius  Sheldon,  of  Le  Roy  ;  G.  T. 
Sheldon,  of  Detroit,  and  Horatio  Sheldon,  of  Wisconsin,  are  his  sons. 

Dudley  Saltonstall  was  the  first  practicing  lawyer  in  Le  Roy. 
Heman  J.  Redfield  commenced  practice  there  soon  after  the  war  of 
1812  ;  his  students,  while  at  Le  Roy,  were  : — Seth  M.  Gates,  of 
Warsaw,  Lucas  Beecher  of  Sandusky,  Willis  Buell  of  Zanesville, 
and  Albert  Smith  of  Milwaukee.  John  B.  and  Samuel  Skinner, 
and  John  and  Augustus  Hascall,  succeeded  the  early  lawyers  in 
practice  there.  • 

In  1810,  the  first  building  was  erected  exclusively  for  merchan 
dizing.  It  was  first  occupied  by  George  A.  Tiffany,  a  son  of  one 

of  the  early  printers  at  Canandaigua,  and  by Johnson  and 

Joseph  Annin,  in  succession.  Thaddeus  Joy,  so  long  and  widely 
known,  first  as  a  teamster  in  the  days  of  "  big  wagons,"  on  the  Al 
bany  and  Buffalo  road,  then  as  a  mei  chant,  and  in  later  years,  in 
connection  with  transportation  on  the  Erie  Canal,  was  merchan 
dizing  in  Le  Roy  as  early  as  1810.  He  went  to  Buffalo  in  1823  : 


550  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

now  resides  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Judge  Samuel  De  Veaux, 
of  Niagara  Falls,  now  one  of  the  most  wealthy  and  public  spirited 
citizens  of  all  that  region,  had  been  attached  to  the  commissary 
department  at  Fort  Niagara,  and  subsequently  had  commenced 
merchandizing  there.  The  winter  after  the  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  he  removed  to  Le  Roy,  and  was  engaged  in  merchan 
dizing  there  until  after  the  close  of  the  war.  In  some  reminiscen 
ces  of  the  war  of  1812,  which  he  has  furnished  the  author,  and 
which  will  form  an  interesting  chapter  in  a  volume  now  partly  pre 
pared  for  the  press — "  Sketches  of  the  War  of  1812  upon  the  Nia 
gara  Frontier  " — he  pays  a  well  merited  tribute  to  the  patriotism  of 
the  citizens  of  Le  Roy,  in  that  trying  crisis  ;  and  especially  names 
the  circumstance  of  the  furnishing  of  gratuitous  supplies  from  that 
village  and  neighborhood,  at  a  period  of  want  and  destitution  upon 
the  Frontier ;  and  it  but  accords  with  the  author's  recollection  of 
the  patriotism  of  the  citizens  of  that  locality  during  the  war. 

A  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  in  Le  Roy  in  1812.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Taller  was  the  first  to  officiate ;  the  Rev.  Calvin  C.  Colton, 
author  of  the  "Life  of  Henry  Clay,"  wasjthe  first  settled  clergy 
man.  The  society  erected  a  church  in  1825.  Previous  to  the  or 
ganization  of  this  society,  religious  meetings  had  been  held  in  a  barn 
near  the  present  residence  of  Judge  Brewster;  and  subsequently, 
in  a  school  house  opposite  the  residence  of  Col.  Shedd.  The  Bap 
tists  erected  a  church  in  1822.  A  Methodist  society  was  formed  in 
1^23,  by  Elder  A.  Seager.  An  Episcopal  church  was  erected  in 
1826. 

The  Le  Roy  Female  Seminary  was  founded  in  1836.  An  asso 
ciation,  the  members  of  which  were,  A.  P.  Hascall,  Samuel  Corn- 
stock,  Lee  Comstock,  Ezra  Rathbun,  S.  M.  Gates,  Albert  Brewster, 
Jonathan  P.  Darling,  Alonzo  S.  Upham,  Richard  Hollister,  William 
S.  Bradley,  and  Enos  Bachelor,  purchased  a  private  residence  for 
the  purpose  of  converting  it  into  a  literary  institution.  The  Misses 
Ingharns,  having  previously  located  themsslves  in  the  village  of  At 
tica,  as  an  inducement  for  them  to  remove  to  Le  Roy,  the  associa 
tion  took  their  property  in  Attica  in  exchange  for  the  building  and 
lot  in  Le  Roy.  The  school  was  immediately  started  under  their 
auspices,  was  flourishing,  and  has  become,  by  their  unremitting  en 
terprise  and  perseverance,  one  of  the  best  Female  Seminaries  in 
the  State.  Improving  the  grounds,  and  from  time  to  time  enlarging 
the  edifice,  it  now  has  the  imposing  appearance  of  some  ol  the 
eastern  colleges.  Few,  if  any,  female  institutions  in  the  State  have 
turned  out  more  well  educated  graduates;  many  of  whom  are 
either  at  the  head  of,  or  teachers  in  seminaries  in  different  portions 
of  the  United  States ;  especially  in  the  western  States.  One  of 
the  founders  of  the  institution  has  become  the  wife  of  Mr.  Phineas 
Stanton,  a  son  of  one  of  the  prominent  pioneers  of  the  Holland 
Purchase,  the  late  Colonel  Stanton,  of  Middlebury. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  551 

The  author  is  indebted  to  the  venerable  Simon  Pierson,  a  surviv 
ing  pioneer  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  town  of  Le  Roy — the 
neighborhood  of  Fort  Hill — for  many  early  reminiscences  of  that 
locality,  especially  in  reference  to  the  interesting  ancient  remains 
which  has  given  to  the  spot  considerable  celebrity.  The  remains 
found  at  Fort  Hill,  were  embraced  in  a  previous  work  of  the  au 
thors,  and  the  public  have  been  made  familiar  with  the  subject  in 
other  forms.  Mr.  Pierson's  account  of  early  settlement,  the  author 
cheerfully  and  thankfully  makes  available. 

Deacon  Hinds  Chamberlin  was  a  pioneer  in  this,  as  he  had 
been  in  other  localities.  He  broke  into  what  was  called  the  north 
ern  woods,  built  a  cabin,  and  made  an  opening  in  the  forest,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Fort  Hill,  in  1801.  In  1802,  Alexander  M'Pherson 
became  his  neighbor;  John,  James,  Allen,  and  Alexander  M'Pher 
son,  jr.,  are  his  sons.  In  1804,  Francis  Le  Barron;  descendants 
principally  reside  in  Michigan.  In  1804,  Gideon  Fordham.  Also, 
in  1804,  Philemon  Nettleton ;' descendants  principally  reside  in 
Michigan.  In  1805,  these  five  first  settlers  rolled  up  some  huge 
basswood  logs,  at  the  foot  of  Fort  Hill,  near  the  brook,  and  made 
one  of  the  rudest  specimens  of  a  backwoods  school  house.  The 
first  teacher  was  Addrew  M'Nabb,  a  Scotchman ;  the  second, 
Samuel  Crocker  ;  the  third,  Major  Nathan  Wilson  ;  the  last  of  whom 
died  in  1813  of  the  prevailing  epidemic;  his  son,  Nathan  Wilson, 
jr.,  died  from  a  wound  received  in  battle  in  the  war  of  1812  ; 
Stephen  S.  and  Jared  E.  Wilson,  of  Le  Roy,  are  surviving  sons. 
Alexander  M'Pherson  died  in  1833,  aged  80  years  ;  Francis  Le  Bar 
ron  in  1832,  aged  61  years;  Philemon  Nettleton  in  1848,  aged  72 
years;  Gideon  Fordham  in  1821,  aged  77  years. 

David  Le  Barron,  Samuel  Smith,  Ebenezer  Parmalee,  Ishi 
Franklin,  Abner  Hull,  Russell  Pierson,  Rev.  Josiah  Pierson,  Philo 
Pierson,  John  Pierson,  Simon  Pierson,  Sylvanus  Franklin,  Linus 
Pierson,  were  all  settled  in  the  neighborhood  before  the  close  of 
1810.  The  first  named  died  in  1829,  aged  54  years  ;  two  sons  are 
supposed  to  be  with  the  Mormons  at  Salt  Lake.  The  second  died 
in  1829,  aged  77  years;  descendants  reside  in  Michigan.  The 
third  died  in  1847,  aged  73  years;  David  W.,  Harlow  and  William 
Parmalee  are  his  sons.  The  fourth  died  in  1843,  aged  62  years  ; 
Warren,  Watson,  Henry,  William  and  David  Franklin,  are  his  sons. 
The  sixth  died  in  1815,  aged  70  years;  Luther  and  Adolphus  Pier- 
son,  of  Bergen,  Edwin  Pierson,  of  Chili,  Willis  Pierson,  of  Ogden, 
and  John  Pierson,  of  Careyville,  are  his  sons.  The  seventh  died 
in  Bergen  in  1846;  Hamilton  W.  and  Nelson  Pierson,  of  Bergen, 
Carloss  Pierson,  of  Ohio,  and  Josiah  Pierson,  of  Mount  Morris,  are 
his  sons.  The  eighth  died  in  1820;  William  Pierson,  a  lawyer  in 
Kentucky,  and  David  B.  Pierson,  a  merchant  in  Cincinnati,  are  his 
sons.  The  tenth  died  of  the  prevailing  epidemic  in  1813,  contract 
ed  upon  the  frontier,  aged  30  years ;  an  only  son  was  drowned  from 


552  PHELPS   AND  GOEHAMS7   PUECHASE. 

on  board  the  S.  B.  Washington,  on  Lake  Erie,  in  1838 ;  Mrs. 
Flint,  of  Batavia,  is  a  daughter.  The  eleventh  still  survives,  re 
siding  near  Churchville. 

David  Frankin,  a  brother  of  Sylvanus  Franklin,  had  come  in 
previous  to  1809.  In  March  of  that  year,  the  two  brothers,  with 
their  wives  and  two  children,  were  descending  the  primitive  road 
at  Fort  Hill,  which  ran  along  upon  one  side  of  a  deep  ravine,  in  a 
sleigh  drawn  by  spirited  horses.  The  horses  became  unmanage 
able,  set  off  at  full  speed,  and  turning  an  angle  of  the  road,  the 
sleigh  upset,  throwing  the  whole  party  a  considerable  distance,  with 
great  violence ;  David  Franklin  striking  a  stump,  and  receiving  an 
injury  that  he  did  not  long  survive.  "  This  sorrowful  accident," 
says  Mr.  Pierson,  "  threw  a  shade  of  gloom  over  our  backwoods 
settlement;  for  it  seemed  as  if  we  could  hardly  do  without  our 
neighbor  Franklin,  who  was  forward  in  every  good  word  and  work." 
This,  and  other  accidents  that  had  happened  there,  induced  a  change 
in  the  location  of  the  road. 

Touching  the  advent  of  our  friend  Mr.  Pierson,  he  must  be  al 
lowed  to  tell  his  story  in  his  own  humorous  way. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  SIMON  PIERSON. 


In  October,  1806,  in  company  with  my  brother,  the  late  Rev.  Josiah 
Pierson,  of  Bergen,  and  our  families,  I  started  from  Killingworth,  Conn., 
with  a  wagon  load  of  household  goods,  bound  for  the  Genesee  country, 
which  we  then  understood  as  embracing  all  west  of  Whitestown.  I  was 
then  28  years  old,  my  brother  26.  From  Albany  to  Whitestown,  we  met 
a  vast  number  of  teams  loaded  with  wheat  for  the  Albany  market.  On 
the  road,  we  met  De  Witt  Clinton  returning,  from  a  western  tour.  At 
Whitestown,  there  were  three  log-houses,  one  of  them  a  tavern,  kept  by 
Mr.  Baggs.  We  then  supposed  we  had  arrived  at  the  western  verge  of 
civilization,  and  that  we  were  now  coming  to  a  region — 

"  Where  nothing  dwelt  but  beasts  of  prey, 
Or  men  as  wild  and  fierce  as  they." 

But  which  has  proved  to  be  a  region  where — 

"  The  worthy,  needy,  poor  repair, 

And  build  them  towns  and  cities  there." 

*  *  *  *  # 

•'  They  sow  their  seed,  and  trees  they  plant, 
Whose  yearly  fruit  supplies  their  want ; 
Their  race  grows  up  in  fruitful  stock, 
Their  wealth  increases  with  their  flock." 

From  Whitestown  we  passed  on,  I  should  think,  about  three  miles,  where 
there  was  a  log  school  house,  and  where  they  were  holding  a  meeting — 
for  it  was  Sunday — and  they  were  singing  the  good  old  familiar  tune — 
New  Jerusalem: — 

"  From  the  third  heavens  where  God  resides,"  &c. 


PHELPS  ANT>  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE.  553 

We  travelled  on  the  Sabbath,  because  we  were  told  that  travellers  had  no 
borne  but  the  tavern ;  and  that  they  were  thronged  on  that  day  with  those 
whose  society  would  not  contribute  to  a  Sabbath  day's  rest  ;  loafers  they 
would  be  called  now  that  we  have  got  such  a  word.  From  Whitestown 
to  Canandaigua,  112  miles,  was  a  new  turnpike,  much  of  the  way  through 
the  woods  and  very  muddy.  Once  in  ten  miles  was  a  toll  gate  where  we 
had  to  pay  25  cents  for  poaching  ten  miles  of  road.  On  arriving  at  the 
outlet  of  Canandaigna  Lake,  we  found  a  small  grist-mill,  said  to  have  been 
built  by  one  of  our  townsmen,  Mr.  Harris ;  who,  it  was  said,  had  brought 
a  half  bushel  of  wheat  on  his  back  from  Whitestown,  for  seed.  I  saw 
the  old  man  on  his  return  from  the  Genesee  country.  His  friends  in  Con 
necticut  had  conjectured  that  the  Indians  would  use  him  up,  and  that  he 
would  never  reach  home  again. 

At  Genesee  river,  we  had  no  way  of  crossing,  but  in  a  wretched  scow . 
On  the  west  side  of  the  river,  we  saw  many  Indian  huts,  from  the  corners 
of  which  was  suspended,  by  braided  husks,  large  quantities  of  corn.  An 
old  Indian  told  us  we  were  at  "  Canawaugus."  I  began  to  think  of  toma 
hawks  and  scalping  knives.  About  four  miles  west  of  the  river,  we  came 
to  a  log  tavern  kept  by  Major  Smith.  Here  we  found  a  small  man  with  a 
very  large  wife.  Says  Major  Smith  to  the  small  man : — "  Is  that  woman 
your  wife?"  "Yes,  sir,"  was  the  reply.  Says  the  Major: — "How  did 
you  get  across  the  river  ? — I  should  suppose  that  your  wife  would  have 
sunk  that  old  scow."  "  0,"  said  the  little  man,  "I  went  twice  for  her." 

Arriving  at  "  Ganson's  settlement,"  now  Le  Roy,  we  found  friends  who 
advised  us  not  to  purchase  land  "  down  in  the  north  woods,"  for,  said  they, 
<c  it  will  always  be  sickly  there ;  and  the  region  will  never  be  settled. " 
But  having  a  brother  and  brother-in-law  at  Fort  Hill,  who  had  preceded 
us  a  few  months,  we  resolved  upon  going  there.  Fort  Hill  was  then  cov 
ered  with  a  dense  forest  of  heavy  timber  from  its  base  to  its  summit.  Its 
appearance  was  that  of  gloom  and  solitude,  except  when  enlivened  by  the 
music  of  the  water  rushing  over  the  falls  at  Allan's  *  Creek. 


Mr.  Pierson  is  now  in  his  73d  year ;  his  surviving  sons  are,  Philo 
L.  Pierson,  of  Le  Roy,  and  M.  D.  Pierson,  of  Dansville. 

The  prominent  ancient  remains  in  Le  Roy,  other  than  those  at 
Fort  Hill  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  were  upon  a  bluff,  near  Allan's 
creek,  a  short  distance  below  the  village.  It  was  a  mound,  or 
tumuli  in  size,  according  to  Mr.  Pierson's  recollection,  who  saw  it 
in  an  early  day,  about  that  of  an  ordinary  coal  pit ;  others  who  saw 
it  in  an  early  day,  think  it  was  about  15  feet  in  height,  with  a  base 

*  Mr.  Pierson,  in  consideration  of  the  unamiable  character  of  the  person  from  -whom 
this  beautiful  stream  is  named,  would  change  it  to  Mrs.  Jemison's  Indian  name — 
"  Ginisaga."  Other  citizens  of  Le  Roy,  would  call  it  "  Oatka,"  the  Indian  name  for 
a  stream  coming  out  from  between  high  banks.  The  latter  name  would  only  be  ap 
plicable  to  the  peculiar  topography  of  Le  Rov  and  its  neighborhood.  Desirable  as 
some  change  of  the  name  of  the  stream  may  be  regarded,  it  would  require  the  co 
operation  of  those  generally  who  reside  upon  its  banks,  in  its  whole  extent;  a  con-, 
yentional  decision  that  the  author  has  not  ventured  to  anticipate. 
35 


554  PHELPS  AOT  GOEHAM'S  PTJECHASE. 

of  30  feet.  Trees  were  growing  upon  it  18  inches  in  diameter. 
The  foxes  in  burrowing  into  it  had  brought  out  human  bones,  which 
led  to  an  assembling  of  the  early  settlers,  on  a  given  day,  in  consid 
erable  numbers,  who  made  several  excavations  in  the  tumuli,  and 
disenterred  a  large  quantity  of  human  skeletons.  They  were  the 
bones  of  all  ages  and  both  sexes  ;  some  of  them  judged  to  be  consid 
erable  larger  than^  the  bones  of  the  largest  of  our  own  race. 
JO"3  See  Appendix  to  supplement,  No.  2. 

In  a  considerable  area  of  the  locality  ;  especially  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  Fort  Hill,  many  relics  of  ancient  occupancy  have 
been  discovered  ;  and  occasionally  evidences  of  French  occupancy. 
During  the  Revolution,  those  who  fled  from  the  Mohawk  to  Canada, 
and  made  frequent  journies  backwards  and  forwards  upon  the  old 
Niagara  trail,  had  favorite  camping  grounds  upon  the  creek  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Le  Roy  village.  They  had  left  considerable 
plats  of  tame  grass,  which  were  very  convenient  for  travellers  when 
settlement  was  tending  in  that  direction ;  attracting  the  deer  from 
the  surrounding  forest,  they  were  often  killed  in  those  little  openings. 

Allan's  creek  has  a  fall  of  over  sixty  feet,  \vithin  the  corporate 
limits  of  Le  Roy  village  ;  thus  creating  a  durable  and  valuable 
water  power,  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  agricultural  region,  where  it  is 
much  required.  It  takes  its  rise  from  springs  in  Wyoming  county  ; 
passes  through  Warsaw,  Middlebury,  Covington,  Bethany,  a  cor 
ner  of  Stafford,  Le  Roy,  and  Wheatland,  discharging  into  the  Gen- 
esee  river  at  Scottsville.  It  furnishes  mill  power  at  Gainesville, 
Warsaw,  Pavillion,  Bailey's  mills,  Roanoke,  Northrup's  Factory, 
Tomlinson's  mills,  Le  Roy ;  a  mile  below  Le  Roy,  Albright's,  (now 
Finch's)  mills,  Garbuttville,  and  Scottsville. 

Le  Roy  having  been  erected  from  Caledonia  in  1812,  when  the 
war  spirit  was  rife,  it  was  named  Bellona ;  afterwards,  and  in  better 
taste,  it  assumed  the  name  of  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the 
Triangle.  William  Sheldon  was  the  first  supervisor,  Thomas  Tufts 
town  clerk.  Other  town  officers :  —  David  Le  Barren,  Philo 
Pierson,  Benjamin  Ganson,  Ella  Smith,  John  Ganson,  Asa  Buel, 
Zalmon  Turrell,  David  Bidlecum,  Harvey  Prindle,  Richard  Waite, 
Levi  Farnum,  H.  Graham  Newell,  George  Terry,  Amasa  Hascall, 
Jeremiah  Hascall.  At  first  State  election,  in  1813,  for  Governor, 
Daniel  D.  Tompkins  had  123  votes,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  24. 


It  will  be  observed  by  the  preceding  list  of  names,  and  periods  of 
settlement,  that  the  settlement  of  what  is  now  Bergen  had  but  com 
menced  along  in  1804,  '5  and  '6.  The  early  road  was  the  north 
and  south  road  already  mentioned.  The  road  from  where  Roch 
ester  now  is  to  Batavia,  was  not  opened  through  Bergen  until  1810. 
The  town  was  organized  in  1818.  Those  whose  names  follow,  were 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  555 

early  pioneers,  other  than  those  already  named  some  of  them  among 
the  earliest  :  — 

Levi  Bissell,  Uriah  Kelsey,  M.  Wright, 

Alexander  Bissel,  Jedediah  Crosby,     [his  Jacob  Spafford,  Sen,, 

Patrick  Fowler,  son  Lutheiya  present  jus-  Nathaniel  Spafford, 

Timothy  Hill,  tice  of  the  peace  in  Ber-  Aaron  Arnold, 

Joel  Wright,  gen,   was  the  first  born  Oliver  Avery, 

Stephen  Everts,  in  the  town.]  Samuel  Butler, 

David  G.  Everts,  Wickham  Field,  Abel  Fuller, 

Amos  Hewett,  Uriah  Crampton,  -^V^  Bela  Munger, 

Phineas  Parraalee,  Ashbell  Crampton,^/  Jesse  Barber, 

Nathan  Field,  Samuel  Bassett,  James  Munger. 

Jonah  Buell,  Harvey  Kelsey, 


LEVI  WARD. 


Dr.  Levi  Ward  was  a  native  of  Killingworth,  Conn.,  a  son  of 
Levi  Ward.  He  studied  his  profession  with  Dr.  Jonathan  Todd,  of 
Guilford,  and  marrying  the  daughter  of  Daniel  Hand,*  settled  in 
practice  in  Haddam,  in  1790,  where  he  continued  until  1807,  in 
which  year  he  emigrated  to  the  Genesee  country  ;  his  family  then 
consisting  of  his  wife,  and  four  sons,  and  four  daughters.  He  was 
accompanied  by  his  brother,  John  Ward,  and  his  family.  The  em 
igrants  arrived  at  Le  Roy  undetermined  as  to  their  location ;  falling 
in  with  R.  M.  Stoddard,  the  then  agent  of  the  Triangle,  whom  they 
had  known  in  New  England,  they  were  induced  to  cast  their  lot 
with  a  few  old  neighbors  who  had  preceded  them,  in  what  was  then 
called  the  "north  woods;"  then  mostly  a  dense,  heavily  timbered 
forest,  rugged  in  all  its  features;  now  the  smiling  and  prosperous 
agricultural  neighborhood,  contiguous  to  the  Rail  Road  station  in 
Bergen.  Finding  temporary  quarters  in  the  newly  erected  log 
house  of  Daniel  Kelsey,  Dr.  Ward  erected  a  small  framed  house, 
covering  it  with  cedar  shingles,  and  using  rived  cedar  for  siding. 
The  Dr.  quaintly  observes,  that  even  that  manner  of  building  was 
ahead  of  the  times,  and  in  a  region  of  log  cabins,  was  deemed  some 
what  aristocratic,  His  brother  erected  a  log  house  ;  both  went  to 
clearing  land,  but  it  took  about  a  year  to  make  an  opening  sufficient 
to  see  out  without  looking  up. 

It  was  on  Saturday  when  the  emigrants  arrived  at  their  new 
home  in  the  wilderness ;  accustomed  to  a  regular  attendence  upon 
public  worship,  the  first  business  was  to  provide  for  religious  exer 
cises  ;  a  meeting  was  agreed  upon  at  the  house  of  a  new  settler ;  14 
or  15  persons  convened  from  their  scattered  woods  homes  ;  prayers 

*  Captain  Hand  was  an  officer  of  the  Revolution,  a  highly  respected  and  useful 
member  of  society,  a  professor  and  promoter  of  religion.  He  died  at  an  advanced 
age,  in  Guilford,  the  place  of  his  birth. 


556  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PTJECHASE. 

were  made,  a  sermon  was  read,  and  Mrs.  Ward  says  they  "  had  ex 
cellent  singing."* 

For  nine  years  Dr.  Ward  was  one  of  the  active  and  prominent 
Pioneers  of  his  locality ;  an  efficient  helper  in  all  there  was  to  be 
done  in  the  backwoods,  in  religious  and  school  organizations  in,  the 
opening  of  new  roads,  &c.  Coming  to  the  new  region,  to  be  the 
founder  of  a  new  home  for  himself  and  his  large  family,  rather  than 
with  reference  to  the  practice  of  his  profession,  his  practice  was 
only  to  the  extent  that  the  absence  of  other  physicians  in  the  new 
region  made  necessary.  To  the  labor  of  clearing  heavily  timbered 
land,  and  subduing  a  rugged  soil,  was  soon  added,  as  will  be  observ 
ed,  a  land  agency,  which  made  him  the  founder,  or  agent  of  settle 
ment  in  his  immediate  neighborhood.  In  1811  he  was  appointed 
an  agent  or  commissioner,  to  settle  the  accounts  of  the  commission 
ers  who  had  constructed  the  primitive  bridge  over  the  Genesee 
River,  upon  the  site  of  Rochester.  There  was  no  mail  routes,  or 
post  offices  north  of  the  main  Buffalo  road  until  1812.  In  that 
year,  Dr.  Ward  interceded  with  the  then  P.  M.  General,  Gideon 
Granger,  and  obtained  from  him  authority  to  transport  a  weekly 
mail  from  Caladonia,  via  Riga,  Murray,  Parma,  Northampton,  to 
Charlotte,  at  the  .mouth  of  the  Genesee  River.  His  compensation 
was  the  net  proceeds  of  letter  and  newspaper  postages  collected  on 
the  route.  It  was  provided  in  the  contract  that  the  r.  M.  G.  would 
appoint  deputy  post  masters,  in  any  locations  the  contractor  should 
disignate,  which  were  seven  miles  distant  from  each  other.  The 
plan  was  put  in  successful  operation.  Routes  were  extended  by  Dr. 
Ward,  upon  the  same  terms,  along  on  Ridge  Road  to  Oak  Orchard 
Creek  ;  from  Clarkson  corners  through  Sweeden,  to  Bergen ;  from 
Parrna  through  Ogden  and  Riga  to  Bergen ;  from  Bergen  to  Bata- 
via.f  This  system  continued  until  1820,  supplying  the  early  con 
venience  of  mail  facilities  to  a  wide,  sparsely  populated  region, 
when  it  was  superceded  by  the  ordinary  contract  system. 

In  the  war  of  1812,  in  an  exigency  of  anticipated  invasion,  and 
a  want  of  arms,  Dr.  Ward  collected  all  the  muskets,  rifles,  cartouch 
boxes  and  bayonets  in  his  neighborhood,  and  delivered  them  to  Col. 
Daniel  Davis  for  the  use  of  his  Regiment.  Twenty-one  muskets, 
and  cartouch  boxes,  and  bayonets,  and  four  rifles ;  J  and  besides  all 

*  In  the  same  year  a  Congregational  Church  was  organized,  the  second  one  west  of 
Genesee  River.  The  Rev.  Allen  Hollister,  ministered  alternately  to  this  church  and 
the  one  organized  in  Riga.  The  Rev.  Harmon  Halsey,  now  a  resident  of  Wilson, 
Niagara  county,  was  an  early  settled  minister.  Dr.  Levi  "Ward  and  Uriah  Crampton 
are  among  the  few  who  survive  of  the  earliest  members  of  this  church. 

t  Prettly  liberal  time  was  allowed,  corresponding  with  the  condition  of  primitive 
,  roads.  It  was  stipulated  that  the  mail  should  "  leave  Caladonia  every  Monday  at  8 
A.  M.,  and  arrive  at  Charlotte  on  Tuesday,  by  4  P.  M." 

t  It  has  been  before  remarked  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  Pioneers  of  the  Genesee 
country  had  been  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolution.  Most  of  the  muskets  col  - 
!ected  'in  Bergen,  belonged  at  the  time  to  those  who  had  used  them  in  that  contest 
for  nationaal  independence. 


PHELPS  AND  GOBHAM'S  PURCHASE. 


557 


the  powder  and  balls  of  the  new  settlement  were  put  in  requisition. 
In  another  crisis,  at  the  requisition  of  Major  General  Hall,  a  com 
pany  of  exempts,  or  "  silver  grays,"  were  raised  in  Bergen,  and  Dr. 
Ward  was  elected  to  the  command  of  it.  Though  the  company  saw 
no  service,  no  marching  orders  having  been  received,  and  no  inva 
sion  extending  as  far  as  that  locality,  the  muster  roll  is  copied,  ex 
hibiting  as  it  does  Pioneer  names,  and  shewing  who  were  willing  in 
that  crisis  to  waive  a  legal  exemption  and  engage  in  the  defence  of 
their  country : 


Levi  "Ward.  Jr.  Capt.  John  Ward,  Private. 

Jesse  Barber,  Lt.  Jesse  Munger,  " 

Arnos  Hewit,  2d  Lt.  Samuel  Taggart,          " 

Joseph  Langdon,  Ensign.      Joseph  Lord,  " 

Calvin  Wells,  Sergeant,  Lodowick  Wright,  " 
Reuben  Langdon,  "  William  Crowell,  " 
Wheaton  Southworth,  "  Jehoida  Page. 
William  Peters, 
Leonard  Tuttle,  Corporal. 
Benj  W.  Elsworth, 
John  Colrnan,  " 


Jolm  Dibble, 
John  K  Larkins, 
"Win.  H.  Ward, 
Music; 


John  Dulap, 
Asa  Williams, 
Theophilus  M.  Fenn, 
William  Jones, 
Benhain  Preston, 
Amasa  Walker, 
Cyrus  Walker, 
Samuel  Hammond, 


James  Munger,  Drummer.    Joshua  Wright, 


Simon  Pierson,  Fifer, 


James  Tillotson, 


Benjamin  Wright,  Private,    Amos  Allen, 
Josiah  Pierson, 


Martin  Richmond,  Private. 
Nathan  Rogers,  " 

Isaac  Baker,  " 

Dennis  Magden, 
Abner  Phelps, 
Orange  Throop, 
Joshua  Green, 
Moses  Brown, 
William  Shepherd,      " 
Linus  Kelsey, 
Samuel  Throop, 
John  T.  Freeman,        " 
Asa  Merrills, 
Josiah  Buel, 
Win.  Buel, 
Adin  Kurd, 
Amos  Chamberlin, 
Samuel  Tillotson,        " 


Elijah  Loomis, 

Dr.  Ward  was  for  six  or  seven  years  the  supervisor  of  his  town, 
and  at  one  period  one  of  the  Judges  of  Genesee  county. 

In  1817  he  changed  his  residence  from  Bergen  to  the  village  of 
Rochester ;  thus  becoming  a  Pioneer  in  a  new  locality,  with  which 
he  has  been  prominently  identified  in  most  of  its  history  of  rapid 
progress.  One  of  the  first  to  break  into  the  wilderness  region  north 
of  the  old  Buffalo  road  —  he  has  survived  to  see  it  become  one  broad 
theatre  of  agricultural  wealth,  comfort  and  prosperity.  One  of  the 
first  to  cast  his  lot  in  a  primitive  village,  while  the  forest  was  yet 
but  partially  cleared  away ;  where  the  wolf,  the  bear,  the  deer  and 
the  rattlesnake  had  but  just  had  notice  to  quit  —  he  has  survived 
to  see  it  become  the  fifth  city  of  the  Empire  State ;  to  see  it  a  scene 
of  unsurpassed  business  activity  and  enterprise ;  endowed  with  re 
ligious  and  literary  institutions,  and  all  the  evidences  of  substantial 
progress,  intelligence,  and  refinement. 

He  is  now  in  his  80th  year ;  the  wife  and  mother,  who  accompa 
nied  him  in  his  primitive  advent,  nearly  of  the  same  age.  With 
the  sands  of  life  running  low,  yet  blessed  with  a  more  than  usual 
exemption  from  the  infirmities  of  age,  enjoying  all  of  temporal  bless 
ings,  in  the  midst  of  a  large  circle  of  their  descendants,  they  are 
calmly  and  serenely  awating  the  summons  to  depart  from  the  the 
atre  of  life,. upon  which  they  have  so  well  performed  their  parts. 

The  eldest  son,  VVm.  H.  Ward,  who  was  P.  M.  at  Bergen,  the 


558  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

first  north  of  Le  Roy  and  Caladonia;  a  Colonel  of  Militia  in  early 
years,  and  an  early  merchant  of  Rochester;  died  in  1838,  aged  45 
years.  Another  son,  Daniel  H.,  died  in  ]846,  aged  50  years.  Sur 
viving  sons,  are  :  —  Henry  M.  Ward,  a  resident  of  Illinois ;  Levi 
A.  Ward,  an  Ex-Mayor  of  Rochester ;  Ferdinand  D.  W.  Ward,  a 
returned  Missionary  from  Madras,  in  the  East  Indies,  author  of  a 
work  entitled  "  India  and  the  Hindoos,"  now  a  settled  minister  at 
Geneseo.  Daughters,  are  the  wives  of  Silas  O.  Smith,  Samuel  L. 
Selden,  Charles  L.  Clarke  and  Freeman  Clark,  of  Rochester.  A 
deceased  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Moses  Chapin  ;  she  died  in  1823, 
aged  25  years.  Another  deceased  daughter  was  the  wife  of  Dan 
iel  Hand,  a  prominent  and  successful  merchant  in  Augusta,  Georgia: 
she  died  in  1839,  aged  35  years. 

The  father  of  Dr.  Ward,  who  followed  him  to  the  Genesee  coun 
try  in  early  years,  died  in  Bergen  in  1838  at  the  advanced  age  of 
over  92  years.  The  brother,  John  Ward,  survives,  a  resident  of 
Bergen,  aged  81  years;  his  surviving  sons  are,  Martin,  Abel,  John, 
Philo  and  Horatio  Ward. 

The  northern  portion  of  the  Triangle,  Sweeden  and  Clarkson, 
began  to  be  settled  in  1804,  '5,  or  rather  land  contracts  were  taken 
in^those  years,  and  it  is  presumed  that  actual  settlement  soon  follow 
ed,  though  it  progressed  slowly,  as  in  all  the  region  north  of  the  then 
principal  thorough-fare,  the  Buffalo  Road. 

Dr.  Abel  Baldwin,  is  one  of  the  oldest  surviving  residents.  He 
was  a  native  of  Norwich,  Vermont;  studied  medicine  with  Dr. 
Nathan  Smith  of  Hanover,  N.  H.  Dr.  Thurber,  of  Riga,  Dr. 
Nathaniel  Rowley,  of  Clarkson,  Dr.  Jacobs  and  the  late  Dr.  Bemis,  of 
Canandaigua,  were  his  fellow  students.  Dr.  Baldwin  settled  in 
practice  in  Saratoga  county  in  1807 — in  1810  first  visited  the  Gen 
esee  country  —  in  181 1  removed  to  Clarkson.  Practicing  medicine 
only  in  the  earliest  years,  h?  opened  a  public  house  in  1815,  at  what 
was  then  called  "  Murray  Corners,"  now  Clarkson  village.  He 
erected  the  first  framed  tavern  house  on  the  Ridge  Road ;  travel  up 
on  the  Ridge  had  then  became  pretty  brisk  —  Falls  travel  had  be 
gan  to  take  that  route  ;  the  house  of  Dr.  Baldwin  being  about  half 
way  from  Canandaigua  to  Lewiston,  was  a  prominent  halting  place. 
In  fact,  Clarkson  Corners,  at  that  period,  and  up  to  the  final  com 
pletion  of  the  Erie  Canal,  in  reference  to  all  the  northern  region, 
was  a  prominent  locality.  Dr.  Baldwin  continued  a  landlord  until 
1825,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Silas  Walbridge;  he  is  now 
an  enterprising  and  successful  farmer.  He  was  an  Elector  of  Pres- 

NOTE. — It  will  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  slow  progress  of  settlement  in  all 
the  region  between  the  old  Buffalo  road  and  Lake  Ontario,  to  learn,  that  as  late  as  the 
war  of  1812,  so  little  was  known  of  that  best  of  all  natural  highways  in  the  world, 
the  Ridge  Road,  that  a  large  army,  with  heavy  artillery,  camp  equipage  &c.,  the  des 
tination  of  which  was  Lewiston,  actually  diverged  from  the  Ridge  at  Clarkson,  and 
went  via  Bergen  and  Batavia. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  559 

ident  and  Vice  President,  in  1832.     Mrs.  Baldwin  also  survives; 
an  only  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Henry  R.  Selden. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  DR.  BALDWIN. 


When  I  moved  into  the  country  in  1811,  with  my  family,  we  were  fer 
ried  over  the  Genesee  river  at  Rochester;  the  Ridge  road  was  only  cut 
out  wide  enough  for  a  wagon  track;  the  streams  were  crossed  by  means  of 
log  bridges.  Upon  the  present  site  of  Clarkson  village,  there  were  three 
log-houses ;  and  in  all,  perhaps,  thirty  acres  of  land  cleared.  James  Sayre 
was  the  Pioneer  of  the  locality;  in  fact,  the  first  settler  on  Ridge,  in  what 
is  now  Clarkson  and  Murray,  and  I  think,  Parma.  He  had  selected  this 
spot  on  account  of  a  fine  spring,  before  any  thing  was  known  of  a  continu 
ous  Ridge  road.  Sayre,  who  had  taken  up  considerable  land,  sold  his 
contracts  and  removed.  Beside  him,  I  found  here: — David  Forsyth,  who 
remained  here  until  1849,  when  he  removed  to  Michigan.  Deacon  Joel 
Palmer  had  just  commenced  tanning  and  currying  in  a  rude  primitive  es 
tablishment,  the  first  upon  all  the  Ridge  road.  He  still  survives,  a  resi 
dent  of  Clarkson;  Joel  Albert  and  John  Palmer,  of  Clarkson,  are  his  sons. 
Dr.  Nathaniel  Rowell  had  preceded  me  a  few  months,  and  was  in  practice 
among  the  new  settlers.  He  was  from  Hanover,  N.  H. ;  died  in  1826; 
Hopkins  Rowell,  of  Clarkson,  is  his  son;  two  other  sons  are  clergymen  in 
New  Jersey ;  Mrs.  Henry  Smith  and  Mrs.  Danforth  are  his  daughters. 
Eldridge  Farwell  had  located  here,  but  removed  soon,  and  became  the 
Pioneer  of  what  is  now  Clarendon,  erecting  mills  there.  Eldridge,  Geo. 
and  Horace  Farwell  are  his  sons.  West  of  the  Corners,  on  the  Ridge, 
John  and  Isaac  Farwell,  brothers  of  Eldridge,  had  settled.  The  saw-mill 
of  the  afterwards  Judge  Eldridge  Farwell,  in  Clarendon,  made  the  first 
boards  had  in  all  this  region,  and  his  was  the  pioneer  grist-mill,  excepting 
a  small  log  mill  the  Atchinsons  had  erected  on  Salmon  Creek.  We  had 
our  first  milling  done  at  Church's  mill  in  Riga. 

In  all  the  region  north  of  Ridge,  in  what  is  now  Clarkson  and  Murray, 
Moody  Freeman  was  the  Pioneer.  He  was  originally  from  Hanover,  N. 
H. ;  had  pioneered  his  way  all  along ;  had  been  the  proprietor  of  the  town 
of  Ellisburg,  Jefferson  county ;  and  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  Broad- 
albin,  Montgomery  county.  He  made  his  solitary  home  two  miles  north 
of  the  Corners,  at  the  centre  of  the  township.  He  was  an  early  Justice  of 
the  Peace:  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  natural  abilities;  was  an  early 
backwood's  lawyer,  or  pettifogger.  There  was  in  Clarkson,  north  of  Ridge, 
beside  Freeman,  in  1811 : — Eratus  Haskell,  who  had  taken  up  land  upon 
which  there  were  salt  springs — and  set  up  a  few  kettles,  and  was  boiling 
salt  for  the  new  settlers.  Haskell  was  a  captain  of  militia  in  the  war  of 
1812;  was  at  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie.  He  now  resides  in  Joliet,  Illinois. 
Stephen  Baxter  settled  in  that  neighborhood  in  1811,  and  also  engaged 
<?arly  in  salt  boiling.  He  still  survives,  and  has  a  large  number  of  de- 


560  PHELPS   AOT)    GORHAM'S   PURCHASE. 

scendants  in  the  neighborhood.  John  Nowlan  was  also  settled  in  the  Free 
man  neighborhood ;  still  survives,  over  80  years  of  age. 

The  war  of  1812  stopped  all  settlement  and  improvement.  There  was 
a  constant  state  of  excitement  and  alarm;  many  new  settlers  broke  up  and 
left  the  country.  The  Ridge  road  was  a  thoroughfare  for  troops  passing 
to  and  from  the  Frontier.  When  Lewiston  was  burned,  many  families 
came  and' wintered  along  on  Ridge  road;  the  families  of  the  late  Sheldon 
Thompson,  of  Buffalo,  Joshua  Fairbanks,  Mr.  Townsend,  and  Dr.  Smith, 
stopped  in  Clarkson.  A  company  of  riflemen  was  raised  in  this  vicinity, 
commanded  by  captain  Stewart;  went  upon  the  frontier,  and  at  one  period 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river;  they  acted  mostly  as  minute  men.  There 
were  besides,  militia  drafts  and  volunteering  during  the  war. 

Immediately  after  the  war,  settlers  came  in  rapidly.  The  Ridge  read 
may  almost  be  said  to  have  settled  in  its  whole  extent  west  of  Genesee 
river,  in  1816.  Previous  to  that,  there  was  but  few  settlers  upon  it;  es 
pecially  in  Monroe  and  Orleans. 

The  first  town  meeting  of  Murray,  was  held  at  the  barn  of  Johnson 
Bedel,  about  four  miles  south  of  Brockport.  The  Pioneer  of  Brockport 
and  its  neighborhood,  was  Rufus  Hammond.  His  farm  embraced  a  part 
of  the  northern  portion  of  the  village.  He  had  been  settled  five  or  six 
years  when  I  came ;  had  an  orchard  and  a  considerable  improvement.  He 
had  formerly  lived  in  Avon ;  died  in  1824;  Shubel  Hammond,  of  Clark- 
son,  is  his  son.  Either  Mr.  Hammond  or  Mr.  Freeman  raised  the  first  crops 
in  this  region.  I  raised  the  first  framed  barn ;  Isaac  B.  Williams  the  first 
framed  house,  upon  the  site  of  the  present  brick  tavern.  I  omitted  to 
name  Mr.  Williams,  as  one  who  was  here  previous  to  1811 ;  he  was  the 
Pioneer  blacksmith.  He  removed  to  Hartland,  where  he  died  several 
years  since ;  William  Williams,  of  Clarkson,  is  his  son. 

In  1817,  a  considerable  settlement  had  been  made  at  Sandy  Creek,  on 
the  Ridge — 15  or  20  families,  perhaps — in  which  year,  Henry  M'Call  and 
Robert  Perry  built  mills  there;  raising  a  dam  and  overflowing  15  or  20 
acres  of  timbered  land.  A  sickness  that  pervaded  every  household  in  the 
neighborhood,  soon  followed;  in  one  season,  in  a  population  of  about  100, 
there  were  27  deaths.  The  settlers  from  other  neighborhoods  had  to  go 
there  and  take  care  of  the  sick,  as  there  were  not  well  ones  enough  there 
to  do  so ; — it  was  a  neighborhood  of  gloom  and  desolation.  The  mill  dam 
was  taken  down,  and  the  sickness  disappeared. 

The  first  settler  at  the  mouth  of  Sandy  Creek,  was  a  Dutchman  by  the 
name  of  Strunk.  When  I  first  visited  the  place  in  1812,  he  had  died,  and 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Billings  was  living  there ;  and  others  had  been  there, 
I  presume,  for  there  were  several  deserted  log  houses.  Billings  removed 
to  Canada.  After  that,  settlers  would  come  in  by  water,  and  after  remain- 

NOTE. — Salt  springs  break  out  all  along  on  the  slope  north  of  Ridge — generally 
about  three  miles  distant.  They  break  out  from  the  Clinton  Group,  which  is  next 
above  the  Medina  Sand  Stone.  In  the  early  settlement  of  the  country,  salt  was  manu 
factured  near  Lockport,  Medina,  at  Oak  Orchard,  in  Clarkson,  Parma,  Holley,  Webster, 
Ontario  and  Sodus.  The  salt  was  usually  afforded  at  about  a  dollar  per  bushel.  The 
weakness  of  the  brine  forbid  competition  with  the  works  at  Montezurna  and  Salt 
Point,  when  the  Erie  Canal  was  finished ;  and  the  business,  in  fact,  had  began  to  de 
cline  previous  to  that. 


PHELPS  AND   GOEHAM'S   PURCHASE.  561 

ing  a  short  time,  would  be  taken  sick,  and  have  to  be  brought  out  to  the 
older  settlements  on  ox-sleds.  The  first  permanent  settler  in  that  localhy, 
was  Alanson  Thomas,  at  the  head  of  still  water.  He  purchased  a  saw 
mill  that  Le  Roy  and  Bayard  had  built  there  in  1820;  to  which  he  added 
a  grist-mill .  Thomas  sold  out  to  a  community  of  Fourerites.  * 

The  whole  region  between  Ridge  and  Lake,  and  more  especially,  per-  \ 
haps,  in  Murray,  Clarkson  and  Parma,  was  as  forbidding  as  any  that  stout 
hearted  Pioneers  ever  ventured  to  break  into.  Its  settlement  was  attend 
ed  with  long  years  of  hardships  and  privations ;  many  changes  of  inhabitants 
occurred  before  there  was  a  permanent  population.  It  was  heavy  timbered, 
mostly  a  wet  soil;  when  the  timber  was  removed,  openings  made,  the  heat 
of  summer  suns  would  engender  disease.  Those  who  lived  along  on  the  im  - 
mediate  shores  of  the  Lake,  or  on  the  Ridge,  not  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  ponds  or  marshes,  would  generally  escape ;  the  scourge  would  principal 
ly  prevail  where  openings  had  been  made  in  heavily  timbered  wet  lands. 
Sickness  would  generally  commence  in  August,  and  continue  until  winter ; 
it  was  by  no  means  fatal ;  where  there  could  be  even  good  nursing,  the 
proportions  of  deaths  to  the  number  of  cases  would  be  small ;  but  at  times 
sickness  would  be  so  pervading,  that  good  nursing  could  not  be  had.  It 
was  a  common  thing  to  bring  whole  families  out  of  the  woods  upon  ox- 
sleds. 

Speaking  from  observation  and  experience,  my  advice  would  be  to  all 
those  who  are  settling  a  new  timbered  region,  to  select  the  most  elevated 
sites  for  their  residence,  and  leave  several  acres  of  timber  standing  for  the 
few  earliest  years  about  their  dwellings ;  and  what  is  of  still  greater  im 
portance,  if  they  have  not  good  springs  of  water,  dig  wells  to  begin  with, 
and  thus  avoid  the  poisonous  surface  water,  which  is  of  itself  a  pregnant 
source  of  disease  in  new  settlements  in  the  forests. 

A  log  school  house  had  been  erected,  and  a  school  was  in  operation, 
when  I  came  there  in  1811.  Our  first  settled  minister  was  the  Rev.  John 
F.  Bliss;  the  Rev.  Mr.  James,  of  Albany,  was  settled  here  in  1825  or  '6. 


No  where  in  a  wide  region  of  prosperity,  has  there  been  a  greater 
change  than  in  the  locality  that  Dr.  Baldwin  embraces  in  his  obser 
vations,  north  of  the  Ridge.  Even  the  Pioneers,  stout  hearted,  san- 
quine  as  their  anticipations  must  have  been,  in  reference  to  the 
ultimate  value  of  the  land,  to  have  endured  what  they  did,  could 
hardly  have  anticipated  the  sources  of  agricultural  wealth  that 
through  so  many  trials  and  difficulties  they  were  developing.  The 
soil  they  were  not  strong  handed  enough  to  drain ;  that  they  could 
but  imperfectly  cultivate  while  the  stumps  and  roots  remained  in  it ; 
and  which  gave  them  but  poor  returns  for  the  labor,  is  now  dry,  sub 
dued,  its  surface  mould  mingled  with  the  rich  elements  that  lay  hid- 

*  The  whole  thing  has  been  a  failure.  The  principal  leaders  were  : — Simeon  Dag- 
gett,  Dr.  T heller,  Thomas  Pound.  Many  dwellings  were  erected,  and  a  population  of 
about  300  gathered  there.  The  community  broke  up  after  an  experiment  of  two 
years. 


562  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

den  its  sub-soil ;  and  no  where  does  the  earth  make  more  bountiful 
returns  for  the  labor  bestowed  upon  it.  It  has  become  a  region  of 
high  priced  and  desirable  farms.  The  sites  of  bark  covered  log 
houses  and  thatched  hovels,  have  now  upon  them  comfortable  and 
even  luxurious  brick  and  framed  farm  houses,  and  all  the  appoint 
ments  of  flourishing  farming  establishments.  Good  common  roads 
and  even  plank  roads  have  taken  the  place  of  the  wood's  roads 
through  which  the  pioneers  plodded  —  more  than  half  the  season 
waded  through  mud  and  mire  —  and  over  which  some  of  them,  as 
we  have  seen,  and  their  families,  were  carried  by  the  good  Sama 
ritans  of  the  older  settlements,  who  would  find  them  in  the  dark 
recesses  of  the  forest,  prostrated  by  disease. 

Asa  Clark,  the  father  of  Gustavus  Clark,  of  Clarkson,  was  from 
East  Haddam,  Conn.,  emigrated  to  Geneseo  in  1802  ;  soon  removed 
to  Avon,  where  he  resided  until  1830.  He  died  at  Sandy  Creek  in 
1834,  aged  76  years.  His  sons  were  :  — Asa  Clark,  who  resided  in 
Avon  until  1828,  when  he  removed  to  Sandy  Creek,  where  he  was 
a  merchant  for  many  years.  He  was  a  representative  in  the  State 
legislature  of  Orleans,  in  1834/5,  had  been  a  Presidential  Elector 
in  1828.  He  still  survives,  at  the  age  of  66  years.  George  W., 
and  Charles  Clark  of  Buffalo,  are  his  sons.  Erastus  Clark,  of  Lima, 
who  in  early  early  years  was  the  mercantile  partner  of  James  K. 
Guernsey,  and  afterwards  established  in  the  mercantile  business  by 
himself  in  Lima.  He  still  survives ;  a  son  and  a  son-in-law,  are  his 
successors  in  business.  Gustavus  Clark,  who  as  early  as  1806,  was 
a  clerk  with  Minor  &  Hall,  at  Geneseo ;  afterwards  a  clerk  of  James 
K.  Guernsey  in  Lima,  under  whose  auspices  he  commenced  busi 
ness  in  Clarkson,  where  he  has  resided  since  1815,  and  where  he 
still  resides.  His  wife,  who  still  survives,  was  a  daughter  of  John 
Pierson,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Avon ;  Edwin  E.,  of  Clarkson,  and 
Bushrod  W.  Clark,  of  Buffalo,  are  sons  of  Gustavus ;  an  only  daugh 
ter  is  the  wife  of  W.  L.  G.  Smith,  of  Buffalo.  He  was  a  represen 
tative  from  Monroe,  in  the  Legislature,  in  1825  ;  and  was  the  first 
President  of  the  Bank  of  Orleans;  an  early  Supervisor  of  Clarkson, 
and  more  recently,  a  magistrate.  The  daughters  of  the  elder  Asa 
Clark,  became  the  wives  of  Robert  M'Kay,  of  Caladonia,  Ephraim 
Chapman,  a  pioneer  in  Portage  county,  Ohio,  and  Chandler  Pierson, 
of  Avon. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  GUSTAVUS  CLARK. 


When  I  came  to  Clarkson,  in  1815,  the  Ridge  road  was  but  little  travel 
led  for  want  of  bridges ;  my  first  load  of  goods  broke  most  of  the  bridges 
down  from  Rochester  to  Clarkson,  and  the  team  was  obliged  to  return  to 
Lima  via  the  south  road  and  Le  Roy.  That  road  had  been  opened  before 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  563 

the  Ridge  road  was  travelled  at  all.  My  first  principal  business  was  to  pay 
part  goods  and  part  cash  for  black  salts  and  pot-ash.  Henry  M'Call,  a 
brother  of  Judge  M'Call,  of  Allegany  county,  had  been  first  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  in  Clarkson ;  and  Joshua  Field,  now  of  Brockport,  had 
also  been  merchandizing  here.  James  Seymour  was  the  successor  of 
Field.  All  of  these  had  been  engaged  in  the  manufactory  of  pot-ash;  in 
fact,  that  was  then  the  staple  production  of  all  this  region.  It  was  the 
first  available  means  that  the  new  settlers. had  to  pay  for  store  goods,  or  to 
raise  a  little  money;  it  was  a  great  help  to  them;  I  hardly  know  how  they 
could  have  got  along  without  it.  It  was  a  period  when  but  few  of  the  set 
tlers  had  raised  any  grain  to  sell.  The  new  settlers  would  put  up  a  few 
rough  leaches,  and  generally  make  black  salts;  those  who  were  strong- 
handed  enough,  and  could  raise  kettles,  would  make  pot-ash.  Upon  lands 
where  beech  maple  and  elm  predominated,  the  ashes  would  almost  pay  for 
clearing.  Many  times  when  a  new  settler  was  under  the  necessity  of  rais 
ing  money,  or  stood  in  need  of  store  trade,  he  would  go  into  the  forest, 
chop  down  maple  and  elm  trees,  roll  them  together,  and  burn  them,  for  the 
ashes  alone,  without  reference  to  clearing.  The  proceeds  of  ashes  have 
supplied  many  a  log  cabin  in  this  region  with  the  common  necessaries  of 
life,  in  the  absence  of  which  there  would  have  been  destitution.  Our  pot 
ash  was  taken  to  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river  and  shipped  to  Montreal. 
I  have  sold  it  in  Montreal  for  as  high  a  price  as  $305  per  ton.  Lumber- 
ng,  the  getting  out,  purchasing  and  shipping  of  oak  butt  staves,  was  the 
next  considerable  business  after  that  of  pot-ash,  and  helped  the  new  set 
tlers  along  until  we  had  the  Erie  Canal,  and  a  surplus  of  grain  to  send  up 
on  it  to  market. 

The  Ridge  road  was  much  improved  soon  after  1815,  by  the  erection  of 
substantial  bridges  over  the  streams.  A  post  route  was  established  from 
Canandaigua  to  Lewiston,  in  November  1815.  At  first,  the  mail  was  car 
ried  in  a  small  wagon,  twice  a  week.  In  1820,  daily  coaches  were  put 
upon  the  route;  travel  increased  rapidly;  for  a  few  years  before  the  canal 
was  completed,  there  were  coaches  almost  continually  in  sight. 


Lyman  Warren,  settled  upon  the  Ridge,  in  east  part  of  Clarkson, 
in  1817  ;  still  survives,  at  the  age  of  80  years.  He  is  the  father  of 

NOTE. — In  May,  1807,  Mr.  Wadsworth  urges  Mr.  Troup  by  letter,  to  encourage  the 
manufacture  of  pot-ash  ;  says  it  will  be  a  great  help  to  new  settlers,  and  encourage 
them  to  clear  their  lands ;  and  adds,  that  Mr.  Murray  has  authorized  him  to  buy  two 
kettles  for  the  inhabitants  of  "Fail-field,"  (Ogden.)  In  December  of  the  same  year, 
he  writes  to  Mr.  Troup : — You  can  hardly  imagine  what  a  spring  the  two  pot-ash 
kettles  I  hare  sent  to  Fail-field  has  given  to  the  clearing  of  land,  and  what  a  great  ac 
commodation  it  is  considered  by  the  inhabitants.  The  situation  of  the  inhabitants  in 
this  part  of  the  country  has  really  been  distressing ;  a  farmer  might  have  1,000  bushels 
of  wheat  in  his  barn,  and  yet  not  be  able  to  buy  a  pound  of  tea !  Till  of  late,  the 
merchants  have  began  to  take  wheat  for  goods,  but  at  a  very  low  price."  •'!  fully 
believe  that  the  profits  a  farmer  can  make  from  the  ashes  on  an  acre  of  timbered  land, 
is  greater  than  the  profits  on  an  acre  of  wheat  I  much  wish  that  some  mode  could 
be  hit  upon  to  convince  Lady  Bath  how  much  the  value  of  her  estate  would  be  en 
hanced  by  facilitating  the  transportation  of  pot-ash  and  hemp  to  Montreal."  [This 
has  reference  to  some  change  in  the  British  revenue  laws.] 


564  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Capt.  Henry  Warren,  who  has  been  for  many  years  the  popular 
manager  of  one  of  the  Rochester  and  Buffalo  canal  Packets.  At 
the  period  he  located  upon  the  Ridge,  there  .were  settled  in  north  of 
his  locality,  in  what  was  called  the  "  north  woods,"  three  brothers  : 
Adam,  Henry  and  James  Moore.  They  were  Irishmen  ;  neither  of 
them  survives;  there  are  many  of  their  desend  ants  in  the  neighbor 
hood  ;  John  and  Thomas  Moore,  early  settlers  of  Lockport,  were  the 
sons  of  Adam.  The  Hoy  family,  also  Irishmen,  were  settled  in  the 
same  neighborhood  ;  the  old  gentleman  died  in  1838  or  '9  ;  his  sons 
were :  James,  John,  and  Robert  Hoy ;  many  of  the  desendants 
reside  in  Clarkson.  It  was  pretty  much  a  wilderness  north  of 
Ridge  in  1817.  There  had  settled  along  the  Ridge  in  Clarkson: 
Eli  Annable,  who  is  now  living ;  had  come  in  previous  to  war.  John 
H.  Bushnell  was  the  Pioneer  of  the  neighborhood ;  died  about  five 
years  since  ;  widow  still  survives  ;  Sidney  »and  John  Bushnell  are 
his  sons  ;  he  was  a  supervisor  and  magistrate.  Ebenezer  Toll,  re 
moved  to  Gaines,  where  he  died  about  fifteen  years  since.  The  first 

tavern  keeper  at  Ladd's  corners,  was Huysott ;  Reuben 

Downs  was  an  early  tavern  keeper  east  of  Ladd's  corners.  John 
Philips,  afterwards  sheriff  of  Niagara,  kept  a  tavern  in  the  neighbor 
hood  in  an  early  day. 

The  village  of  Brockport,  was  one  of  the  creations  of  the  Erie 
canal,  and  is  of  course  not  embraced  in  the  Pioneer  period.  Pre 
vious  to  the  construction  of  the  canal,  there  was  at  that  point — upon 
the  site  of  one  of  the  most  flourishing  villages  in  Western  New 
York — but  the  farm  houses  of  Rufus  Hammond  and  Kiel  Brockway. 

The  village  started  up  under  the  auspices  of  Mr.  Brockway,  and 
to  his  extraordinary  enterprize  was  much  indebted  in  all  its  early 
years.  He  was  a  native  of  Lyme,  Conn.,  settled  first  in  this  State 
at  Cattskill,  about  the  year  1800 ;  emigrated  to  the  Genesee  country 
in  an  early  day,  and  was  a  resident  first  in  Geneva  and  then  in 
Phelps.  Soon  after  the  war  of  1812,  he  removed  to  the  then  town 
of  Murray,  afterwards  Sweeden,  and  purchased  the  farms  of  two  or 
three  of  the  early  settlers,  at  the  rate  of  812  and  815  per  acre.  The 
site  of  Brockport  and  its  vicinity  was  then  but  a  region  of  log 
houses  and  small  improvements.  The  locality  had  no  other  advan 
tages  than  of  being  the  point  where  a  main  north  and  south  thorough 
fare  crossed  the  canal ;  and  of  being  in  the  centre  of  a  region  which 
promised  to  become,  as  it  has,  one  of  the  richest  agriculture  districts 
of  Western  New  York.  The  village  took  a  rapid  start  after  the  canal 
was  completed,  and  has  had  a  steady  and  uninterrupted  growth. 

In  addition  to  other  early  enterprizes,  Mr.  Brockway  was  en 
gaged  extensively  in  the  packet  boat  business ;  first  putting  on  boats 
between  Rochester  and  Buffalo  in  opposition  to  the  old  packet  line 
from  Utica  to  Buffalo ;  then  filling  up  the  portion  of  that  line  west 
of  Rochester  with  his  own  boats  in  connection  with  that  line.  He 
made  Brockport  the  central  locality  in  reference  to  packet  boat 


PHELPS  AISD  GOBHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  565 

operations  at  the  west ;  infused  a  new  spirit  of  enterprise  into  the 
business ;  and  to  him,  in  fact,  have  the  travelling  public  been  largely 
indebted  for  the  superior  packet  boats,  and  their  excellent  manage 
ment,  that  have  for  a  long  series  of  years  been  enjoyed  upon  the 
western  section  of  the  Erie  canal.  To  part  with  them  and  their 
excellent  managers,  most  of  whom  have  been  educated  in  the  school 
of  Mr.  Brockway,  (and  he  was  a  shrewd  judge  of  men  as  well  of 
horses,  and  of  the  best  model  of  boats,)  will  seem  like  parting  with 
old  friends  ;  and  yet  the  event  would  seem  to  be  near  at  hand,  for 
soon  the  shrill  notes  of  the  steam  whistle  will  be  heard  along  the 
line,  where  their  horns  have  so  long  sounded ;  and  haste,  speed, 
regardless  of  comfort,  is  the  order  of  the  day. 

Mr.  Brockway  died  in  1842,  aged  67  years  ;  of  a  large  family  of 
children  — 1-8  in  number  —  but  4  survive :  Charles  M.,  and  Nathan 
R.  Brockway,  Mrs.  Dr.  Carpenter,  and  Mrs.  Elias  B.  Holmes. 

A  portion  of  the  village  has  grown  up  on  non-resident  land  that 
James  Seymour  purchased  about  the  time  the  canal  was  constructed. 
Mr.  Seymour  was  an  early  merchant  in  the  village ;  the  President 
of  the  tank  of  Rochester;  was  the  fortunate  owner  of  the  land  on 
which  the  capital  of  Michigan  was  located  ;  and  is  now  a  resident 
there. 

The  town  of  Sweeden  was  pretty  generally  settled  before  the  con 
struction  of  the  Erie  canal,  but  a  large  portion  of  the  farms  had  been 
but  recently  commenced.  When  the  town  was  organized,  in  1821, 
there  were  330  inhabitants  liable  to  assessment  upon  the  highways. 
The  first  supervisor  was  Silas  Judson.  the  town  clerk,  Major  M. 
Smith ;  other  town  officers :  Joshua  B.  Adams,  Chauncey  Staples, 
Abel  Gifford,  Levi  Branch,  Zenas  Case,  Oliver  Spencer,  Zenas  Case, 
Jr.,  Samuel  Bishop,  Levi  Pond,  Sylvester  Pease,  Daniel  J.  Avery, 
Joseph  S.  Bosworth,  John  Reeves,  Peter  Sutven,  Joseph  Randall. 

The   early  physicians  of  village  and  town,  were  :  —  Daniel  J. 

Avery,  the  father  of  Daniel  J.  Avery  of  Sweeden, Millican, 

John  B.  Elliott.  Elizur  Munger,  Davis  Carpenter,  M.  D. 

Levi  Pond  settled  in  Sweeden  in  1817,  purchasing  a  farm  in  the 
north  part  of  the  town ;  still  survives.  He  has  filled  the  several 
offices  of  deputy  sheriff,  constable  and  collector,  and  in  1833  was 
one  of  the  representatives  of  Monroe  in  the  Legislature.  He  is  the 
father  of  Elias  Pond,  late  collector  of  the  Genesee  District. 


THE  CONNECTICUT,  OR  "100,000  ACRE  TRACT." 


Robert  Morris  sold  this  tract  to  Andrew  Cragie,  James  Watson, 
and  James  Greenlief,  for  $37,500.  Oliver  Phelps  purchased  an 
equal  undivided  half  of  it  in  1794,  which  he  conveyed  to  De  Witt 
Clinton  in  1095 ;  it  reverted,  and  Mr.  Phelns  sold  his  interest  to  the 


566  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

State  of  Connecticut.  The  other  half  was  sold  by  Mr.  Cragie  to 
Charles  Williamson  and  Thomas  Morris,  and  ultimately  the  title 
became  vested  in  Sir  Wm.  Pulteney;  the  State  of  Connecticut 
and  Sir  William  Pulteney  thus  becoming  tenants  in  common, 
in  1808,  the  commissioners  of  the  school  fund  of  Connecticut, 
(the  purchase  having  been  made  out  of  that  fund,)  appointed  Levi 
Ward,  Jr.,  who  had  then  recently  settled  in  Bergen,  to  act  in  their 
behalf,  and  in  co-operation  with  Col.  Troup,  the  local  representative 
of  the  Pulteney  interest,  to  procure  the  survey  of  the  tract.  This 
accomplished,  in  March  1810,  Dr.  Viard  was  further  empowered  in 
cp-operation  with  Col.  Troup,  in  behalf  of  the  commissioners  of  the 
school  fund,  to  procure  an  equitable  partition  of  the  tract.  Israel 
Chapin  and  Amos  Hall  were  mutual iy  appointed  by  Messrs.  Troup 
and  Ward,  for  that  purpose,  and  made  the  partition. 

Fifty  thousand  acres  of  the  tract  having  been  vested  in  the  com 
missioners  of  the  school  fund,  in  July  1810,  they  appointed  Dr. 
Ward  their  local  agent  for  the  sale  of  it.  In  September  of  the 
same  year  Dr.  Ward  commenced  the  sales  of  farm  lots.  The  sales 
progressed  until  1816  under  this  agency,  when  Dr.  Ward  and  Levi 
H.  Clark,  purchased  of  the  State  of  Connecticut  all  the  unsold 
lands.  By  agreement,  the  sales  were  continued  in  the  name  of  the 
State,  until  the  whole  was  disposed  of  to  actual  settlers.  The  bonds 
belonging  to  the  State,  have  remained  in  charge  of  Dr.  Ward,  until 
the  present  time ;  the  management  of  the  property  for  the  last  ten 
Oi.'  fifteen  years,  since  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Ward  from  active  busi 
ness,  has  devolved  upon  his  son  Levi  A.  Ward. 

The  half  belonging  to  the  Pulteney  estate,  was  managed  in  Col. 
Troup's  agency  and  that  of  his  successor,  Mr.  Fellows.  The  100,- 
000  acre,  or  as  it  has  usually  been  called,  the  Connecticut  Tract,  is 
bounded  north  by  Lake  Ontario,  west  by  the  Holland  Company,  or 
transit  line,  south  by  an  east  and  west  line,  a  little  north  of  the  Buf 
falo  road  in  the  town  of  Stafford,  and  east  by  the  west  line  of  the 
Triangle.  In  it,  are  now  embraced  the  towns  of  Kendall,  Murray, 
Clarendon,  Byron  and  a  small  portion  of  Le  Roy,  Stafford  and  Ber 
gen. 

The  whole  tract  as  will  have  been  observed,  was  settled  after  the 
general  Pioneer  period,  and  it  is  one  of  the  localities  of  the  settle, 

NOTE.  — A  singular  incident  is  connected  with  the  title  to  the  100,000  tract. — After 
sales  had  commenced  and  progressed  several  years,  Seth  P.  Beers,  who  represented 
the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  Joseph  Fellows,  the  agent  of  the  Pulteney  estate,  discov 
ered,  that  a  deed  from  one  of  the  early  grantors  was  lost,  and  not  upon  record.  Mr. 
Beers  sought  out  and  importuned  the  grantor  to  substitute  a  new  one  —  offered  him 
$10,000  which  he  refused,  demanding  $20,000.  Another  of  the  early  proprietors  who 
had  been  familiar  with  all  the  transfers,  was  upon  jail  limits  in  the  city  of  Washing 
ton.  Mr.  Beers  repaired  to  that  city  and  he  assured  him  he  could  find  the  deed  in 
Philadelphia.  Procuring  a  carnage,  Mr.  Beers  took  him  from  the  jail  limits  under 
cover  of  night,  conveyed  him  to  Philadelphia,  he  found  the  deed,  and  was  returned 
to  the  jail  limits  before  his  absence  was  discovered.  For  $1000  donated  to  the  finder, 
title  was  perfected  without  yielding  to  the  exhorbitant  demands  of 'one  who  was  for 
taking  advantage  of  the  loss  of  the  deed. 


PHELPS   AND   GOEHAM  S   PURCHASE. 


56? 


ment  of  which  the  author  has  received  but  meager  reminiscences. 
Benham  Preston  was  the  first  settler,  preceded  survey  and  the 
opening  of  sales.  He  went  in  from  Stafford,  on  the  Buffalo  road, 
and  set  his  family  down  upon  Black  creek,  without  a  shelter,  while 
he  went  through  the  woods  to  the  then  new  settlement  of  Bergen, 
and  procured  the  aid  of  Henry  D.  GifFord  and  others  in  erecting  a 
rude  cabin. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  most  of  all  who  took  contracts 
upon  the  whole  tract,  or  deeds,  the  first  five  years  after  sales  com 
menced.  As  in  the  instance  of  the  Trangle,  it  will  generally,  but 
not  invariably,  indicate  who  were  the  Pioneers  :  — 


Samuel  Lincoln, 
Paul  Knowlten, 
Aaron  Scribner, 
Ella  Smith, 
William  Wood, 
Horace  Langdon, 
Amos  Bosworth. 
Elijah  Brown, 


Elijah  Loomis, 
Samuel  Hall, 
Silas  Holbrook, 
Uriel  Holcomb, 
Major  Osborne, 
Munson  Hobbs, 
Jas.  M.  Price, 
Chester  Holbrook. 
Silas  Hazen, 
Amasa  Walker, 
Jacob  Spafford, 
Timothy  T.  Hart, 
Alfred  Ward, 
Joshua  Wright, 
Eliab  Wright, 
Jared  Child, 
Selah  M.  Wright 
Ezekiel  Case, 
Wm.  Jenny, 
Benajah  Giswold, 


Simeon  Hosmer, 
Samuel  Hosmer, 
Gideon  Hazen, 
Jacob  Dunning, 
Caleb  Miller, 
Anthony  Miller, 
Amos  Lampson, 
Paul  Knowlton, 
Wm.  Croswell, 
Seth  Griswold, 
Benj.  Livcrmore, 
Paul  Ballard, 


1810. 

Nathan  George, 
John  Smith, 
John  Coleman, 
Silas  Taylor, 
Elisha  Taylor, 
Eli  Mead, 
John  Mead, 


181  1. 

Elijah  Shumway, 
Henry  Mead, 
John  Gookin, 
Harvey  Prentice, 
Nathan  Squier, 
Stephen  Parkhurst, 
Ishi  Parmelee, 
Daniel  Beckley 
Elijah  Warner, 
John  Thwing, 
John  Thwing,  Jr., 
Frederick  Jones, 
George  Christ, 
William  Wolcott, 
Manning  Richardson, 
Daniel  Carpenter, 
Ami  Curtiss, 
Ira  Scribner, 
Joseph  Barker, 
William  Strong, 

1812. 

Aniasa  Heath, 
Justis  Taylor, 
Samuel  Payne, 
John  P.  Bishop, 
Page  Russell, 
Enos  Bush, 
Abel  Hyde, 
John  Cam  iff, 
John  Tucker, 
John  Van  Valkenburg, 
Samuel  Hammond, 
Daniel  Woodward, 


Greenman  Carpenter, 
Adam  Gardner, 
Jonathan  Sprague, 
Darius  Sprague, 
John  Farewell, 
William  Burlingame, 
Joshua  Whaley. 


William  Shepard, 
Grover  Gillum. 
Job  Jordon, 
Edmund  Wilcox, 
Asa  Merrils, 
George  Holt, 
John  Janes, 
David  LoomiSj 
Hubbard  Everts, 
Samuel  Parker, 
William  Parker, 
Enoch  Eastman, 
John  Johnson, 
John  Cummings, 
Randal  Stivers, 
John  Stivers, 
Radley  Randal, 
Isaac  B.  Williams, 
Oliver  Van  Kirk. 


John  Freeman, 
George  Barton, 
Ahimaz  Brainard, 
Thompson  &  Tuttle, 
Justis  Parish, 
Moses  Green, 
M.  J.  Hill, 
R.  Lucas, 
A.  Webb, 
Augustus  White, 
Henry  Merrill, 
Lymau  Griswold, 


568 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 


Zeno  Terry, 
John  Sayfes, 
Nathan  Bannister, 
Zuri  Stephens, 
Pliney  Sanderson, 
Preserved  Richmond, 
Nathan  Ladd, 
Mathew  Hannah, 
John  Kichards 
William  Preston, 
Josiah  Heath^ 


Page, 

Homer  H.  Campbell, 
Silas  Williams, 
Salmon  Patterson. 
Lyman  Isbel, 
James  Douglass, 
Consider  Warner, 
John  Douglas, 
Theodore  Drake, 
Barney  Carpenter, 
William  Rhoades,v 
Amasa  Haskell, 
William  Wood, 


Chauncey  Robinson, 
Daniel  (Reason, 
John  Stephens, 
Shubel  Lewis, 
Oliver  Smith, 
John  Southworth, 


George  Campbell, 
Joseph  Langdon, 
Ezra  Sanforcl, 
Lodowick  Wright, 
Benham  Preston, 
Henry  Grovenburg, 
Daniel  Hall, 
Job  Gardner, 
Peter  Prindel, 
Oliver  Mattison, 
John  Quimby, 
Story  Curtiss, 
Betheuel  Greenfield, 
Timothy  Bachelder, 
Stephen  Richmond, 
Cyrus  Coy, 
Noah  Sweet, 
William  Lewis, 
Charles  Lee, 
Abijah  Smith, 
Nicholas  Prine, 
Roswell  Osborne, 
Ezekiel  Lee. 


1812. 

Thomas  Hause, 

Cyrus  Hood, 

Calvin  Weed, 

Sanford  Main, 

Phineas  White, 

William  Burnham, 

Barney  Carpenter, 

Elisha  Bentley, 

Thomas  Fisher, 

William  D.  Dudley, 

Abner  Chase, 

Lemuel  Cone, 

Nathaniel  Rogers, 

John  Cone, 

Dewey  Miller, 

Samuel  Alger, 

Ezra  Sanford, 

Abner  Hopkins, 

George  Holt, 

John  Palmer, 

Roswell  Mair, 

Henry  Van  Wormer. 

1813. 

Elisha  Smith,  Jr., 

Samuel  Rundal, 

Solomon  Bishop, 

Henry  L.  Gould, 

Lemuel  P.  Hall, 

David  Glidden, 

Ephraim  Whipple, 
Lodowick  Wright, 

Stephen  Martin, 
Eddy  Emrnons, 

Chester  Bills, 

William  Stiveback, 

Ezekiel  Allen, 

David  Church, 

Eli  Whelon, 

Chauucey  Hood, 

John  Lake, 

Aaron  Thompson 

Ephraim  Van  Valkenburg, 

Levi  Preston, 

Jesse  Carter, 

Gideon  Baldwin, 

Daniel  Reese, 

•  Van  Kirk. 

Davis  Ingals, 

1814. 

Elijah  Andrus, 

Eldridge  Farwell 

Peleg  Sisson, 

Daniel  R.  Starks, 

Solomon  Carpenter, 

John  Love, 

Asa  Lake, 

Jiras  Hopkins, 

Jonathan  Byam, 

Horace  Balcom, 

Arrod  Kent, 

Samuel  Mansfield, 

1815. 

William  Allen, 

Samuel  Day, 

Ezekiel  Allen, 

Nathan  Crandal, 

William  Jones, 

David  Hutchinson 

Joel  Bronson, 

Isaac  Leach, 

Ebenezer  Perrigo 
Zirari  Perrigo, 
Oliver  Page, 

Robert  Clark, 
Benjamin  Allen 
David  Wait, 

William  P.  Gibbs 

Abel  Wooster, 

Ebenezer  Gibbs, 

David  Jones, 

Elijah  Macknard, 

Nathaniel  Brown, 

Levi  Dudley, 
David  Leadman, 

Theopilus  Randal. 
Enos  Cochran, 

Wm.  Alexander, 

Henry  W.  Bates, 

Joseph  Parks, 

Benjamin  Morse, 

Allen  Sears, 

Amos  Randall, 

Amos  Salmon, 

John  Augur, 

Anson  Morgan, 
Stephen  Eastman 

Stephen  Randall, 
David  Jones, 

Jacob  Amen, 

Levi  Stephens, 

Robert  Owen, 

Joseph  Weed, 

Darius  Ingalls, 

Asel  Balcom, 

Jesse  Munson, 

Hooker  Sawyer. 

PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  569 

BRIGHTON. 


The  township  was  an  early  pioneer  locality,  as  will  have  been 
seen  in  preceding  pages,  though  its  settlement  made  but  slow 
progress;  but  an  occasional  settler  coming  in  previous  to  1816. 
The  town  which  then  embraced  what  is  now  Brighton  and  Ironde- 
quoit  was  organized  in  1814.  Oliver  Culver  was  the  first  supervisor, 
Nehemiah  Hopkins,  town  clerk.  Other  town  officers: — Orange 
Stone,  Ezekiel  Morse,  Solomon  Gould,  Sylvester  Cowles,  John 
Hatch,  Jessee  Taintor,  Ezra  Rogers,  Rufus  Messenger,  Enos  Blos 
som,  Samuel  Spafford,  David  Bush,  Enos  Stone,  Job  C.  Smith,  Wm. 
Billinghurst  There  were  but  three  road  districts  in  the  town  ;  the 
overseers  were,  Rufus  Messenger,  Wm.  Moore,  Solomon  Gould, 
James  Suffield,  Joseph  Caldwell.  By  records  transferred  from  old 
town  books  of  Northfield,  it  would  seem  that  as  early  as  1802  a 
road  was  laid  "  from  Tryon  Square,  to  Genesee  River  near  King's 
Landing."  In  1801  a  road  was  surveyed  "  from  Irondequot  Falls 
intersecting  a  road  from  Glover  Perrin's  to  Irondequoit  Landing." 
In  1806  a  road  from  mouth  of  river  to  intersection  of  road  near 
"Thomas'  in  Landing  Town."  In  1800  a  road  "from  .centre  of 
Main  street  in  the  city  of  Tryon,  to  the  road  leading  from  Orange 
Stone's  to  the  Genesee  River.'"  In  same  year,  a  road  leading  "from 
centre  of  road  leading  by  Hollands  and  Ingersoll's  to  Irondequoit 
Landing."  Same  year,  "from  Rattle-snake  Spring  to  the  Genesee 
River,  opposite  the  old  mill."  Same  year,  a  road  "from  a  stake  and 
stone,  south  of  Allan's  creek,  to  Irondequoit  Landing.  In  1810  a 
road  "  beginning  at  the  new  bridge,  Genesee  river  Falls,  till  it  in 
tersects  a  road  near  Mr.  Wilder's  in  West  Town."  As  late  as  1816, 
$10  was  voted  for  wolf  scalps.  In  that  year  there  was  five  school 
districts  in  the  town.  Same  year,  Elisha  Ely,  Oliver  Culver,  Otis 
Walker,  Ebenezer  Bingham  and  Ezekiel  Morse,  were  appointed 
as  a  committee  to  petition  the  "  General  Assembly,"  for  money  to 
be  laid  out  on  the  road  from  "  Orange  Stone's  to  the  Genesee  River." 
In  1817  Daniel  D.  Tompkins  had  29  votes  for  Governor,  Rufus 
King  42.  In  that  year  Elisha  Ely  was  supervisor. 

The  first  settled  minister  in  Brighton  was  the  Rev.  Solomon 
Allen,  as  early  as  1817.  He  was  the  father  of  S.  &  M.  Allen,  the 
well  known  brokers  in  New  York ;  a  faithful  minister  and  an  ex 
cellent  man,  as  many  well  remember.  His  first  meetings  were 
held  at  private  houses.  He  remained  five  years,  and  would  receive 
no  salary.  He  died  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1820,  aged  70 
years. 

Enos  Blossom  was  the  Pioneer  of  the  numerous  family  of  that 

name,  that  has  been  so  closely  identified  with  the  history  of  the 

town ;  emigrating  previous  to,  or  during  the  war  of  1812.     He  was 

from  Cape  Cod,  Mass.     He  died  in  1830,  aged  51  years.     George 

36 


570  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PTJECHASE. 

Blossom,  of  Brighton,  and  Noble  Blossom,  of  Marshall,  Mich.,  are  his 
sons ;  daughters  became  wives  of  Marshfield  Parsons,  of  Brighton, 

and Aldrich,  of  Marshall,  Michigan.     Ezra  Blossom,  an  uncle 

of  Enos,  came  to  Brighton  in  1818,  purchasing  the  SpafTord  farm, 
upon  which  the  village  of  Brighton  has  since  grown  up.  He  opened 
the  first  tavern  there;  died  in  1820,  aged  61  years.  His  only  sur 
viving  son  is  Benjamin  B.  Blossom,  Post  Master  of  Brighton; 
daughters  became  the  wives  of  Ansel  House,  one  of  the  pioneer 
attorneys  of  Rochester,  Wm.  C.  Bloss,  of  Rochester,  and  Levi 
Hoyt,  of  Brighton. 

Dr.  Gibbs  was  the  first  settled  physician  in  Brighton ;  Ira  West 
the  first  merchant. 


CHILI. 


A  small  portion  of  Chili,  was  an  early  settled  locality,  next  to 
Wheatland,  in  all  the  south  western  portion  of  Monroe  county. 
When  the  pioneers  had  settled  down  in  "  West  Pulteney,"  "  Fair- 
field,"  and  on  the  Gore  "  in  now  Parma,  they  called  it  going  out  of 
the  woods  when  they  went  to  the  "  Hannover  settlement."  This 
settlement  was  along  on  the  old  Braddock's  Bay  road,  projected  by 
Mr.  Williamson,  in  "  East  Pulteney,  now  Chili ;  the  first  settlers, 
principally  from  Hannover,  N.  Hampshire.  There  were  of  them 
the  elder  Mr.  Widener,  his  sons,  Jacob,  Abraham,  William,  and 

Peter ;  Jacob  still  survives ;  the  Settle  family,  Joseph  Gary, 

Wood,  and  his  sons  Lemuel  and  Joseph ;  Joshua  Howell,  who  was 
an  early  Justice  of  the  peace;  Samuel  Scott,  of  Scottsville,  Benja 
min  Bowen,  and  the  Franklin  family.  The  names  of  early  settlers 
on  the  River,  have  occurred  in  other  connections.  With  the  ex 
ception  of  a  small  portion,  the  town  was  late  in  settling,  owing  to 
difficulties  in  land  titles,  which  kept  the  lands  out  of  market,  but  as 
a  whole,  its  superior  soil  has  been  enabling  it  to  overtake  its  neigh 
boring  towns  in  the  march  of  improvement. 

John  Chapman  became  a  resident  of  the  town  in  1804.  He  had 
been  preceded  two  years  by  his  son  Israel  Chapman,  who  still  sur 
vives.  The  elder  Chapman  opened  the  road  from  the  Hannover 
settlement,  to  his  location  on  Chestnut  Ridge.  In  1807  he  had  the 
contract  from  Mr.  Wadsworth  for  opening  the  State  road,  from 
the  site  of  Rochester  to  Ogden ;  the  primitive  opening  consisting 
only  of  "turning  out  the  logs,"  and  under-brushing.  In  1808  he 
opened  a  road  from  where  he  settled  in  Chili,  to  the  Rapids.  He 
had  removed  from  Phelps,  and  returning  there  in  about  two  years 
he  remained  there  until  his  death,  at  the  advanced  age  of  80  years. 
Israel  Chapman,  of  Chili,  Julius  Chapman,  of  Riga,  and  Joel  Chap- 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

man,  of  Macedon,  are    his  sons ;  other  sons  reside  at  the  west ; 
Mrs.  Wm.  Peer,  of  Chili  is  a  daughter. 

Isaac  Lacy,  though  a  late  comer,  was  for  many  years  a  prominent 
citizen  of  the  town ;  an  enterprising  and  successful  farmer.  He 
emigrated  from  Washington  county  in  1816,  and  in  process  of  time 
became  possessed  of  a  farm  of  near  1000  acres;  600  of  which  he 
cultivated.  He  died  in  1844,  aged  68  years.  He  was  a  member  of 
Assembly  from  Monroe  for  two  terms,  and  subsequently  a  member 
of  the  Senate.  His  surviving  sons  are  Allen  T.  Lacy,  near  Mar 
shall,  Michigan ;  John  T.  Lacy,  clerk  of  Monroe  county  ;  Edward 
P.  and  Isaac  Lacy,  of  Janesville,  Wisconsin.  Daughters  became 
the  wives  of  Ira  Carpenter,  of  Scottsville ;  R.  M.  Long,  of  Buffalo; 
Dr.  John  Mitchell  of  Janesville ;  and  H.  H.  Smith,  of  Union  city, 
Michigan.  There  was  in  all,  a  family  of  eleven  children. 


CHAPTER   III. 


EARLY     GLIMPSES    OF    THE    GEXESEE    VALLEY PIONEER     HISTORY    OF 

ROCHESTER. 


In  all  we  have  of  the  history  of  French  occupancy  of  Western 
New  York,  but  few  allusions  are  made  to  the  immediate  valley  of 
the  Genesee ;  and  yet  there  are  distinct  evidences  that  there  were 
Jesuit  Missionary  and  French  traders  located  upon  it ;  and  such 
may  well  be  the  inference,  as  within  it  were  some  of  the  principal 
seats  of  the  Senecas.  Soon  after  the  advent  of  La  Salle,  a  trading 
post  and  missionary  station  was  founded  upon  the  Niagara,  a  few 
miles  above  the  Falls.  In  the  Jesuit  letters  there  are  several  allu 
sions  to  another  one,  with  which  those  who  occupied  the  first,  were 
in  frequent  communication,  upon  the  "River  of  the  Tsonnontouans," 
(the  river  of  the  Senecas.)  *  While  La  Salle  was  building  his  ves 
sel  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cayuga  creek,  he  sent  embassies  over  land, 
to  reconcile  the  Senecas  to  his  enterprise ;  and  the  vessel  he  had 
built  at  Frontenac,  coasted  along  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Ontario 

*  The  communication  was  by  water,  and  yet  not  by  the  Niagara  river  and  Lake 
Ontario.  Strange  as  it  may  now  seem,  batteaux  ascended  the  Tonawanda,  were  car 
ried  over  a  short  portage  into  the  Tonawanda  swamp,  and  descended  by  the  waters 
of  Black  creek  to  the  Genesee  river !  That  there  had  once  been  such  an  internal 
navigation,  Mr.  Ellicott  was  in  some  way  apprized,  and  that  suggested  to  him  his  fa 
vorite  route  fcr  the  Erie  Canal,  a  partial  survey  of  which  was  made. 


572  PHELPS  AND  GOPJIAM'S  PUKCHASE. 

and  entered  the  Genesee  River,  the  first  craft  of  European  architec 
ture,  in  all  probability,  that  ever  disturbed  its  waters.  The  Baron 
La  Hontan,  who  accompanied  the  expedition  of  De  Nonville,  gave 
some  account  of  the  River,  and  laid  it  down  upon  the  map  that 
accompanied  the  first  publication  of  his  "Voyages  to  North  Amer 
ica/'  in  London,  1703.  There  are  other  maps  in  which  the  River 
is  recognized,  of  even  earlier  date.  Views  of  the  upper  and  lower 
Falls  were  published  in  London  in  1768.  Upon  them,  the  river  is 
called,  "  Casconchiagon,  or  Little  Senecas'  River."  [The  term 
little,  must  have  been  in  comparison  with  Niagara  river.]  Joncaire, 
who  is  introduced  in  the  body  of  the  work,  was  familiar  with  the 
whole  region,  and  gave  to  Charlevoiz,  in  1723,  a  very  intelligible 
description  of  the  Genesee  River.  English  occupancy  of  western 
New  York,  was  comparatively  of  but  short  duration,  and  there 
seems  to  have  been  no  occupancy  of  the  immediate  valley  of  the 
Genesee.  In  Governor  Burnett's  time,  there  was  an  English  trading 
house,  and  a  few  soldier's  at  the  "  Bay  of  Tyrondequoit,"  but  little 
is  said  of  it.  It  was  probably  soon  abandoned,  as  the  Senecas  were 
far  more  jealous  of  English  than  of  French  occupancy.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Kirkland  visited  this  region  in  1765,  and  during  all  the  period 
of  English  occupancy,  there  were  English  traders  on  Seneca  Lake, 
the  Genesee  and  the  Niagara  rivers.  When  the  Revolutionary 
war  commenced,  the  Genesee  valley,  as  will  be  observed,  began 
soon  to  be  the  temporary  abiding  place  of  refugees  from  the  Mo 
hawk,  the  Susquehannah  and  New  Jersey  ;  the  chief  among  them, 
the  ruling  spirit,  the  "  lord  of  the  valley,"  being  Ebenezer,  or  Indian 
Allan ;  the  solitary  occupant  upon  the  River,  below  the  mouth  of 
Allan's  creek,  one  of  his  liege  subjects,  Jacob  Walker. 


THE  FALLS  OF  THE  GENESEE  AND  THEIR  IMMEDIATE  VICINITY DELAY 

IN  SETTLEMENT    AND  IMPROVEMENT THE    IMMEDIATE   AND 

REMOTE    CAUSES. 


Truly  it  may  be  observed,  that  with  reference  to  the  pioneer  his 
tory  of  all  this  region,  a  reversal  of  the  ordinary  arrangement  is  in 
dicated  by  the  course  of  events,  and  the  first  becomes  last.  The 
site  of  the  "  CITY  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  GENESEE," —  the  com 
mercial  and  general  business  emporium,  of  all  the  region  that  we 
have  been  travelling  over  —  was  a  wilderness,  almost  unbroken,  a 
bye  place,  in  homely  phrase,  for  long  years  after  settlements  were 
founded  in  almost  the  entire  Genesee  country.  When  Buffalo, 
Batavia,  Canandaigua,  Geneva,  Palmyra,  Penn  Yan,  Bath,  Gen- 
eseo,  Caledonia  and  Le  Roy,  had  became  considerable  villages,  and 
local  business  had  began  to  centre  at  Pittsford,  Penfield,  Victor, 


PIIELPS   AOT)    GORIIAMS    PURCHASE.  573 

Lyons,  Vienna,  Manchester,  East  Bloomfield,  Lima,  Avon,  Dans- 
ville,  Angelica,  Warsaw,  Attica,  Lewiston,  Oak  Orchard,  Gaines, 
Clarkson,  Parma,  Charlotte,  Handford's  Landing  and  Scottsville, 
sufficient  to  form  little  clusters  of  stores,  machine  shops  and  dwell 
ings  —  there  was  at  "  Genesee  Falls,"  now  Rochester,  but  a  rude 
mill  and  a  few  rude  dwellings,  less  than  twenty  acres  of  the  forest 
cleared  away,  and  less  than  a  half  dozen  families. 

The  reader  whose  interest  and  patience  have  both  held  out  thus 
far,  to  keep  along  with  the  narrative,  has  had  occasional  glimpses 
of  the  site  of  Rochester,  but  has  seen  little  as  there  was  but  little  to 
see ;  or  rather  has  read  little  of  it,  for  the  reason  that  it  has  not 
been  before  reached  in  the  order  of  time.  It  was  late  in  attracting 
the  attention  of  men  of  enterprise,  founders  of  settlements  and  vil 
lages.  Now  when  its  superior  advantages  are  so  obvious,  when  it 
has  become  a  large  and  populous  city,  with  those  not  familiar  with 
the  early  history  of  the  country,  surprise  is  created  that  it  was  not 
one  of  the  primitive  theatres  of  investment  and  enterprise.  In  the 
first  place,  it  may  be  observed,  that  there  was  a  long  series  of 
years,  after  the  settlement  of  the  Genesee  country  commenced, 
when  the  Pioneers  in  detached  settlements  in  the  forest,  were 
subduing  the  soil,  and  obtaining  from  it  but  barely  the  means  of 
subsistence;  in  the  most  favored  localities  but  a  small  surplus 
which  was  required  by  the  new  comers  that  were  dropping  in  from 
year  to  year  around  them ;  there  was  little  necessity  for  market 
places,  or  commercial  depots,  Rapids  upon  the  small  streams  ex 
isted  in  almost  every  neighborhood  and  settlement,  upon  which  rude 
mills  were  erected,  sufficient  for  all  the  then  existing  requirements. 
The  extensive  hydraulic  power  created  by  the  Rapids  and  the  Falls 
of  the  Genesee,  was  not  put  in  requisition,  because  there  was  no 
occasion  for  it.  Rochester,  of  itself,  in  its  steady  permanent  growth, 
demonstrates  the  fact,  that  villages  and  cities  should  follow  the  gen 
eral  improvements  of  a  country  which  is  to  be  tributary  to  them, 
and  not  precede  them.  It  sprung  up  when  it  was  required,  kept 
pace  with  the  growth  and  improvement  of  the  whole  country  —  and 
a  rapid  march  it  had  to  make  to  do  so  —  and  thence  its  permanence 
and  substantial  character. 

The  territory  bordering  upon  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  in  the 
entire  Genesee  country,  with  few  exceptions,  did  not  attract  settlers 
in  all  the  earliest  years.  There  was  little  of  Lake  commerce,  and 
travel,  transportation  and  business,  centered  upon  the  main  thorough 
fare,  the  old  Buffalo  road.  It  is  a  far  greater  wonder  that  at  a  peri 
od  when  good  roads  was  the  great  desideratum,  when  upon  all  ordin 
ary  soils  they  could  not  be  made  ;  when  even  the  main  Buffalo  road, 
after  there  had  been  expended  upon  it  a  vast  amount  of  labor,  was 
in  most  seasons  of  the  year  almost  impassable,  —  that  such  a  con 
tinuous  national  highway  as  was  the  Ridge  road,  was  not  opened 
and  travelled  ;  than  thaf  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee  were  not  earlier 


574  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

improved.  There  was  never,  in  the  earliest  period,  any  misapprehen 
sion  of  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  soil  in  all  this  northern  region  of  the 
Genesee  country.  The  Pioneers  were  aware  of  the  fact,  now  so  clear  - 
ly  demonstrated  by  time  and  experience,  that  from  the  Pennsyl 
vania  line,  northward  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario,  there  was  a 
gradual  improvement  in  the  face  of  the  country,  and  in  all  the  ele 
ments  of  successful  agriculture ;  but  along  on  the  Lake  shore,  in 
the  whole  distance  from  Sodus  Bay  to  Fort  Niagara,  there  was  a 
wide  belt  of  dense  dark  forest,  the  soil  mostly  wet ;  its  whole  aspect 
repulsive  and  forbidding.  It  was  penetrated  in  the  earliest  years  by 
but  few,  and  those  as  may  well  be  conceded,  the  boldest  of  the  Pio 
neers.  First,  Mr.  Williamson,  attracted  by  the  beautiful  Bay  of 
Sodus,  by  its  fine  building  ground,  and  its  prospective  commercial 
importance,  broke  in  there,  and  accompanying  extraordinary  enter 
prise  with  a  liberal  expenditure  of  capital,  made  a  failure  of  it,  and 
years  of  decline,  and  almost  desertion,  followed.  Then  two  hardy 
Pioneers  set  themselves  down  on  the  Lake  shore,  between  Sodus  and 
Pulteneyville  ;  (Brown  and  Richards.)  Previous  to  this  however, 
the  Lusks,  Hydes,  Timothy  Allyn,  Orange  Stone,  the  Scudders,  and 
a  few  others  had  located  upon  an  inviting  spot  in  Brighton,  near  the 
head  of  the  Irondequoit  Bay.  Then  followed  William  Hencher, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  river ;  then  the  Atchinsons  and  a  few 
others,  formed  an  isolated  and  lonesome  settlement  at  the  head  of 
Braddock's,  (Prideaux's)  Bay.  Then  James  Walworth,  Elijah 
Brown,  (the  same  who  had  settled  below  Pulteneyville,)  Elisha 
Hunt,  the  De  Graws,  Lovell,  Marsh,  Parmeter,  Dunham,  the  Grif 
fiths  and  others,  located  at  Oak  Orchard ;  and  soon  after,  openings 
in  the  forest  began  to  be  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Niagara,  as 
low  down  as  the  Four  Mile  creek.  Following  these  pioneer  advents, 
other  adventurers  were  "  few  and  far  between ; "  they  were  in  a 
few  localities  in  Niagara,  along  on  the  Ridge  in  Orleans,  in  Clark- 
son,  Ogden,  Bergen,  Riga,  Chili,  Greece,  Penfield,  Macedon,  Wal 
worth,  Marion,  and  along  on  the  road  from  Sodus  to  Lyons.  When 
little  neighborhoods  had  been  formed  in  all  these  detached  localities, 
disease  came  into  the  openings  of  the  forest,  about  as  fast  as  they 
were  made.  Often  families,  and  sometimes  almost  entire  neigh 
borhoods  were  carried  into  the  older  and  healthier  localities,  upon 
ox  sleds  and  carts,  through  wood's  roads,  to  be  nursed  and  cared  for. 
Through  long  years  this  operated  not  unlike  the  carrying  of  the  dead 
and  wounded  from  a  battle  field  into  the  presence  of  those  whose  aid 
is  required  to  renew  and  maintain  the  strife.  It  was  but  little  less 
appaling  and  discouraging.  The  whole  region  now  immediately 
under  consideration  was  sickly  in  all  the  early  years,  and  upon  that 
account,  and  for  other  reasons,  was  slow  in  settling.  All  the  region 
around  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  at  King's 
Landing,  (as  the  reader  has  observed  and  will  observe,)  was  regar 
ded  as  prolific  in  the  seeds  of  disease  —  of  chills  and  fevers — almost, 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  575 

as  are  the  Pontine  marshes  of  the  old  world,  and  the  passes  of  the 
Isthmus  on  the  route  to  California.  A  single  instance  may  be  sta 
ted  in  this  connection,  in  addition  to  what  will  appear  elsewhere  : 
—  In  an  early  year,  previous  to  1800,  Wheelock  Wood,  a  pioneer 
in  Lima,  built  a  saw  mill  on  Deep  Gulley  creek,  within  the  present 
city  limits  of  Rochester,  had  it  in  operation  but  one  season,  carried 
back  to  Lima,  his  workmen,  prostrated  by  disease ;  and  was  finally 
obliged  to  abandon  his  enterprise,  and  let  his  mill  go  to  decay,  for 
the  reason  that  workmen  could  not  be  found  who  would  incur  the 
exposure  to  disease  consequent  upon  the  care  of  it. 

The  causes  that  have  been  cited  are  quite  sufficient  to  account 
for  the  late  start  of  Rochester ;  to  explain  to  the  readers  of  the  pre 
sent  day,  why  valuable  hydraulic  privileges,  in  the  immediate  neigh 
borhood  of  shipping  ports  of  Lake  Ontario,  were  so  long  principally 
shrouded  by  the  primeval  forest,  after  settlement  had  approached 
and  almost  surrounded  the  locality.  To  these  causes  the  reader 
may  add  what  he  has  already  observed,  of  the  tendency  of  things 
toward  the  main  thoroughfare,  the  Buffalo  Road,  in  early  years ; 
and  the  fact,  that  quite  up  to  the  period  of  the  start  of  Rochester, 
the  commercial  enterprize  and  expectation  of  a  large  settled  portion 
of  the  Genesee  country  was  turned  in  the  direction  of  the  head  waters 
of  the  Allegany  and  Susquehannah. 

The  year  1811,  that  being  the  year  in  which  Col.  Rochester,  first 
surveyed  and  sold  lots  on  the  one  hundred  acre  tract,  may  be  regarded 
as  the  starting  period  of  Rochester,  though  in  reference  to  any  con 
siderable  movement,  accession  of  population  and  business,  the  years 
1815,  or  '16  would  perhaps  be  indicated.     The  first  period  named, 
preceding  but  a  few  months,  another  important  event  in  our  local  his 
tory,  the  war  of  1812  —  some  account  of  the  then  general  condition 
of  the  Genesee  country,  will  not  be  out  of  place  : — Commencing  with 
the  Pioneer  region,  the  territory  now  comprised  in  the  county  of 
Ontario,  improvements  were  considerably  advanced.      Generally, 
the  soil  there  was  more  easily  subdued,  and  made  more  speedy  re 
turns  for  labor  expended,  than  the  more  heavily  timbered  lands  that 
predominated  elsewhere.      There  were  many  framed  houses  and 
barns,  bearing  orchards,  largely  improved  farms,  and  good  public 
highways.     The  territory  had  began  to  have  a  large  surplus  of  pro 
ducts,  which  principally  found  a  market  in  the  later  settled  regions, 
south  and  west.     There  may  be  included  in  this  description  a  small 
portion  of  the  present  counties  of  Wayne,  Livingston  and  Yates. 
In  nearly  all  the  northern  portion  of  Wayne  county  settlement  was 
recent,  and  but  small  improvements  had  been  made.     In  Living 
ston  the  considerable  improvements  were  principally  confined  to  the 
flats  of  the  Genesee  and  Canascraga,  the  Buffalo  road,  Livonia, 
Conesus,  Groveland  and  Sparta.     A  large  portion  of  Allegany  was 
a  wilderness  ;  there  were  but  few  recent  and  feeble  settlements.  The 
older  settlements  in  Steuben  had  began  to  produce  a  small  surplus, 


576  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

which,  with  its  lumber,  was  shipped  upon  the  head  waters  of  the 
Susquehannah,  for  the  Baltimore  market ;  but  most  of  the  county 
was  either  a  wilderness,  or  sparsely  populated. 

West  of  the  Genesee  River,  the  lands  along  the  Buffalo  road  were 
principally  settled,  and  many  large  improvements  had  been  made. 
The  principal  public  houses  were  along  on  that  road  ;  it  was  the 
central  locality  ;  those  who  lived  away  from  that  were  in  the  back 
woods,  or  interior ;  there  they  gloried  in  some  very  respectable 
framed  tavern  houses  ;  "  double  log"  tavern  houses  prevailed  to  the 
south  and  north  of  it.  In  Wyoming,  there  were  settlements  and 
considerable  improvements  along  on  the  old  "  Big  Tree"  road,  the 
Tonawanda  and  Allan's  creek ;  elsewhere  the  Pioneers  were  in 
small  isolated  settlements,  with  wide  belts  of  forests  intervening. 
Cattaraugus  had  been  broken  into  in  but  few  localities,  principally 
along  on  the  Cattaraugus  creek,  the  Ischua,  and  the  Allegany  River. 
Chautauque  and  the  south  towns  of  Erie  had  considerable  settle 
ments,  principally  along  near  the  lake  shore,  and  in  the  interior,  on 
Chautauque  Lake,  and  on  the  old  "  Big  Tree"  road.  The  settle 
ments  in  all  the  northern  portion  of  Erie,  were  along  on  the  Buffalo 
road,  and  between  that  and  the  Seneca  Reservation.  In  Niagara, 
settlement  was  principally  confined  to  the  Niagara  River,  the  Ridge 
Road,  and  along  on  the  narrow  strip  between  the  Ridge  Road  and 
Mountain  Ridge.  Orleans  was  mostly  a  wilderness,  with  but  little 
in  the  way  of  improvement  off  from  the  Ridge  Road,  and  in  but  few 
localities  upon  it.  The  Ridge  Road  in  its  whole  extent,  from  the 
Genesee  to  the  Niagara  River,  had  but  just  been  opened,  a  large 
portion  of  it  was  butan  underbrushed  woods  road,  with  only  a  part  of 
the  streams  having  over  them  even  rude  log  bridges.  In  short,  in 
all  the  region  between  the  Genesee  River  and  the  west  bounds  of 
the  State,  off  from  the  main  east  and  west  road,  there  was  but  isola 
ted  neighborhoods  and  detached  famlies ,  settlement  had  mostly 
commenced  within  the  preceding  six  years.  There  was  not  fifty 
framed  dwellings,  nor  over  an  hundred  framed  barns  ;  fifty  acres 
was  deemed  a  large  improvement,  much  above  the  average. 

The  condition  of  the  territory  now  comprised  in  Monroe,  may  be 
inferred  from  the  history  of  settlement  that  has  been  given. 

During  the  war,  there  was  no  increase  of  population  in  the  whole 
region  —  as  many  left  the  country  as  came  to  it  —  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  effective  men  were  upon  the  frontier,  and  alarm 
and  apprehension  paralyzed  all  of  industry  and  enterprise.  With 
reference  to  the  period  of  1812,  Rochester  had  an  untoward  com 
mencement;  and  with  reference  to  the  latter  period — 1815  and  '1C 
—  it  started  when  the  whole  region  with  which  it  had  a  local  iden 
tity,  had  but  passed  its  infancy,  —  when  after  acquiring  a  little 
strength  and  manhood,  prostration  and  weakness  had  followed,  from 
which  it  was  just  recovering. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

THE    FIRST    BLOW  STRUCK    ON  THE    SITE    OF   ROCHESTER THE 

ALLAN    MILL REMINISCENCES  OF  EVENTS  TO 

THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  WAR  OF   1812. 


It  was  soon  after  Mr.  Phelps  had  concluded  his  treaty,  that  he 
sold  or  gave  to  Ebenezer  Allan  the  One  Hundred  Acre  Tract,  upon 
which  he  erected  his  rude  mills.  The  mills  were  in  operation  be 
fore  the  close  of  1790,  or  rather  were  in  readiness  to  saw  and  grind 
when  there  was  anything  to  do.  The  measure  on  the  part  of  Allan 
was  premature ;  when  the  grist  mill  was  completed,  there  was  not 
in  all  the  region  west  of  the  old  Pre-emption  line,  1500  of  our  race ; 
and  with  the  exception  of  the  flats  upon  the  Genesee  and  Canascraga, 
and  a  few  small  Indian  improvements  elsewhere,  not  1000  acres  of 
cleared  land.  As  settlements  increased,  small  mills  were  erected  in 
other  localities,  leaving  the  Allan  mills  at  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee, 
surrounded  as  they  mostly  were  by  an  unsettled  wilderness,  but  little 
to  do.  A  miller  was  usually  kept  with  them,  the  solitary  occupant 
of  all  the  now  site  of  Rochester,  but  he  had  usually  not  employment 
enough  to  enable  him  to  keep  the  mill  in  repair.  Sometimes  there 
would  be  no  miller  —  the  whole  premises  would  be  deserted  —  and 
in  seasons  of  drouth,  or  when  the  small  mills  at  Mendon,  Wilder's 
Point,  and  at  Conesus,  would  be  out  of  repair,  the  new  settlers  would 
come  down  the  Genesee  River  in  canoes,  upon  Indian  trails,  or  via 
the  early  woods  road  that  came  from  Pittsford  to  Orange  Stone's  in 
Brighton,  and  to  avoid  the  low  wet  lands  that  intervened,  was  carried 
off  upon  the  ridges  to  the  south,  coming  out  upon  the  river  near 
Mount  Hope.  Arriving  at  the  mill,  they  would  occupy  the  deserted 
cabin,  supply  a  broken  cog,  mend  a  strap,  put  a  bucket  upon  a  wheel 
or  a  plank  upon  the  floom,  and  be  their  own  millers. 

The  mill  and  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract  was  purchased  of  Allan  by 
Benjamin  Barton,  senior,  in  March,  1792.  The  property  was  soon 
after  conveyed  by  Barton  to  Samuel  Ogden  of  the  city  of  New 
York.  Mr.  Ogden  being  a  lawyer,  and  a  far  off  resident,  was  not 
likely  to  improve  it,  and  as  early  as  1794  conveyed  it  to  Charles 
Williamson.  The  next  year  Mr.  Williamson  put  the  property  under 
the  care  of  Col.  Fish,  and  expended  upon  it  about  8500.  But  still 
there  was  a  want  of  business  for  it,  and  in  all  the  time  that  elapsed, 
during  the  ownership  of  Mr.  Williamson,  it  was  allowed  to  go  grad 
ually  to  decay.  While  in  various  other  localities,  in  Sodus,  Lyons, 
Geneva,  Hopeton,  Bath,  on  the  Canascraga,  in  Caledonia,  and  to  a 
small  extent  at  Braddock's  Bay,  he  was  prosecuting  enterprises, 
founding  villages,  and  mills,  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee  seems  to  have 
had  no  considerable  attractions  for  him.  And  this  together  with 
the  then  isolated  condition  of  the  locality  in  reference  to  the  course 
that  settlement  was  then  taking,  may  furnish  the  explanation  :  In  all 
expenditures  and  improvements  he  had  reference  to  the  increasing 


5*78  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

of  the  value  of  the  property  of  his  principals.  All  that  is  now  Gates, 
most  of  Greece,  a  part  of  Chili,  all  of  Henrietta,  Rush,  Mendon, 
Pittsford,  Perrinton,  Penfield,  and  Brighton,  was  not  a  part  of  the 
Pulteney  estate.  The  principal  interest  of  his  principals  in  the  im 
mediate  vicinity  of  Rochester,  was  most  of  what  is  now  Irondequoit, 
a  tract  of  4000  acres  at  the  Rapids,  and  a  larger  tract  in  what  is 
now  Chili.  In  January,  1802,  in  a  valuation  of  all  the  different 
parcels  of  the  Pulteney  estate,  made  by  Israel  Chapin,  Joseph 
Annin,  and  Amos  Hall,  the  mill  and  hundred  acres,  was  valued  at 
$1,040. 

Following  the  erection  of  the  mill,  the  clearing  away  of  a  small 
spot  of  the  forest  around  it,  there  was  in  respect  to  either  settlement 
or  improvement,  an  hiatus  —  an  almost  total  suspension  of  opera 
tions  —  for  nearly  twenty  years ;  a  period  in  our  present  day,  more 
than  sufficient  for  settling  States,  founding  new  empires,  and  build 
ing  large  cities. 

In  all  this  time  the  locality,  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  was  not 
lost  sight  of;  it  was  frequently  visited  by  tourists  and  men  of  enter 
prise.  In  1795,  Aaron  Burr,  —  then  a  large  operator  in  sites  of 
towns,  in  tracts  of  wild  lands,  and  in  a  few  years  after,  the  owner 
for  a  short  period,  of  an  100,000  acres  of  Orleans  county,  contiguous 
to  mouth  of  Oak  Orchard  creek  —  diverged  from  the  old  Buffalo  road, 
came  down  and  critically  examined  the  Falls,  taking  measurements 
of  them.  Adventurers  coasting  along  the  Lake  shore  in  batteaux, 
would  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  survey  the  Falls,  become 
impressed  with  the  value  of  the  location,  the  magnitude  of  its  hy 
draulic  power;  but  the  dark  frowning  forests,  the  low  wet  lands, 
the  malaria  they  could  wrell  fancy  they  saw  floating  in  the  atmos 
phere,  sent  them  away  to  other  fields  of  investment  and  enterprise, 
of  far  less  importance,  as  time  has  demonstrated. 

In  1796  Zadock  Granger,  Gideon  King  and  others,  as  will  have 
been  observed,  formed  a  settlement  at  what  afterwards  became 
Handford's  Landing.  These  were  the  first  comers  upon  the  river, 
below  the  mouth  of  Black  creek,  (the  miller  of  the  Falls  excepted,) 
after  Wm.  Hencher.  In  writing  to  his  friends  in  England,  Mr. 
Williamson  was  much  disposed  to  make  things  quite  as  forward  as 

NOTE. — In  this  connection  the  author  will  make  an  extract  from  the  manuscript  re 
miniscences  of  Thomas  Morris  : — "  In  June,  1797,  Louis  Philip,  the  late  King  of 
France,  his  two  brothers,  the  Duke  de  Montpensier,  and  Count  •Beaugolais,  were  my 
guests  at  Canandaigua.  Being  desirous  of  shewing  them  the  Falls  of  the  Genesee 
River,  we  rode  together  to  where  Rochester  now  is.  There  was  not  at  that  time  a  hut 
of  any  kind.  The  nearest  habitation  was  that  of  a  farmer  by  the  name  of  Perrin," 
(Orange  Stone  he  should  have  said,)  "  where  after  viewing  the  Falls  we  dined  in  our 
return  to  Canandaigua.  Notwithstanding  all  that  I  had  heard  of  the  progress  of  Roch 
ester,"  (Mr.  Moms  is  now  alluding  to  his  visit  to  the  city  in  1844,)  it  was  difficult  for 
me  to  realize  that  a  place  that  I  had  last  seen,  even  at  that  distance  of  time,  an  un 
inhabited  wilderness,  should  now  be  a  busy,  active  city,  containing  elegant  and  costly 
buildings,  and  with  a  population,  as  I  was  informed  there,  of  between  twenty-five 
and  thirty  thousand  inhabitants." 


PHELPS  AM)  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  579 

they  were,  and  to  create  the  impression  that  the  country  was  going 
ahead  pretty  rapidly.  He  announced  the  advent  of  these  new 
comers,  as  a  matter  of  considerable  importance ;  and  speaks  of  the 
commercial  enterprise  of  Mr.  Granger,  in  the  same  year,  as  having 
created  a  new  era  in  this  region  of  the  Genesee  country.  "  The 
navigation  of  the  river,"  says  one  of  his  letters,  "  is  interrupted  by 
four  successive  magnificent  falls,  the  highest  of  them  96  feet; 
around  these  falls  a  carrying  place  was  made,  and  the  inhabitants 
for  the  first  time  began  to  use  the  navigation,  and  they  received 
their  salt  from  the  Onondaga  salt  works,  and  their  stores  from  Al 
bany,  with  a  very  trifling  land  carriage,  compared  to  what  they 
were  before  necessitated^  undertake  from  Geneva;  and  it  has 
opened  to  them  a  ready  market  for  their  produce/' 

From  the  very  earliest  period  of  the  settlement  of  the  Genesee 
country,  there  seemed  to  be  a  prevalent,  vague  idea,  that  a  town 
of  some  consequence  was  to  grow  up  somewhere  in  what  is  now 
the  northern  portion  of  Monroe  —  neucluses  were  formed,  prelim 
inary  steps  taken  to  start  villages  and  commercial  depots —  but  the 
sites,  or  locations,  were  for  a  long  period  fluctuating.  There  are 
within  nine  miles  of  Rochester,  within  the  precincts  of  the  over 
shadowing  city  —  the  sites  of  no  less  than  five  embryo  villages,  or 
towns,  gone  to  decay  —  or  rather,  are  either  converted  into  highly 
cultivated  farms,  or  have  become  principally  the  eligible  sites  of 
private  dwellings;  and  this,  without  including  Frankfort — at  first 
assuming  rather  an  independent  existence  —  but  having  now  but 
little  separate  identity ;  having  long  ago  been  merged  in  the  city 
that  is  now  travelling  on,  on,  beyond  it,  with  rapid  strides. 

Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  surveys  of  Phelps  and  Gorham's 
Purchase,  the  late  Augustus  Porter,  mapped  the  whole  territory, 
carefully  dlsignating  the  localities  where  villages  and  mills  either 
were  or  were  likely  to  be.  He  makes  no  mark  or  sign  of  civiliza 
tion,  on  the  river,  below  "  Hartford,"  (Avon,)  except  at  the  Allan 
mill,  and  upon  the  afterwards  site  of  Carthage,  is  printed,  "  Athens." 
This  would  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  earliest  proprietors  of 
the  region,  (even  before  the  advent  of  Mr.  Williamson,)  had  desig 
nated  that  as  their  favorite  locality.  Eligible  and  beautiful  as  the 
site  now  is,  it  must  have  been  in  that  early  day,  a  most  unpropi- 
tious  spot,  to  introduce  a  name  associated  with  the  highest  degrees 
of  civilization  in  the  old  world.  But  let  this  reminiscence  remind 
the  dwellers  there,  that  they  are  treading  upon  classic  ground. 
"  Tryon  Town,"  in  now  Brighton,  on  the  "  Eutauntuquet*  Bay," 
was  the  next  favorite  locality  ;  where,  as  will  have  been  observed, 
a  town  was  projected  and  commenced,  and  for  many  early  years 
was  the  focus  of  business  for  a  wide  region  of  log  cabins  and  wood's 
roads  ;  —  a  shipping  port,  withal.  Then  succeeded  "  King's"  and 

*  Vide,  Judge  Porter's  Map. 


580  PHELPS   AOT)  GOKHAMS'   PUKCHASE. 

"  Handford's  Landings  ;  then  "  Charlotte ;  "  and  next,  (or  perhaps 
in  earlier  years,)  "  Castle  Town."  All  but  the  "  oldest  inhabitants" 
will  have  to  be  told  where  "Castle  Town"  was  :  —  It  was  upon  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  at  the  Rapids,  near  the  division  line  of  Gates 
and  Chili.  Mr.  Wadsworth  owned  lot  47,  the  south  east  corner  lot 
of  Gates,  embracing  the  upper  part  of  the  Rapids,  and  the  Pulteney 
estate,  lots  12,  24,  and  36  of  the  "4,000  acre  tract,"  contiguous  and 
below,  embracing  the  lower  part  of  the  Rapids.  The  whole  being 
under  Mr.  Wadsworth's  control,  as  owner  and  agent,  during  the 
long  years  that  the  site  of  Rochester  was  left  unimproved,  he  con 
ceived  the  idea  of  founding  a  village  there,  it  being  the  foot  of  nav 
igation  on  the  Genesee  river,  and  the  head  of  the  portage  from 
the  navigable  waters  of  the  river  below  the  Falls.  A  town  was 
surveyed,  some  lots  sold,  a  store  and  tavern  house  erected,  and  a 
few  families  settled  there ;  among  whom  was  Isaac  Castle ;  and 
thence  the  name.  Rochester  starting  up,  and  soon  after,  a  diver 
sion  of  the  water  power  being  made  by  the  Canal  Feeder,  there  was 
an  end  of  "  Castle  Town." 

After  the  pioneer  commercial  enterprise  of  Mr.  Granger,  a  con 
siderable  period  elapsed  before  other  vessels  were  built.  The  one 
schooner,  with  such  as  dropped  in  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  for 
freight,  hailing  from  other  ports,  was  probably  found  sufficient,  pre 
vious  to  1800.  Augustus  and  Peter  B.  Porter,  built  a  schooner  up 
on  Irondequoit  Bay,  and  for  several  years  the  commerce  was  divi 
ded  between  the  Bay  and  the  River,  In  1808  or  '9,  Erastus  Spauld- 
ing  built  a  schooner  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  in  1811,  Oliver 
Culver  built  one  upon  the  Irondequoit  Bay.  The  Lake  commerce 
had  commenced  with  pot  and  pearl  ashes  for  the  Montreal  market, 
to  which  was  soon  added  small  amounts  of  flour  and  wheat,  salt 
from  the  Onondaga  salt  works  ;  and  at  a  later  period,  butt  staves. 
A  small  commerce,  upon  the  River  and  Bay,  seems  almost  to  have 
been  forcing  itself  in  the  earliest  years.  The  navigation  of  the 
Susquehannah  was  fluctuating,  tedious  and  expensive.  The  boat 
ing  from  Lyons,  Geneva  and  Seneca  Falls,  had  been  almost  aban 
doned  ;  transportation  of  produce,  overland,  upon  the  Albany  road, 
impracticable  to  any  considerable  extent,  except  when  good  winter 

NOTE.  —  Something  of  Charlotte  will  be  found  in  detached  portions  of  the  work  ; 
but  any  especial  notice  of  one  who  was  early  identified  with  the  locality,  has  been 
omitted.  Andrew  M'Nabb,  emigrated  from  Scotland  in  1806.  Well  educated,  and 
unused  to  the  labor  of  clearing  new  lauds,  he  spent  a  considerable  time  with  Alexan 
der  M'Pherson,  of  Le  Roy,  under  an  arrangement  that  he  should  be  the  teacher  of  his 
children,  and  in  turn  should  be  taught  himself  the  rudiments  of  Pioneer  labor.  Soon 
however,  he  attracted  the  attention  of  Mr.  Stoddard,  and  was  employed  in  his  land 
office  ;  from  Avhich  he  was  transferred  to  the  office  of  James  Wadsworth.  Under  the 
auspices  of  Messrs.  Troup  and  Wadsworth,  he  was  established  at  Charlotte  as  early 
as  1809  with  a  stock  of  goods,  and  as  a  local  land  agent,  where  he  remained  until  the 
occunence  of  the  war  of  1812,  when  he  removed  to  Geneva,  where  he  died,  a  bachelor, 
previous  to  1830. 


.     PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE.  581 

roads  occurred ;  Lake  ports  and  Lake  commerce,  began  by  slow 
degrees  to  be  the  creation  of  exigency  and  necessity.  In  a  letter 
from  James  Wadsworth  to  John  Murray  &  Sons,  N.  Y.,  dated  in 
June  1807,  he  observes  that  Mr.  Penfield  has  been  to  Upper  Can 
ada,  and  while  there  had  became  impressed  with  the  commercial 
advantages  of  that  county ;  "  a  barrel  of  pot  ash  can  be  sent  from 
thereto  Montreal  for  $1  00;  wheat  commands  cash,  and  a  much 
higher  price  than  in  this  State,  from  the  fact  of  facility  of  transpor 
tation."  "  These  facts,"  adds  Mr.  W.,  "  serve  to  illustrate  the  im 
portance  of  '  Fall  Town,'  (Rochester,)  and  of  the  country  in  its 
vicinity.  Articles  can  be  sent  at  somewhat  less  expense  from  the 
mouth  of  Genesee  river,  than  from  the  west  end  of  Lake  Ontario. 
At  present  our  communication  with  Kingston  and  Montreal  is  attend 
ed  with  unnecessary  embarrassment.  Montreal  must  become  an 
immense  deposit  for  agricultural  productions  seeking  an  European 
market.  I  could  now  purchase  to  be  delivered  at  Fall  Town,  10,000 
bushels  of  wheat  at  50  cents.  It  could  then  be  ground  and  sent  to 
Montreal  for  75  cents  per  barrel.  Our  field  ashes  which  are  now 
wasted,  would  be  an  object  of  considerable  consequence.  Fifteen 
tons  might  be  made  in  the  small  town  of  Fairfield  this  season.  The 
business  once  started,  the  example  would  be  followed  by  many. 
The  ashes  which  can  be  scraped  off  from  an  acre  after  a  good  burn, 
are  worth  from  $4  to  $8.  I  imagine  there  will  he  200,000  bushels 
of  surplus  wheat  in  this  part  of  the  State,  west  of  a  line  beyond 
which  wheat  cannot  be  sent  to  Albany,  at  the  price  it  now  com 
mands." 

In  July  of  the  same  year,  Mr.  Wadsworth  wrote  to  Samuel  Corp, 
N.  Y. :  —  Grain  here  will  not  command  money  at  any  price.  The 
Nortons  are  sending  flour  to  Albany  at  a  certain  loss  of  81  50  per 
barrel.  Money  hardly  circulates  among  us.  Farmers  who  have 
four  or  five  hundred  bushels  of  grain  on  hand,  are  paying  premiums 
for  a  few  dollars,  that  would  astonish  you/' 

"  A  tract  of  country  extending  from  Utica  to  Lake  Erie, 
and  from  Lake  Ontario  forty  or  fifty  miles  southward ;  (a  tract  twice 
as  large  as  the  State  of  Connecticut,)  is  in  a  rapid  progress  to  a 
tolerable  state  of  cultivation.     The  agricultural  products  of  this 
district  cannot  be  transported  to  Albany,  except  in  years  of  scarcity. 
They  must  generally  be  sent  to  Baltimore  or  Montreal.     The  com 
munication  to  Baltimore  is  only  open  from  three  to  four  weeks  in 
the  spring.     This  river  is  undoubtedly  a  great  benefit  to  the  coun 
try,  especially  to  the  inhabitants  on  its  banks,  who  can  seize  the  fa 
vorable  opportunity  for  pushing  off  their  arks.     But  in  my  opinion 
the  St.  Lawrence  is  the  natural  out-let  for  the  produce  of  this  coun 
try.     Lake  Ontario  is  navigable  in  all  seasons  of  the  year.     Boats 
may  be  sent  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  almost  eight  months  in  the 
year.     Restrictions  to  trade  with  Canada,  embarrass  every  thing 
Free  trade  would  be  a  mutual  advantage."    Mr.  W.,  in  the  same 


582  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

letter  urges  Mr.  Corp,  to  "  correspond  with  friends  in  London  upon 
this  subject." 

As  early  as  March,  1810,  Silas  O.  Smith  emigrated  from  N. 
Malborough,  Mass.,  and  became  a  pioneer  merchant  at  Handford's 
Landing.  He  is  one  of  the  few  survivors  of  that  early  period  ;  has 
lived  to  witness  the  primitive  start  and  entire  growth  of  Rochester, 
and  with  a  physical  and  mental  constitution  unimpaired,  has  but 
partially  retired  from  the  active  duties  of  life.  He  is  the  father  of 
L.  Ward  Smith,  late  a  representative  in  Assembly  from  Monroe 
county,  now  acting  Adjt.  General  of  the  State ;  of  George  Hand 
Smith,  M.  D.  of  Rochester;  and  of  E.  Meigs  Smith,  of  Rochester.  A 
daughter  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  Stevens,  of  Albany  ;  and  there  are 
two  unmarried  daughters. 

Mr.  Smith  has  obligingly  furnished  the  author  with  his  recollec 
tions  of  the  early  times,  which  are  used  in  the  form  adopted  in  other 
instances. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  SILAS  0.  SMITH. 


When  I  came  to  the  country,  the  whole  region  was  but  sparsely  settled. 
About  the  Upper  and  Lower  Landing,  the  forests  were  but  little  broken. 
Where  the  city  of  Rochester  now  stands,  it  was  a  dense  forest,  save  about 
half  an  acre  of  cleared  ground,  around  the  old  Allan  mill.  In  the  spring 
of  1813,  I  built  the  first  store  in  what  was  then  called  "  Rochesterville." 
It  was  a  wooden  structure,  and  stood  next  north  of  the  Rochester  Bank,  on 
Exchange  street.  In  1814,  I  cleared  three  or  four  acres  of  ground  on 
which  the  Court  House,  St.  Luke's  church,  First  Presbyterian  church,  and 
school  house  No.  1,  now  stand.  I  sowed  it  to  wheat,  and  had  a  fine  crop; 
the  harvesting  cost  me  nothing,  as  it  was  most  effectually  done  by  the 
squirrels,  coons,  and  other  wild  beasts  of  the  forest.  Scarcely  three  years, 
however,  had  elapsed  before  this  ground  was  mostly  occupied  with  build 
ings,  through  the  liberal  policy  of  Col.  Rochester,  the  acting  proprietor. 

The  war  of  1812  to  '15,  checked  the  growth  and  enterprise  of  the  young 

NOTE.  —  Such  were  the  embarrassments,  such  the  speculations  and  anticipations  in 
those  early  years.  By  hardy  enterprise  the  forest  had  been  so  far  cleared  away,  the 
soil  so  far  subdued,  that  a  surplus  began  to  be  produced  ;  something  to  reward  toil,  to 
be  exchanged  for  the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life,  where  there  had  been  long  years 
of  privation  and  endurance  ;  but  the  isolated  condition  of  the  country,  the  want  of 
avenues  to  market,  forbid  the  fruition  so  well  earned  and  so  long  delayed.  What  an 
event  was  hidden  in  the  womb  of  speedily  coming  time !  But  a  few  weeks  previous 
to  the  date  of  the  first  letter  of  Mr.  Wadsworth.  a  citizen  of  the  Genesee  country  — • 
(and  honored  be  his  memory!) — oppressed  by  pecuniary  misfortune,  a  refugee  from 
inexorable  creditors,  in  an  obscure  village  in  Pennsylvania,  had  projected,  and  ready 
for  denoument,  the  plan  for  the  connection  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  Hud 
son,  by  means  of  an  OVERLAND  CANAL  !  That  great  remedy  for  the  formidable  evil 
that  was  paralyzing  industry  in  all  this  fair  and  fertile  region  ;  that  great  and  diffusive 
dispenser  of  the  wealth,  comfort  and  luxury  that  meet  us  at  every  hand,  whether  we 
a^e  surveying  our  own  Western  New  York,  or  travelling  through  that  Empire  of  the 
West,  where  the  influence  has  been  scarcely  less  potent !  Ct^*'  See  2d  or  3d  edition  of 
"  Holland  Purchase,"  appendix. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  583 

village.  The  rumors  of  border  warfare,  and  frequent  turn-outs  to  meet  the 
enemy,  interfered  much  to  interrupt  its  quiet  progress.  It  was  not  until 
the  peace  of  1815  that  the  village  may  be  said  to  have  fairly  commenced 
its  growth ;  which  from  half  a  dozen  families,  now  numbers  40,000  inhabi 
tants. 

In  1810,  when  at  the  Landing  with  a  store  of  goods,  I  was  often  asked 
by  travellers  who  threaded  their  way  through  the  narrow  paths  of  the 
forest,  how  I  found  sufficient  customers  to  warrant  any  business  enterprize. 
But  people  came  there  from  a  distance  of  even  100  miles  with  their  teams 
and  loads  of  pot  ash  to  sell  and  exchange  for  their  supplies. 

Charlotte  and  Handford's  Landing  had  just  began  to  contend  for  the 
ascendancy,  when  the  war  and  fevers  settled  the  contest,  and  located  the 
village  at  Rochester;  when  the  great  Falls,  with  their  extensive  water 
privileges,  together  with  a  fertile  and  healthy  country,  opened  a  field  quite 
worthy  of  its  enterprising  Pioneers;  and  did  time,  space,  and  recollections 
of  the  past  admit,  I  should  like  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  those  active 
and  praiseworthy  men.  For  their  perseverance  and  endurance  during  so 
many  privations ;  I  remember  them  with  the  highest  esteem  and  honor. 

I  would  add  that  Handford's  Landing  was  formerly  called  King's  Land 
ing.  The  earliest  settlers  there  were  mostly  doomed  to  a  death  more  ter 
rible  than  the  sword.  Prostrated  by  fevers,  there  were  times  when  there 
was  none  left  with  strength  enough  to  bring  water  to  the  parched  lips  of 
the  dying,  or  afford  a  decent  interment  to  their  remains.  Their  graves, 
more  than  twenty  in  number,  could  be  counted  in  the  woods  near  by. 

Very  rarely  a  missionary  would  pass  through  this  wild  and  lonely  region, 
administering  the  consolations  of  his  faith.  Sunday  was  not  at  all  observ 
ed.  I  remember  with  pleasure,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parmalee,  a  Prysbeterian,  a 
good  old  man,  who  passed  through  and  stopped  at  my  house  where  he 
preached  and  baptised ;  afterwards  continuing  on  for  miles  to  find  another 
house  and  repeat  the  same  services.  At  the  time  he  was  suffering  so  much 
from  ague  and  fever  that  he  was  often  obliged  to  dismount  from  his  horse 
and  lay  down  under  a  tree  until  the  ague  fit  had  left  him,  then  arise  and 
continue  on  his  solitary  journey. 

At  that  early  period  we  had  no  great  partiality  for  any  particular  denom 
ination  of  Christians ;  we  were  sufficiently  glad  to  have  any.  Very  provi 
dentially  I  had  brought  with  me  three  books  of  Common  Prayer;  and 
while  living  at  the  Landing,  fishing  and  hunting  being  the  usual  occupa 
tion  of  many  of  the  new  settlers  on  Sunday;  the  report  of  the  rifle  breaking 
the  otherwise  "  Sabbath  stillness  of  the  day" ;  I  obtained  the  assistance  of 
John  Mastirk,  and  in  a  small  plank  school  house  we  commenced  the  beautiful 
ritual  of  the  Episcopal  church;  and  on  each  Lord's  day  read  the  prayers  and 
a  sermon.  The  plan  was  perfectly  successful,  for  the  services  came  to  be 
attended  from  far  and  wide ;  and  it  formed  the  neucleus  afterwards  of  St. 
Lukes,  the  largest  church  in  this  diocese.  These  were  the  first  Prayer  Books 
and  Episcopal  services  used  and  held  in  this  section  of  the  country.  This 
very  small  beginning  contrasts  strangely  with  the  present  aspect  of  the 
various  religious  societies,  and  shows  that  the  early  settlers  of  Rochester, 
as  well  as  the  present  inhabitants,  were  not  entirely  negligent  in  these  mat 
ters  which  have  had  such  beneficial  influence  upon  the  great  prosperity  of 
the  city. 


584  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Charles  Harford  was  an  emigrant  from  England,  soon  after  1790. 
Among  Mr.  Williamson's  papers,  is  a  letter  from  him  dated  in  New 
York,  in  1794,  in  which  he  requests  Mr.  W.  to  reserve  for  him 
4,000  acres  near  "  the  Great  Sodus"  and  some  "  town  lots,"  —  says 
he  intends  to  engage  "  extensively  in  grazing  ; "  that  he  is  about  to 
start  for  England  to  bring  out  his  family.     It  is  presumed  that  on 
his  return  from  England,  (or  may  be  previously,)  he  had  purchased 
an  interest  in  the  "  20,000  acre  tract/'  west  of  the  River.     The  au 
thor  is  not  informed  where  he  located  previous  to  1807.     In  that 
year  he  became  the  Pioneer  on  all  the  site  of  Rochester  west  of  the 
river,  erecting  a  block  house  on  what  is  now  State  street,  near  the 
termination  of  the  Lisle  road,  and  making  a  small  opening  in  the 
forest.     He  had  here  allotted  to  him  100  acres  of  his  interest  in  the 
20,000  acre  tract;  besides  back  farm  lots  in  Gates,  upon  which  in 
early  years,  he  settled  several  branches  of  his  family.     In  1808  he 
had  completed  a  small  mill  with  one  run  of  stones,  a  little  below  the 
Falls,  conducting  the  water  in  a  race.     This  mill  for  four  years,  did 
the  grinding  for  a  wide  region  of  backwoods  settlers.     A  saw  mill 
soon  followed,  or  -it  may  have  preceded  the  erection  of  the  grist 
mill.     Mr.  Harford  died  nearly  thirty  years  since ;  of  a  numerous 
family,  possessing  at  one  period  a   hundred  acres  of  the  city  of 
Rochester,  and  about  one-twelfth  of  the  town  of  Gates,  the  author 
has  no  information,  other  than  the  fact  that  a  son  resides  in  the 
town  of  Chili,  and  that  other  sons  and  daughters  reside  in  Western 
States. 

After  the  advent  of  Charles  Haford  on  the  west  side'  of  the  Riv 
er,  the  next  was  that  of  Enos  Stone,  the  first  settler  on  the  east 
side  of  the  River.  DCP  See  page  424.  Mr.  Stone's  advent  wras  in 
March,  1810.  Arriving  at  the  house  of  his  brother  Orange  with 
his  family  and  effects,  he  was  helped  through  the  woods  by  him  and 
some  of  his  neighbors,  and  established  in  his  log  cabin,  the  solitary 
occupant  of  all  the  present  site  of  Rochester,  east  of  the  river.  Two 
years  previous,  Enos  Stone  the  elder  had  erected  a  saw  mill  on  the 
river,  which  had  been  carried  off  by  a  freshet.  In  October  follow 
ing,  needing  a  little  more  house  room  —  having  occasionally  to  en 
tertain  a  visiter  or  traveller,  Mr.  Stone  put  up  a  small  frame  build 
ing,  16  by  20  feet.  The  cutting  of  the  timber,  raising  and  enclos 
ing  occupied  but  three  days;  —  the  raising  was  done  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Stone,  and  a  hired  man  and  hired  girl.*  Mr.  Stone  saw  and 
endured  the  most  rugged  features  of  pioneer  life.  Getting  out  of 
provisions,  he  went  out  in  search  of  wheat,  and  passing  through 
Pittsford,  Mendon,  Victor,  Bloomfield  and  Livonia,  found  not  a 
bushel  for  sale,  until  he  had  arrived  at  Judge  Chipman's  near  Allen's 
Hill,  in  Pittstown.  He  remembers  with  feelings  of  gratitude,  that 

*  The  structure  of  the  first  frame  building  ever  erected  upon  all  the  broad  site  of 
the  now  city  of  Rochester,  in  a  tolerable  state  of  preservation,  is  now  occupied  as  a 
wood  shed,  in  rear  of  the  dwelling  of  Win.  Adams,  on  Elm  street. 


PHELPS   ATSTD    GORHAM's    PURCHASE.  585 

telling  the  Judge  of  his  wants,  and  of  the  destitution  of  himself  and 
his  backwoods  neighbors,  how  readily  he  gave  him  a  seat  at  his 
breakfast  table,  and  went  out  himself  and  made  a  levy  upon  his 
neighbors  — getting  a  bushel  of  wheat  of  one,  and  a  bushel  of  an 
other  ;  —  and  so  far  as  pay  was  concerned,  he  would  only  receive  a 
dollar  per  bushel,  less  than  the  current  price.  It  is  with  lively  recol 
lections  of  other  and  like  kind  acts,  on  the  part  of  this  early  and  wor 
thy  pioneer,  that  the  author  records  this  reminiscence.  On  another 
occasion,  being  out  of  meat,  Mr.  Stone  walked  out  with  his  rifle, 
and  a  fine  buck  just  trotting  up  the  bank  from  the  river,  where  he 
had  been  to  drink,  was  transferred  to  the  shambles ;  —  and  as  oppor 
tunely  it  was,  as  the  manna,  in  another  exigency  in  the  world's  his 
tory. 

Isaac  W.  Stone,  who  has  already  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  invasion  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  in  the  war  of  1812,  had 
settled  in  Bloomfield,  establishing  a  cloth  dressing  establishment  on 
Fish  creek,  soon  after  1800.  In  1810  he  purchased  of  Enos  Stone 
five  acres,  opposite  Blossom's  Hotel,  upon  a  part  of  which  the 
Minerva  block  now  stands ;  erected  a  framed  house  and  opened  a 
tavern.  There  had  began  to  be  a  little  travel  on  the  Ridge  Road, 
though  the  fording  of  the  river  was  often  difficult  and  dangerous; 
and  settlement  it  will  be  observed  had  commenced  on  the  Ridge. 
His  was  the  only  public  house  in  Rochester  during  the  war,  was  a 
boarding  place  for  several  of  the  early  local  adventurers  —  the  head 
quarters  of  all  military  operations,  while  the  enterprising  landlord 
was  himself,  by  virtue  of  a  commission,  as  well  as  by  patriotic  im 
pulses,  the  active  and  principal  leader  in  measures  of  defence.  Re 
turning  from  the  Niagara  frontier,  in  1813,  he  was  taken  ill  upon 
the  road,  and  died  at  the  house  of  Major  Isaac  Sutherland,  near 
Batavia ;  much  regretted,  for  he  had  been  active  and  useful  in  the 
then  trying  crisis.  An  only  surviving  son  became  a  resident  of 
Lockport,  was  for  one  term  sheriff  of  Niagara ;  died  a  few  years 
since  in  Illinois.  The  eldest  daughter,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Artemus 
Bishop,  went  upon  a  mission  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  1827, 
where  she  still  resides.  Another  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Ira 
West ;  another  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Wm.  F.  Curry,  now  a  settled 
minister  at  Geneva ;  and  another,  the  wife  of  John  F.  Bush,  of 
Rochester.  Mrs.  Stone,  who  continued  the  pioneer  tavern  for  four 
years  after  her  husband's  death,  still  survives,  at  the  age  of  76  years, 
a  resident  of  Rochester;  and  with  the  exception  of  Enos  Stone, 
the  oldest  living  resident  of  the  city. 

The  first  public  improvement  upon  the  Genesee  River,  below 
Avon,  was  the  erection  of  a  bridge  upon  the  present  site  of  Roch 
ester.  In  1809  the  Ridge  Road  began  to  be  regarded  prospective- 

NOTE.  —  Mr.  Stone  adds,  that  when  he  arrived  at  Zebulon  Norton's  mill,  in  Mendon, 
the  old  gentleman  instead  of  taking  toll,  added  a  bushel,  j 
37 


586  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

ly,  as  an  important  thoroughfare,  and  the  citizens  of  what  are  now 
the  northern  towns  of  Wayne  and  Monroe,  began  to  make   move 
ments  te  secure  a  better  crossing  of  the  River,  than  that  of  a  dan 
gerous  fording  place.     A  petition  to  the  Legislature  was  put  in  cir 
culation,  and  favored  by  the  presence  at  Albany,  of  both  the  elder 
and  younger  Enos  Stone,  a  law  was  passed  for  the  construction  of 
a  bridge,  by  means  of  a  tax  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Genesee  and 
Ontario,  at  the  session  of  1809,  '10.     The  measure  met  with  severe 
opposition ;  the  dwellers  along  on  the  Buffalo  road,  feared  the  diver 
sion  of  travel  from  that  then  main  thoroughfare,  and  the  local  mem 
bers  of  the  Legislature,  were  all  from  that  road  or  south  of  it,  ex 
cept  Judge  Rogers,  of  Palmyra,  who  gave  it  his  support,     Samue 
Lawrence,  of  what  is  now  Yates  county,  then  a  member  from  On 
tario,  opposed  the  measure,  as  imposing  an  oppressive  tax  upon  those 
who  were  not  to  be  benefitted  by  it,  as  an  unnecessary  and  wild  pro 
ject.     In  the  course  of  his  speech  he  assumed  that   the  region  sur 
rounding  the  contemplated  improvement,  was  one  frowned  upon  by 
Providence,  and  not  fit  for  the  residence  of  man.     It  is,  said  he,  "in 
habited  by  muskrats,  visited  only  by  straggling  trappers,   through 
which  neither  man  nor  beast  could  gallop  without  fear  of  starvation, 
or  of  catching  the  fever  and  ague."     The  bill  passed  by  a  close  vote  ; 
the  bridge  was  commenced  in  1810,  and  finished  just  after  the  com 
mencement  of  the  war  of  1812.     The  first  company  of  troops  that 
marched  to  Lewiston,  passed  upon  the  uncovered  timbers.     The 
building  commissioners  were  Dr.  Zacheus  Colby,  of  Genesee,  and 

Caleb  Hopkins,  of  Ontario ;  the  builder, Hovey.     The  bridge 

soon  began  to  bring  travel  to  the  Frontier,  upon  the  northern  route, 
and  in  the  absence  of  the  war  would  have  given  an  impetus  to  set 
tlement. 

Little  beyond  what  has  been  named,  transpired  upon  the  east 
side  of  the  River,  until  the  close  of  the  war ;  but  two  families  were 
added  to  those  of  the  Messrs.  Stones,  and  they  were  not  permanent 
residents. 

Though  Col.  Rochester  and  his  associates,  Cols.  Fitzhugh  and 
Carrol,  had  purchased  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract  in  1802,  it  lay  idle, 
as  it  had  in  long  previous  years,  until  the  summer  of  1811.  The 
delay  in  the  improvement  of  a  site  so  valuable,  is  sufficiently  ac 
counted  for  in  preceding  pages;  late  as  would  now  seem  the  com 
mencement,  it  was  even  premature,  as  the  reader  will  have  observed. 
Yet  there  had  began  to  be  an  anxiety  to  see  a  commencement,  the 
Bridge  was  progressing,  public  expectation  and  individual  enterprise 
had  began  to  fix  upon  the  tract —  the  100  acres,  and  the  hydraulic 

NOTE.  —  By  some  means  or  other  the  Bridge  matter  took  a  party  turn,  the  then 
democratic  members  generally  voting  for  it.  The  next  year  it  was  brought  into  the 
election  canvass,  and  was  the  means  of  defeating  the  democratic  members.  That  de 
termined  the  complexion  of  the  Legislature ;  so  the  first  bridge  in  Rochester,  cost  the 
democratic  party  the  ascendancy  in  the  State. 


PHELP3    AND  GOBHAM's   PURCHASE.  587 

facilities  it  embraced  —  as  the  eligible  spot  in  which  all  hitherto 
projected  business  localities  in  its  neighborhood,  was  to  .become 
merged.  In  August  1810,  Mr.  Wadsworth,  although  his  interests 
were  principally  at  Charlotte,  and  Castleton,  had  probably  become 
convinced  that  neither  was  the  natural  location  of  the  business  he 
saw  drawing  off  to  the  lower  valley  of  the  Genesee,  towards  the 
navigable  waters  of  Lake  Ontario ;  and  in  one  of  the  localities, 
sickness  had  began  to  discourage  him  as  it  had  others.  At  this  pe 
riod,  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Troup;  —  "I  wish  that  tract  of  100  acres 
could  be  purchased  of  the  Maryland  gentlemen.  The  Bridge  and 
Mill  seat  render  it  very  valuable  indeed." 

In  July,  1810,  Col.  Rochester  came  down  from  his  residence  at 
Dansville,  and  surveyed  a  few  lots  on  the  River,  along  on  either 
side  of  Exchange  and  Buffalo  streets.  Having  before  his  return 
home,  constituted  Enos  Stone  his  local  agent,  he  addressed  to  him 
the  following  letter  of  instructions :  — 

DANSVILLE,  14th  August,  1811. 

DEAR  SIR  : 

Inclosed  I  send  you  a  plat  of  the  village  of  Rochester,  at  the  Falls  of 
Genesee  River.  I  have  sent  on  advertisements  to  the  printers  at  Canandaigua  and 
Geneva,  mentioning  that  I  have  laid  out  a  village,  and  that  you  will  shew  the  lots  and 
make  known  the  terms  on  which  the  lots  are  to  be  sold. 

The  terms  are  for  lots  No.  2,  3,  4,  5,  16,  17,  18,  30,  fifty  dollars  each ;  for  lots  No.  6, 
7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25,  thirty  dollars.  No.  1,  two  hundred  dollars, 
the  rest  that  are  numbered  are  sold.  Persons  purchasing  must  build  a  dwelling  house, 
or  store  house,  not  less  than  20  by  16  feet,  by  the  first  of  October  1812,  or  the  lots 
will  revert  to  the  proprietors,  and  the  advance  of  five  dollars  be  forfeited.  Five  dollars 
are  to  be  advanced  on  each  quarter  acre  lot,  aud  twenty  dollars  on  lot  No.  1,  the  resi 
due  to  be  paid  in  two  annual  payments  with  interest  thereon.  If  any  person  wants  a 
lot  above  the  head  of  the  race  or  the  River,  tell  them  that  I  will  be  down  in  October 
to  lay  out  lots  along  Mill  street  up  to  the  river,  and  these  lots  can  be  had  for  building 
Ware  Houses  on  the  River,  at  fifty  dollars  for  a  quarter  acre  lot.  Bridge  street,  Buffalo 
street,  Mill  street  aud  Carroll  street,  are  six  rods  wide,  the  other  streets  are  four  rods, 
and  the  Alley's  twelve  feet.  You  will  observe  that  lots  No.  26,  27,  are  to  be  but  three 
rods  on  Bridge  street,  but  extend  back  more  than  ten  rods,  owing  to  the  angle  in  the 
street.  When  I  go  down  in  October,  I  shall  lay  out  the  streets,  alleys  and  lots  agreea 
ble  to  the  enclosed  plat.  NATHANIEL  ROCHESTER. 

Enos  Stone  became  the  purchaser  of  lot  36  at  $50.  Other  sales 
occurred  in  the  order,  and  at  the  pi  ices  named,  commencing  Dec. 
29,  1811:  — 

Henry  Skinner,  Lot  No.        1,  $200  Israel  Scrantoni,  Lot  No.  18,  19,  100 

Hamlet  Scranton,  "  26,  50  Luscum  Knapp,  45,  60 

Isaac  W.  Stone,  "  23,  34,  100  Hezekiah  Noble,  5,  60 

Abraham  Starks,  "  20,  50  Joseph  Hughes,  "  15,  62,  80 

David  C.  Knapp,  "  21,22,  200  Ebenezer  Kelly,  "  16,  60 

Amasa  Marshall,  "  25,  50  Ira  West,  \    "  3,  30 

Apolenus  Jerry  "  32,  125          '•        «'  "  50,115,  260 


588  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE, 

Elisha  Ely,  Lot  No.  39, 40, 41, 133,  $360  Cook  &  Brown,  "  g£'  100 

Porter  P.  Peck,    Lot  No.         154,  100  Harvey  Montgomery, "  88,  250 

JosiahBissell,Jr.,     "        7,13,31,  260  Roswell  Hart,  "      8,56,57,  400 

Stephen  Lusk,           "                    6,  50  Chas.  D.  Farman,  ••  129,  300 

Wm.  Robb,     Lot,  61,  62,  63,  116,  Geo.  G.  Sill.  "  154,  90 

117, 800  James  Stoddart,  "  130,  100 

Michael  Cully,    Lot  No.            79,  100  Fabricus  Reynolds,  "  131,  200 

This  will  give  the  reader  a  pretty  good  idea  of  the  range  of  pri 
ces  of  primitive  locations,  and  bring  pioneer  names  to  mind,  though 
many  of  the  purchasers  did  not  become  permanent  residents.  The 
author  notices  but  one  lot  that  reverted ;  nearly  all  were  paid  for  by 
purchasers,  or  those  to  whom  they  transferred  their  contracts.  The 
list  embraces  nearly  all  the  sales  that  were  made  before  the  close  of 
the  war.  The  low  range  of  prices  will  strike  the  reader,  as  being 
almost  unprecedented  in  the  early  history  of  villages  and  cities. 
The  liberal  patroons  seemed  to  have  been  guided  by  the  considera 
tion  that  should  govern  the  founders  of  towns  and  settlements,  as 
well  as  legislation  in  reference  to  our  public  lands :  —  That,  as  it  is 
the  Pioneers,  the  settlers,  that  add  real  to  what  was  before  little 
more  than  nominal  value,  they  should  be  large  sharers  in  what  they 
create. 


NATHANIEL  ROCHESTER. 


Identified  with  the  Pioneer  history  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  far  more  than 
in  name,  was  the  late  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester.  The  acting  resident  co- 
proprietor  of  the  "100  Acre  Tract"  —  the  principal  germ  of  village  and 
city  —  we  may  well  consider  him  the  Patroon  and  Founder  of  the  prosper 
ous  City  of  the  Genesee  Valley.  Thus  blended  with  the  most  prominent 
locality  embraced  in  these  annals,  a  brief  biography  of  him  demands  a  place 
in  them ;  and  especially  as  in  other  precedent  instances,  it  may  be  made  to 
embrace,  not  only  interesting  reminiscences  of  our  own  local  region,  but 
those  of  the  Revolutionary  period.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  an  em 
pire  of  freemen  —  our  glorious  Union  —  and  also  one  of  the  founders  of 
settlement  in  one  of  its  most  prosperous  localises. 

Col.  Rochester  was  a  native  of  Westmoreland,  Virginia,  the  son  of  John 
Rochester,  whose  father  was  an  emigrant  from  the  county  of  Kent  in  Eng 
land.  When  thirteen  years  of  age,  his  family  removed  to  Granville  county 
in  North  Carolina.  Two  years  afterwards  he  entered  the  mercantile  estab 
lishment  of  James  Monroe,  in  Hillsborough,  N.  C.,  as  a  clerk,  becoming 
after  a  few  years  a  partner  in  the  concern ;  a  third  partner  at  the  time, 
being  Col .  John  Hamilton,  who  was  Consul  for  the  British  government,  in 
the  middle  States,  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  Soon  after  the  break 
ing  out  of  the  Revolution,  Col.  Rochester  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 

NOTE.  —  Many  transfers  took  place  soon  after  purchase.  Lot  1,  was  present  Eagle 
Tavern  lot ;  26,  site  of  Pitkin's  Block ;  23,  partly  site  of  Burn's  Block  and  Arcade  : 
25,  Arcade  ;  32,  S.  O.  Smiths  Corner ;  18,  19,  partly  Gould's  Block. 


PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  589 

comix.. ttee  of  safety  for  Orange  county  ;  the  duty  of  said  committee  having 
been,  to  use  his  own  language :  —  "To  prom  >te  the  Revolutionary  spirit 
among  the  people,  procure  arms  and  ammunition,  make  collections  for  the 
city  of  Boston,  whose  harbor  was  blocked  up  by  a  British  fleet,  and  to  pre 
vent  the  sale  and  use  of  East  India  teas."  In  August,  1775,  he  attended 
as  a  member,  the  first  Provincial  convention  in  North  Carolina.  Among 
the  measures  adopted  was  the  raising  of  four  regiments  of  troops;  the  or 
ganization  of  a  militia  system,  and  enrolling  of  minute  men ;  and  the  adop 
tion  of  a  resolution  for  an  adjourned  meetingin  May  following,  to  frame  and 
adopt  a  constitution,  During  the  setting  of  the  convention  he  received  a 
Major's  commission,  and  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  convention  in  May,  he  was  appointed  Commissary 
General  of  military  stores  and  clothing  for  the  North  Carolina  line,  which 
was  then  made  to  consist  of  ten  regiments.  As  a  member  of  the  conven 
tion  he  participated  in  the  organization  of  a  State  government  for  North 
Carolina. 

On  the  adjournment  of  the  convention,  he  entered  upon  the  active  duties 
of  providing  food  and  clothing  for  the  army ;  the  fatigues  incident  to  which, 
accompanied  by  unusual  exposure  in  unhealthy  districts  of  the  country, 
brought  on  disease  so  permanent  in  its  character  as  to  cause  the  resignation 
of  his  office  in  accordance  with  medical  advice.  He  was  not  destined  to 
remain  idle  in  these  stirring  times.  Returning  to  Hillsboro',  he  found  that 
he  had  been  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  in  which  he  soon  took 
his  seat;  thus  becoming  a  member  of  one  of  the  earliest  legislative  bodies 
organized  and  assembled  in  defience  of  British  claims  to  dominion.  It  was 
at  this  time,  and  in  this  same  convention  of  Pioneer  legislators,  that  Nathan 
iel  Mason,  then  just  graduated  from  college,  commenced  his  long  career  of 
usefulness. 

About  this  period  Col.  Rochester  was  appointed  a  Lieut.  Col.  of  militia, 
and  clerk  of  Orange  county;  in  which  last  office  he  was  the  successor  of 
Gen.  Nash,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Germantown.  In  1777,  he  was 
appointed  a  commissioner  to  establish  and  superintend  a  manufactory  of 
arms  at  Hillsboro' ;  the  iron  necessary  for  which  he  transported  upon  wagons, 
from  Pennsylvania,  a  distance  of  400  miles.  He  was  next  appointed  one 
of  the  board  of  auditors  of  public  accounts.  In  1778,  he  engaged  in  busi 
ness  with  Col.  Thomas  Hart,  the  father-in-law  of  Henry  Clay,  and  James 
Brown,  who  was  afterwards  minister  to  France.  Col.  Hart  was  then  a 
resident  near  Hillsboro',  where  he  was  a  large  land  holder,  miller  and  man 
ufacturer;  being  an  active  whig  his  tory  neighbors  depredated  upon  his 
property  to  an  extent  that  induced  him  to  take  the  advice  of  Gen .  Gates, 
then  in  the  command  of  the  southern  army,  and  remove  to  Hagerstown, 
Maryland,  after  a  disposition  of  his  large  estate.  In  1781,  Col.  Rochester 
also  removed  to  Hagerstown  and  settled  on  a  farm. 

In  1783,  the  war  having  been  brought  to  a  close,  Col.  Rochester  went 
into  the  mercantile  business  with  Col.  Hart  at  Hagerstown;  their  business 
embracing  the  manufacture  of  flour,  a  nail  and  rope  factory.  The  part 
nership  continued  until  1792,  when  Col.  Rochester  went  into  business  on 
his  own  account  He  after  that,  filled  successively  the  offices  of  a  member 
of  Assembly  of  Maryland,  P.  M.  at  Hagerstown,  a  Judge  of  the  county 
court,  sheriff  of  the  county,  elector  of  President  and  Vice  President  in  1808, 


590  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

President  of  the  Hagerstown  Bank.  In  all  this  time  he  had  not  only  been 
carrying  on  extensive  manufacturing  establishments  in  Hagerstown,  but 
had  in  operation  two  mercantile  establishments  in  Kentucky. 

In  1800  he  first  visited  the  Genesee  country,  in  company  with  Cols. 
William  Fitzhugh,  Hilton,  and  Major  Charles  Carrol.  The  measures  taken 
by  Mr.  Williamson  to  attract  the  attention  of  Marylanders  to  this  region, 
have  already  been  noticed.  Col.  Peregrine  Fitzhugh  who  had  not  yet  re 
moved,  was  the  neighbor  of  Col.  Rochester  at  Hagerstown,  was  active  in 
promoting  emigration  in  this  direction,  and  it  is  presumed,  the  party  were 
induced  to  take  the  journey  by  him.  They  bore  from  him  a  letter  of  intro 
duction  to  Mr.  Williamson;  though  Major  Carrol  had  previously  made  his 
acquaintance.  The  writer  informs  Mr.  Williamson  that  the  fever  and  ague 
is  generally  prevalent  in  Maryland,  but  hopes  that  this  country  is  exempt 
from  it,  "  inasmuch  as  a  few  pale  faces  generally  makes  an  unfavorable  im 
pression  upon  strangers."  Before  they  left  the  country,  Messrs.  Carrol 
and  Fitzhugh  made  their  large  purchase  near  Mount  Morris,  and  Col.  Roch 
ester  the  mills,  water  power,  and  a  portion  of  the  lands  upon  which  he 
afterwards  resided  at  Dansville.  In  1802,  the  three  revisited  the  Gen 
esee  country,  and  while  here,  purchased  the  "  100  Acre,"  or  "Allan  Mill 
Tract,"  in  what  is  now  Rochester,  then  called  "  Falls  Town." 

In  1810,  Col.  Rochester  having  closed  up  his  business  in  Maryland,  re 
moved  to  Dansville,  and  occupied  his  purchase  there ;  erecting  a  paper 
mill,  the  first  in  all  the  Genesee  country,  and  making  other  improvements. 

Disposing  of  that  property  in  1814,  he  purchased  the  large  farm  of  the 
late  Col.  Asher  Saxton,  in  East  Bloomfield,  upon  which  he  resided  until 
1818,  when  he  removed  to  the  locality  that  had  already  assumed  his  name. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  has  already  been  hurried  through  a  long,  busy 
and  eventful  career;  a  life  of  activity,  of  public  employment,  and  private 
enterprise,  that  has  few  paralels ;  and  yet  a  new  field  of  enterprize  —  a  vast, 
successful  one  it  has  proved  to  be  —  was  just  opening  before  him.  At  an 
age  when  most  men  are  retiring  from  the  active  duties  of  life,  he  was  re 
engaging  in  them. 

Soon  after  settling  at  Dansville,  he  had  taken  some  initiatory  steps  for  the 
commencement  of  operations  upon  the  100  Acre  Tract;  in  August  1811, 
had  surveyed  a  few  lots  and  was  offering  them  for  sale;  and  while  residing 
at  Bloomfield,  had  usually  an  agent  upon  or  near  the  property,  making  fre 
quent  visits  to  it  himself.  All  that  was  done,  was  under  his  immediate 
supervision,  until  1817,  when  the  interests  of  the  proprietors  were  separated 
by  a  division  of  the  property,  each  of  them  assuming  the  management  of 
his  own  interest. 

In  1816,  Col.  Rochester  was  for  the  second  time  an  Elector  of  President 
and  Vice  President.  In  1817  he  attended  the  Legislature  at  Albany  as  an 
agent  of  the  petitioners  for  the  erection  of  what  is  now  Monroe  county; 
which  consumption  was  delayed  until  1821,  at  which  time  it  had  the  bene 
fit  of  his  active  personal  exertions.  He  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  new 
county,  and  its  first  representative  in  the  legislature,  in  1821,  '2.  In  1824 
he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for  taking  subscriptions  and  distributing 
the  capital  stock  of  the  Bank  of  Rochester,  and  upon  the  organization  of 
the  institution  was  unanimously  elected  its  President;  which  office  was 
accepted  upon  a  condition  dictated  by  a  sense  of  the  increasing  infirmities 


PHELPS  AOT)  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE.  591 


of  age,   and  an  impaired  physical  constitution,  that  he  should  resign  the 
place  as  soon  as  the  institution  was  in  successful  operation.     He  resigned  in 
December  following.     This  was  the  last  of  the  numerous  public  and  cor 
porate  trusts  of  his  protracted  and  active  life.     The  remainder  of  his  days 
were  rather  those  of  a  retired  Patriarch,  aiding   by  his   counsels  and  his 
matured  judgment,  all  in  matters  of  local  concern;  manifesting  a  deep 
interest  in  the   prosperity  of  the  then  thriving  and  prosperous  village  ;  in 
works  of  charity  and  benevolence  ;  in  a  contemplation  of,  and  preparation 
for  the  final  close  of  his  earthly  career.     Sustained  by  an  implicit  religious 
faith  —  that   of  the  Episcopal  church,  of  which  he  had  been  a  liberal  pat 
ron,  and  at  whose  altar  he  knelt,  "  an  humble  recipient  of  its  holy  symbols," 
he  bore  with  patience  and  fortitude,  protracted  and  painful  disease,  which 
terminated  in  his  death,  on  the  1  Vth  of  May,  1831,  in  the  79th  year  of  his  age. 
If  personal  eulogy  had  been  within  the  scope  and  design  of  this  work,  at 
every  step  in  its  progress  —  when  reminiscences  of  the  Pioneers  of  all  this 
region  were  passing  rapidly  in  review  —  there  would  have  been  occasions 
for  its  indulgence;  seldom  a  more  fitting  one  than  the  present.     Starting 
in  life  with  but  few  advantages,  as  we  must  infer  from  the  fact  that  he  was 
thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen,  with  energy  and 
integrity  of  purpose,  a  fearless  self  reliance,  he  had  a  long  career  of  useful 
ness.     When  but  fairly  under  way  in  private  enterprise,  his  country  de 
manded  his  services  and  he  obeyed  its   requisitions;    alternating  in   its 
financial,  military  and  legislative  affairs.     It  exigencies  terminating,  he  was 
as  zealous  a  co-worker  in  all  that  related  to  the  beneficial  uses  of  free  gov 
ernment,  as  he  had  been  in  its  attainment.     Almost  constantly  filling  im 
portant  public  stations,  he  was  at  the  same  time  the  founder  of  business  es 
tablishments,  the  promoter  of  local  prosperity  ;  and  after  having  in  advanced 
life  sought  and  secured  a  quiet  rural  life,  he  broke  out  from  it  and  became 
the  patroon  of  new  settlement  ;  THE  FOUNDER  OF  A  CITY!     'ihere  are  few 
examples  of  a  so  varied  and  active  life.     What  in  his  case,  especially  in 
vites  remark,  is  the  fact,  that  he  was  well  educated  as  the  manner  in  which 
he  discharged  his  public  duties,  and  transacted  his  private  business,  fully 
proves  —  and  yet,  the  reader  will  have  observed,  that  his  school  days  ended 
before  he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years!     All  beyond  that  period, 
was  self  education  and  self  reliance. 

The  late  Wm.  B.  Rochester  was  his  eldest  son.  Educated  at  Charlotte 
Hall,  in  Maryland,  he  prosecuted  the  study  of  law,  first  at  Hagerstown,  and 
afterwards  in  the  office  of  Adam  Bently,  Esq.,  in  Maysville,  Ky.  He 
opened  an  office  in  Bath,  Steuben  county,  in  1809;  in  the  war  of  1812,  he 
was  the  aid  of  Gen.  M'Clure,  was  a  volunteer  under  Smyth's  proclamation, 
and  participated  in  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie.  At  the  period  of  the  adoption 
of  the  new  State  Constitution,  he  had  been  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
Steuben  district,  which  office  he  resigned,  accepting  the  office  of  Circuit 
Judge  of  what  was  then  the  8th  circuit,  which  office  he  continued  to  fill 
until  he  was  put  in  nomination  for  the  office  of  Governor,  in  1826.  Although 
contending  against  the  strong  current  of  popularity  then  running  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Clinton,  the  "  Young  Lion  of  the  West,"  as  he  was  then  termed  by 
his  ardent  and  zealous  supporters,  came  within  1200  votes  of  an  election. 
He  was  soon  after  appointed  Secretary  of  the  American  delegation  to  the 
Congress  of  Nations  at  Panama;  and  afterwards,  in  succession,  was  Secre- 


592  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

tary  of  the  American  Legation  to  Mexico,  and  Charge  D'affaires  to  Guate 
mala. 

Previous  to  these  latter  events  of  his  life,  he  had  removed  from  Bath  to 
Rochester.  Upon  the  location  of  a  Branch  Bank  of  the  U.  S.  in  Buffalo,  he 
was  appointed  its  President,  and  removed  to  Buffalo.  He  spent  the  winter  of 
1837  at  Pensacola,  closing  up  the  affairs  of  the  Branch  Bank  located  there  ; 
and  returning  in  the  month  of  June,  was  one  of  the  passengers  of  the  ill- 
fated  Pulaski,  that  was  burned  off  the  cost  of  North  Carolina.  He  was 
drowned  by  the  swamping  of  a  boat,  in  which,  with  the  mate  of  the  vessel 
and  others,  he  was  endeavoring  to  reach  the  land.  James  and  William  B. 
Rochester,  of  Buffalo,  are  his  sons ;  a  married  daughter  resides  in  Chicago. 

The  surviving  sons  of  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester,  are,  Thomas  H.  Roches 
ter,  President  of  the  Rochester  City  Bank,  Nathaniel  T.,  and  Henry  E. 
Rochester;  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Harvey  Montgomery,  Dr.  An- 
son  Coleman,  Jonathan  Childs,  William  Pitkin,  Wm.  S.  Bishop.  Of  the 
daughters,  but  Mrs.  Pitkin  and  Mrs.  Bishop  survive .  John  Rochester, 
the  2d  son  of  Col.  Nathaniel  Rochester,  was  a  captain  in  the  regular  ser 
vice  in  the  war  of  1812,  attached  to  the  29th  Regiment,  of  which  the  pre 
sent  Gen.  Wool  was  Major.  Retiring  from  the  army,  he  was  connected 
with  Mr.  Montgomery  in  early  mercantile  establishments  in  Rochester  and 
Parma.  He  emigrated  to  Missouri  in  1818,  where  he  died  in  1831. 


The  brothers,  Dr.  Mathew,  Francies,  and  David  Brown,  were 
originally  from  Western,  Mass.  Dr.  Brown  emigrated  in  early  life 
to  Rome,  Oneida  county,  where  he  remained  many  years  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  Francis  Brown,  in  early  life,  resided  at 
Detroit,  with  an  uncle,  Wm.  Brown,  who  was  engaged  in  the  Indian 
trade.  Soon  after  1800  he  was  shipwrecked  on  a  voyage  over  Lake 
Erie,  was  picked  up  on  the  shore,  exhausted  and  nearly  lifeless. 
On  recovering  he  continued  his  journey  eastward,  purchasing  a 
canoe  at  Niagara,  with  which  he  coasted  along  the  south  shore  of 
Lake  Ontario.  Passing  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River  he  was 
driven  in  by  a  storm,  and  while  waiting  for  it  to  subside,  walked  up 
and  viewed  the  Upper  Falls  and  the  site  of  Rochester,  and  became 
sanguine  of  the  prospective  value  of  the  locality. 

Thomas  Mumford  was  from  New  London,  Conn. ;  a  graduate  of 
Yale  College;  studied  the  profession  of  the  law  with  Judge  Samuel 
Jones.  In  1794  settled  in  his  profession  in  Aurora,  Cayuga  county. 
In  1800  removed  to  Cayuga  Bridge. 

In  1810,  the  Messrs.  Browns,  Mumford,  and  John  M'Kay,  of  Cal- 
adonia,  had  became  by  purchase  of  Charles  Harford,  Oliver  Phelps 
and  Samuel  Parkman,  the  owners  of  the  200  acres  north  of  and 
adjoining  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract,  embracing  the  main  or  Upper 
Falls.  Mr.  Mumford  soon  purchasing  the  interest  of  Mr.  M'Kay, 
he  became  the  owner  of  the  south  100  acres,  and  the  half  owner 
with  the  Messrs  Browns,  of  the  north  100  acres.  In  1812  Benjamin 
Wright,  for  the  proprietors,  surveyed  a  portion  of  it  into  village 


PHELPS  AM)  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  593 


lots,  and  made  a  few  sales  before  the  commencement  of  the  war. 
Previous  to  acquiring  this  interest  Mr.  Mumford  had  became  the 
owner,  by  purchase  of  Augustus  and  Peter  B.  Porter,  of  a  twelfth 
of  the  20,000  acre  tract,  and  over  2000  acres  in  Brighton  ;  and  the 
purchase  of  the  Messrs.  Browns  of  Charles  Harford  had  included 
a  considerable  tract  of  wild  land  of  the  20,000  acre  tract.  The  sep 
arate  and  joint  purchases  of  the  Messrs.  Browns  and  Mumford,  was 
named  Frankfort. 

The  advent  of  the  Messrs.  Browns  was  in  the  winter  of  1812. 
The  two  brothers  came  by  sleighing,  to  view  their  new  purchase, 
bringing  a  mill-wright  with  them  to  assist  in  projecting  some  im 
provements.  There  was  on  the  Frankfort  tract  the  small  grist  mill 
of  Mr.  Harford,  with  one  run  of  stones,  and  a  saw  mill,  a  block 
house  in  which  Mr.  Harford  resided,  a  plank  house  in  which  his  son 
Benedict  resided,  and  there  was  one  or  two  occupied  log  shanties  on 
the  River  road  before  reaching  Handford's  Landing.  A  son  and 
son-in-law  of  Mr.  Harford  had  just  penetrated  the  interior  of  the 
20,000  acre  tract,  and  made  small  openings  in  the  forest.  Upon  the 
Frankfort  tract,  there  was  hardly  an  opening  enough  to  let  the  sun  in, 
and  but  a  wood's  road  that  ran  along  near  the  river  bank.  The 
whole  tract  was  a  dense  forest,  the  soil  wet  and  miry  ;  a  "  dismal 
looking  place/^says  one  who  saw  it  at  that  period. 

In  the  spring  of  1812,  Francis  Brown  came  from  Rome,  bringing 
mill  wrights,  mill  irons,  a  small  stock  of  goods,  and  commenced  im 
provements.  What  has  been  known  as  Brown's  race,  was  con 
structed,  and  the  old  Harford  mill  was  repaired  and  three  run  of 
stones  added.  Artemas  Wheelock  lived  in  the  plank  shantee,  built 
by  the  Harfords,  and  kept  the  boarding  house;  and  the  Browns 
soon  added  a  small  plank  house  for  Ezra  Mason,  who  brought  in  his 
family  and  went  into  their  employ.  The  improvements  named 
were  about  all  that  were  undertaken  during  the  war.  In  1814  how 
ever,  Francis  Brown  gave  -  Chubb,  of  Pittsford,  a  yoke  of 
oxen  for  cutting  out  the  timber  and  grubbing  the  stumps  to  make 
a  three  rod  road,  where  State  street  now  is.  The  saw  and  grist 
mill  were  kept  in  operation,  the  latter  drawing  customers  from  as 
far  as  Niagara  county  on  the  Ridge  road,  and  from  a  wide  region  in 
other  directions.  The  Browns  kept  up  a  small  mercantile  business, 
in  a  log  store  they  built  on  the  site  of  Frankfort  market.  The  clerk 
in  the  store  was  Gaius  B.  Rich,  who  became  an  early  merchant  in 
Attica,  Genesee  county,  and  is  now  a  well  known  banker  in  Buffalo. 

Francis  Brown  continued  to  reside  in  Rochester  until  1821,  when 
upon  account  of  an  asthmatic  affection  he  emigrated  to  Mobile, 
taking  charge  of  an  estate  that  belonged  to  his  father-in-law,  Daniel 
Penfield.  He  died  in  1824.  His  surviving  sons  are,  Daniel  P. 
Brown,  a  merchant  in  Toledo,  Francis  Brown,  a  merchant  in  Roch 
ester  ;  a  married  daughter  resides  at  Toledo.  The  author  could 
relate  numerous  instances  remembered  by  the  Pioneers  of  Roches- 


594  PHELPS   A1STD  GOEHAJVl's   PUECHASE. 

ter,  of  the  generous  acts  of  Francis  Brown.  "  To  his  strict  integ 
rity  and  honor,  in  all  his  dealings,"  says  Ezra  Mason,  ("his  refusal 
to  receive  another  man's  money,  when  he  could  get  nothing  of  me 
but  the  promise  of  labor,)  I  am  indebted  for  my  farm/' 

Dr.  Mathew  Brown  continued  to  reside  in  Rome,  making  frequent 
visits  to  the  property  until  soon  after  the  war,  when  he  became  a  per 
manent  resident  of  Rochester.  He  still  survives  at  the  advanced 
age  of  86  years.  Infirm  in  health,  he  lives  in  retirement,  enjoying 
a  large  share  of  the  esteem  and  veneration  of  the  dwellers  of  the 
crowded  city  with  which  he  has  been  so  long  and  so  prominently 
identified ;  one  whose  founders  he  may  truly  be  said  to  have  been. 
His  surviving  sons  are,  Mathew  Brown,  of  Toledo,  Henry  H. 
Brown,  of  Detroit ;  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Wm.  Barron 
Williams,  who  was  connected  with  some  of  the  earliest  mercantile 
operations  in  Lockport,  now  among  the  enterprising  business  men 
of  Rochester  ;  another,  the  wife  of  Fletcher  M.  Haight,  formerly  of 
Rochester,  now  of  St.  Louis.  Of  the  third  brother,  David  Brown, 
the  author  has  no  information,  beyond  the  fact  that  he  resided  in 
Rochester  in  early  years,  prosecuting  business  in  connection  with 
the  brothers  Mathew  and  Francis. 

The  elder  Mr.  Mumford  never  became  a  resident  of  Rochester. 
His  resident  representative,  as  early  as  1818,  was  his  son  William 
Mumford.  Philip  Lisle,  who  purchased  an  interest  in  the  Mumford 
tract,  managed  sales  previous  to  1818.  A  partition  between  Mum- 
ford  and  the  Browns,of  the  original  Harford  tract,  occurred  soon  af 
ter  improvements  were  commenced.  Silas  Deane  Mumford,  a 
brother  of  Thomas  Mumford,  also  purchased  an  interest  in  early 
years.  Thomas  Mumford  died  at  his  residence  at  Cayuga  in  1831, 
aged  61  years.  Wm.  W.  Mumford  died  in  Rochester  in  1848. 
Elihu  H,  S.  Mumford,  from  whom  Mumfordville  derived  its  name, 
was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  a  steam  boiler,  in  New  York,  in  1844. 
Geo.  H.  Mumford,  of  Rochester,  is  the  surviving  son.  A  daughter 
became  the  wife  of  Dr.  John  G.  Vought,  an  early  physician  of  Roch- 
' ester,  who  removed  to  New  York,  where  he  died  during  the  first 
cholera  season ;  another  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Samuel  D.  Dakin, 
of  N.  York. 

Thomas  Mumford  was  in  an  early  day  proprietor  of  lots  46  and 
47,  below  Frankfort,  which  he  sold  to  the  late  chancellor  Jones,  and 
subsequently  the  late  James  L.  Graham,  of  New  York,  acquired 
an  interest  in  it.  Its  sale  and  improvement  have  been  principally 
under  the  agency  and  management  of  Dr.  Alexander  Kelsey. 

Ezra  Mason,  who  has  already  been  named,  went  into  the  employ 
ment  of  the  Messrs.  Browns  soon  after  they  had  commenced  opera 
tions,  and  remained  with  them  until  1817.  He  gives  a  graphic  ac 
count  of  Rochester  in  early  days  ;  the  war  alarms,  flights  and  prep 
aration  for  flights,  the  rattle  snakes,  and  the  ague  and  fever.  At 
one  period  an  idle  rumor  came  that  the  British  had  landed  "in  40 


PIIELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE.  595 

boats  at  the  mouth  of  the  Oak  Orchard  ;"  pits  were  dug  to  bury  all 
valuable  effects,  and  in  a  few  instances,  they  were  used.  At  anoth 
er  time  the  flour  was  all  taken  from  Messrs.  Browns  mills  and  hid  in 
the  woods.  When  news  of  peace  came,  there  was  a  jubilee  ;  every 
thing  brightened  up  and  began  to  move  on  briskly.  There  was  a 
rattle  snakes  den  on  the  east  side  of  the  River,  below  Falls  Field, 
and  they  used  frequently  to  visit  the  west  side  of  the  River.  On 
one  occasion,  Mrs.  Mason  found  an  infant  daughter  attempting  to 
pet  a  large  rattle  snake  who  was  giving  "  notice  of  intention"  to 
strike.  Mr.  Mason  and  Mrs.  Mason  resides  upon  the  farm  on  the 
Lisle  Road,  they  commenced  on  in  1817;  and  where  they  have 
seen  the  roughest  features  of  pioneer  life,  but  where  they  are  now 
surrounded  with  smiling  and  productive  fields.  They  have  eleven 
children,  all  of  whom  have  arrived  at  adult  age. 

Hamlet  Scrantom  was  from  Durham,  Conn.;  in  1805  emigrated  to 
Lewis  county  in  this  State,  where  he  remained  until  1812.  In  1811, 
he  visited  Geneseo,  and  having  been  acquainted  with  the  Wads- 
worths  in  Durham,  they  named  to  him  Genesee  Falls,  as  a  locality 
where  a  town  was  likely  to  grow  up.  Henry  Skinner  who  had  pur 
chased  the  Eagle  Tavern  corner,  resided  at  Geneseo,  and  to  encour 
age  Mr.  Scrantom  to  locate  at  the  Falls,  proposed  to  erect  for  him 
a  log  house  upon  it.  Men  wrere  sent  down  for  that  purpose,  they 
erected  the  body  of  a  log  house,  but  before  covering  it  they  were  at 
tacked  with  the  fever  and  ague,  and  obliged  to  quit.  Mr.  Scran 
tom  ai  riving  with  his  family  soon  after,  was  allowed  a  shelter  in  a 
shantee  belonging  to  Enos  Stone,  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the 
dwelling  of  Anson  House,  where  he  resided  until  August,  when  he 
moved  into  the  log  house  on  the  Eagle  corner.  Mr.  Scrantom  be 
ing  by  occupation  a  miller,  soon  went  into  the  employ  of  the  Messrs. 
Bissell  and  Elys.  He  purchased  two  lots,  one  of  them  being  the 
site  of  the  store  of  0.  L.  Sheldon,  and  the  other,  the  site  of  the  old  tan 
nery  of  Mr.  Graves.  He  built  a  dwelling  on  the  Buffalo  street  lot. 
In  1814  he  purchased  a  farm,  now  the  Hanks  property  near  Mount 
Hope,  for  $4  per  acre,  erected  a  log  house  and  went  there  to  reside, 
to  have  his  family  less  exposed  in  case  of  British  invasion ;  becoming 
the  first  neighbor  of  D.  K.  Carter.  He  removed  back  to  the  village 
at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  became  the  miller  of  the  Messrs.  Browns. 
In  late  years  he  was  an  agent  of  Culver  and  Maynard,  in  the  con 
struction  of  the  first  locks  at  Lockport,  where  the  author  knew  him 
as  a  highly  esteemed  and  worthy  man.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the 
first  school  and  school  district,  organized  in  Rochester  and  was  an 
efficient  helper  in  early  religious  organizations ;  one  of  the  founders 
of  St.  Luke's  church. 

He  died  in  April,  1850,  aged  77  years;  his  wife  still  survives. 
His  surviving  sons  are,  Henry  Scrantom,  merchant,  Elbert  Scran 
tom,  late  city  Treasurer,  Edwin  Scrantom,  an  early  printer 
and  editor,  and  now  a  successful  auction  and  commission  merchant;, 


596  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

and  Hamlet  Scrantom,  a  clerk  of  canal  superintendent ;  all  of 
Rochester.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  Jehiel  Barnard,  a 
Pioneer  in  Rochester,  now  a  resident  of  Ogden ;  another,  the  wife 
of  Martin  Briggs  of  Rochester ;  and  there  is  an  unmarried  daughter. 

Abelard  Reynolds  was  from  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  his  occupation  that 
of  a  saddler.  In  1811,  he  travelled  through  this  State  and  the  north 
ern  portion  of  Ohio,  and  made  up  his  mind  to  settle  in  Warren, 
Trumbull  county.  Returning  to  Pittsfield,  in  the  spring  of  1812,  he 
was  on  his  way  there  to  make  arrangements  for  removing  his  fam 
ily  and  effects,  when  in  remaining  over  night  at  Bloomfield,  he  met 
Col.  Hopkins,  of  Pittsford,  and  several  other  gentlemen,  who  recom 
mended  him  to  visit  Charlotte,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Genesee  River, 
which  they  said.  "  being  at  the  outlet  of  the  rich  products  of  the 
valley  of  the  Genesee,  with  its  commercial  advantages,  was  des 
tined  at  no  distant  period,  to  become  a  place  of  unrivalled  impor 
tance."  He  diverged  from  his  route,  enquired  the  way  to  the  with 
him,  newly  heard  of  locality,  come  to  the  Genesee  Falls,  finding  in 
the  woods  Enos  Stone,  also  "from  Berkshire,"  who  interested  him 
in  his  relation  of  what  Col.  Rochester  had  been  doing  towards  start 
ing  a  village.  The  most  he  saw  in  the  way  of  improvement  how 
ever,  or  signs  of  civilization,  was  some  remains  of  the  old  Allan 
mill,  the  cabin  that  the  miller  had  occupied,  and  the  unfinished 
bridge  over  the  River.  "  The  whole  aspect  and  appearance  of  the 
place,"  says  Mr.  Reynolds,  "was  then  the  most  undesirable  and 
forbidding  that  language  can  describe.  Yet  it  was  evident  in  the 
reflecting  mind,  that  the  natural  elements  of  future  greatness  were 
here  combined,  and  lay  concealed  amid  this  chaotic  confusion." 
Mr.  Stone,  as  the  agent  of  Col.  Rochester,  importuned  him  to  be 
come  the  purchaser  of  a  lot;  but  he  made  up  his  rnindto  see  Char 
lotte  first.  Taking  directions  from  Mr.  Stone  how  to  ford  the  Riv 
er  ;  and  especially  that  he  must  make  for  the  "  large  sycamore  tree 
on  the  opposite  bank,"  his  reliable  horse  carried  him  safely  over, 
though  he  remembers  that  the  story  Mr.  Stone  had  just  told  him  of 
a  man  who  with  his  horses  and  wagon,  had  but  a  few  days  before 
been  carried  over  the  Falls,  predominated  in  his  mind.* 

Mr.  Reynolds  visited  Charlotte,  continued  on  his  journey  to 
Ohio,  but  the  embryo  village  at  Genesee  Falls,  had  made  a  favorable 
impression  upon  him  ;  he  returned  and  purchased  lots  23  and  24, 
upon  which  the  Arcade  nowr  stands.  With  the  aid  of  "oxen  and 
a  stone  boat,"  kindly  furnished  by  Enos  Stone,  he  drew  stone  from 
the  bed  of  the  river,  made  a  foundation  24  by  36  feet,  erected  a 
frame  upon  it,  and  leaving  it  in  charge  of  a  carpenter  to  be  cover 
ed  and  enclosed,  returned  to  Berkshire.  Coming  back  in  Novem 
ber,  he  found  the  house  in  the  condition  he  had  left  it,  and  erecting 

*  The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  at  that  early  period  the  Genesee  River  was  not 
the  diminished  body  of  water,  he  has  seen  in  later  years. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PTJKCHASE.  597 

a  smaller  frame,  in  a  few  weeks  had  it  tenantable.  It  was  the  first 
framed  building  erected  on  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract.  In  Novem 
ber,  1813,  he  removed  his  family.  A  brother-in-law  who  assisted  in 
the  removal,  went  back  to  Massachusetts  and  reported  that  he  had 
left  them  in  a  place  where  they  must  "inevitably  starve." 

In  November,  1812,  he  had  been  appointed  P.  M.,  and  had  made 
Mr.  Stone  his  deputy  until  he  got  settled.  The  nett  proceeds  of  the 
office  up  to  April  1,  1813,  was  $346.  With  limited  means,  and 
encountering  a  long  season  of  ague  and  fever,  he  had  a  hard  intro 
duction  to  pioneer  life,  but  with  courage  and  fortitude,  he  "  bore  up 
and  bore  on,"  gradually  reaping  the  reward  of  his  enterprise.  He 
was  the  first  saddler,  the  first  P.  M.,  and  the  first  magistrate  in  all 
of  Rochester,  and?  kept  the  first  public  house  on  the  Hundred 
Acres,  or  original  site  of  Rochester.  He  held  the  office  of  P.  M. 
when  the  nett  quarterly  returns  were  8346 ;  he  surrendered  it  to 
other  hands  in  1829,  when  they  amounted  to  $ 2,105  16.  In  1828, 
he  erected  the  Arcade  upon  the  ground  he  had  originally  purchased 
and  occupied — an  enterprize  of  magnitude,  and  ahead  of  the  times 
then — even  now,  after  a  twenty  years'  march  of  progress,  not  be 
hind.  The  small  plat  of  ground  he  purchased  when  it  was  almost 
in  its  primitive  condition,  is  now  producing  an  annual  rent  which  is 
excpeded  only  by  that  of  but  few  spots  of  equal  size  in  the  most  fa 
vorite  localities  of  the  largest  cities  in  the  Union.  In  the  hands  of 
his  son,  Wm.  A.  Reynolds,  there  has  been  added  to  the  property 
Corinthian  Hall,  a  structure  creditable  to  the  city ;  a  model  even 
for  similar  enterprizes  in  the  older  cities. 

Mr.  Reynolds  is  now  in  the  66th  year  of  his  age ;  his  surviving 
sons  are,  Wm.  A.  Reynolds  and  Mortimer  F.  Reynolds,  of  Rochester, 
the  last  of  whom  was  the  first  born  on  the  Hundred  Acre  Tract, 
after  it  had  been  platted  as  a  village  ;  a  daughter  resides  in  Roches 
ter,  and  another  in  Illinois.  The  Pioneer  wife  and  mother  still  sur 
vives. 

Hervey  Ely  was  from' West  Springfield,  Mass.,  the  nephew  and 
ward  of  Justin  Ely,  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  20,000 
acre  tract.  In  November,  1813,  at  The  age  of  22  years,  he  cast  his 
lot  with  the  Pioneers  of  Rochester.  In  company  with  his  brother, 
Elisha  Ely,  and  Josiah  Bissell,  he  commenced  selling  goods  in  a  small 
building  that  stood  on  the  Hart  corner.  Bringing  men  and  supplies 
from  Massachusetts,  they  soon  erected  a  saw  mill,  their  boarding 
place  being  a  stable  of  Mr.  S.  O.  Smith,  which  had  been  cleared 
out  and  fitted  up  for  that  purpose.  In  1817  they  built  the  red  mill, 
with  four  run  of  stones.  The  care  of  the  mill  devolved  upon  Hervey 
Ely  ;  and  thus  becoming  a  Pioneer  miller  in  Rochester,  he  has  con- 

NOTE. — Justin  Ely  took  an  active  part  in  the  Revolution  —  principally  in  mustering 
the  militia  for  service.  A  considerable  capitalist,  he  loaned  money  to  Mr.  Phelps,  and 
received  his  pay  in  lands  in  different  localities  on  Phelps  and  Gorhams'  Purchase  ; 
thence  his  proprietorship  in  the  20,000  acre  tract. 


598  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

tinued  in  the  business,  until  he  has  seen  it  in  his  own  and  other 
hands,  arrive  at  a  magnitude  considerably  exceeding  that  of  any 
other  locality  in  the  world!  In  1822  he  built  the  stone  mill  now 
occupied  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Winants,  and  in  1828  the  extensive  estab 
lishment  on  the  west  side  of  the  River  adjoining  the  Aqueduct. 
After  being  engaged  in  the  milling  business  for  38  years,  he  is  yet 
in  his  60th  year,  engaged  in  it  —  active  and  enterprising  as  in  his 
early  years.  Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  his  operations  may  be 
gathered  from  the  statistical  facts,  that  with  the  exception  of  the 
late  Gen.  Beach,  he  has  paid  more  canal  tolls  upon  his  own  property 
than  any  shipper  on  our  canals  ;  for  the  first  ten  years  after  the 
Erie  canal  was  completed  he  paid  1  3-4  and  11-2  per  cent  of  the 
entire  canal  revenue.  He  pioneered  in  the  business  of  bringing 
wheat  from  the  western  States  to  be  manufactured  in  Rochester,  in 
1828.  He  has  manufactured  from  his  own  wheat,  in  one  year,  80,- 
000  barrels  of  flour  !  Later  comers,  to  be  sure,  are  deserving  of 
credit  for  their  enterprise  —  as  helpers  in  the  work  of  making  Roch 
ester  what  it  is  —  but  it  is  especially  gratifying  to  record  such 
facts,  in  reference  to  a  Pioneer. 

Elisha  Ely  removed  to  Allegan,  Michigan,  in  1834,  where  he  still 
resides ;  is  a  Judge  of  Probates,  and  a  Regent  of  the  University  of 
Michigan. 

James  B.  Carter  was  the  Pioneer  blacksmith,  locating  upon  the 
Hundred  Acre  Tract  in  1812.  He  erected  a  small  story  and  a  half 
house  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  the  block  of  Dr.  John  B.  El- 
wood.  His  shop  was  on  ground  now  occupied  by  Front  street.  He 
survives,  a  resident  of  Churchville.  In  March,  1814,  his  brother, 
David  K.  Carter,  removed  from  Lewis  county  and  became  the  oc 
cupant  of  the  house.  In  the  same  year  he  purchased  the  Mansion 
house  lot  from  second  hands,  paying  for  it  8106  ;  in  1817  erected 
upon  it  a  three  story  tavern  house.  The  first  lessee  of  it  was  Dan 
iel  Mack,  a  brother-in-law  of  Erastus  Spalding.  Mr.  Mack  emi 
grated  to  Detroit;  a  surviving  son  is  Charles  S.  Mack  of  the  firm 
of  Mack  &  Van  Valkenburg,  Lockport.  The  next  lessee  of  the 
house  was  John  Christopher,  who  had  opened  a  house  at  Handford's 
Landing,  and  relinquished  it  on  account  of  sickness  there.  He  kept 
the  house  for  fourteen  years  —  and  a  comfortable  one  he  made  of 
it  as  many  an  early  traveller  in  the  old  stage  coaches  over  the 
Ridge  Road  will  remember.  Mrs.  Christopher  still  survives,  a  resi 
dent  with  her  son,  John  Christopher,  in  St.  Louis.  Another  sur 
viving  son  is  Joseph  Christopher,  of  Buffalo. 

In  1817  Mr.  Carter  purchased  of  Augustus  Porter  thirty-two  acres 
on  the  river,  on  either  side  of  what  is  now  Mount  Hope  Avenue,  south 
of  the  canal,  for  $3  per  acre,  upon  which  he  found  but  a  bark  covered 
log  house.  In  1820  he  erected  a  tavern  house,  long  known  as  the 
"Carter  stand,"  on  the  Henrietta  road.  He  died  in  1827;  his 
widow  still  survives,  a  resident  of  Rochester.  There  are  five  sur- 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  599 

viving  sons  in  five  different  States,  one  of  whom  is  David  K.  Carter, 
a  present  or  late  M.  C.,  from  Ohio  ;  Mrs.  Dennis  M' Arthur,  of  Syra 
cuse  is  a  daughter. 

Mrs.  Carter  well  remembers  the  first  meeting  she  attended  in 
Rochester — a  reading  meeting  —  held  in  Jehiel  Barnard's  tailor 
shop,  on  site  of  Pitkin's  block.  Old  Mr.  Harford  read  the  Episco 
pal  service,  Silas  O.  Smith  the  sermon  ;  Jehiel  Barnard  led  the  sing 
ing.  "In  1814  we  got  up  a  small  school  house,  and  it  was  with 
difficulty  that  we  got  together  about  a  dozen  scholars.  Aaron  Skin 
ner  was  the  teacher."  Mrs.  Carter  observes  that  when  she  first 
came  to  Rochesterville  there  was  but  small  openings  of  the  forest. 

Dr.  Simeon  Hunt,  still  a  surviving  practicing  physician  in  Roch 
ester,  has  been  in  practice  in  Monroe  county  forty  years.  He  set 
tled  in  what  is  now  Greece,  his  only  permanent  predecessor,  Dr. 
Zaecheus  Colby,  who  died  in  early  years  ;  his  surviving  sons  are 
Hull  and  Zaecheus  Colby,  of  Greece,  and  Merril  Colby  of  Nunda. 
Dr.  Hunt  is  in  66th  year  ;  surviving  sons,  Anson  M.  Hunt  of  Albion, 
Rev.  T.  D.  Hunt  of  San  Francisco,  who  was  for  five  years  a  mis 
sionary  in  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  Mrs.  Moore  of  Rochester  is  a 
daughter. 

Dr.  Hunt  was  a  surgeon  of  Isaac  W.  Stone's  Dragoons  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  continued  under  his  successor,  Col.  C.  V.  Bough- 
ton  ;  was  at  the  sortie  of  Fort  Erie  and  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane. 

Dr.  Jonah  Brown  was  the  earliest  physician  of  Rochester ;  he 
still  survives,  a  resident  of  Irondequoit.  Dr.  Orrin  Gibbs,  of  the 
early  Pioneer  family  in  Livonia,  was  next ;  died  several  years  since  ; 
his  father,  Deacon  Gibbs,  also  settled  in  Rochester  in  the  earliest 
years. 

Abraham  Starks,  was  so  early  in  Rochester,  that  he  kept  a  small 
orocery  store  in  the  woods,  near  the  present  Mansion  House. 

Jonathan  Child  was  from  Orange  county,  Vermont.  He  came  to 
Utica  as  a  school  teacher,  in  1806,  where  he  became  the  clerk  of 
Watts  Sherman,  a  widely  known  merchant  of  early  years,  and  uncle 
of  the  Albanv  banker  of  that  name.  In  1810  he  established  him 
self  with  a  small  stock  of  goods  at  Charlotte,  where  he  was  succeeded 
in  a  few  months  by  Frederick  Bushnell.  He  was  next  established 
in  Bloomfield,  in  company  with  Benjamin  Gardner.  In  1820  he  re 
moved  to  Rochester,  and  soon  after  was  engaged  for  several  years 
as  a  contractor  upon  the  heavy  rock  cutting  through  the  Mountain 
Ridge  at  Lockport,  in  the  construction  of  the  Erie  Canal.  To  his 
business  as  contractor,  he  added  at  Lockport,  one  of  the  earliest 
mercantile  establishments  in  that  locality.  He  was  one  of  the  early 
proprietors  of  the  old  Pilot  transportation  line  upon  the  canal.  He 
still  survives  at  the  age  of  66  years  ;  his  wife,  who  it  will  have  been 
observed  was  the  daughter  of  Col.  Rochester,  died  in  1850.  His  life 
has  been  one  of  business,  activity  andenterprize;  success  crowned  the 
enterprises  of  his  early  career  —  then  came  severe  reverses  ;  but  he 


600  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

was  of  the  material  that  a  large  class  of  the  early  Pioneers  were 
made  of —  and  now,  at  an  age  when  most  men  are  seeking  ease  and 
retirement,  he  is  in  the  active  management  of  a  new  branch  of  busi 
ness  of  great  magnitude  and  public  utility,  of  which  he  is  one  of  the 
founders ;  active,  stirring,  sanguine  persevering,  as  in  middle  life : 

"His  age,  like  a  lusty  winter,  -f  osty,  but  kindly." 

Samuel  J.  Andrews  was  from  New  Haven,  Conn.,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  College ;  was  a  brother-in-law  of  Moses  Atwater  of  Canan- 
daigua.  On  a  visit  to  this  region  in  1812,  he  purchased  jointly  with 
Dr.  Atwater,  of  Augustus  Porter,  a  tract  of  land  on  the  River, 
adjoining  the  farm  of  Enos  Stone  on  the  north,  embracing  the  Up 
per  Falls.  In  1815  he  brought  on  a  small  stock  of  goods  which  he 
opened  in  the  house  of  Enos  Stone,  and  soon  after  his  family.  Mr. 
Stone  having  laid  out  a  few  lots  on  Main  street,  Mr.  Andrews  pur 
chased  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Main  and  St.  Paul  street,  and  built 
upon  it  a  stone  house,  the  first  structure,  other  than  of  wood,  in  Roch 
ester.  Before  the  close  of  1816  he  had  commenced  the  erection  of 
mills  at  the  Falls.  He  died  in  1832,  aged  64  years.  He  was  the 
father  of  Samuel  G.  Andrews,  under  whose  auspices,  what  has  been 
called  the  Andrews'  Tract,  has  principally  been  surveyed  and  sold 
out  in  village  and  city  lots  ;  of  James  S.  and  Julius  T.  Andrews,  of 
Rochester;  Mrs.  Wm.  P.  Sherman,  of  Rochester,  and  the  wife  of 
Judge  Joseph  R.  Swan,  of  Columbus,  Ohio.  The  elder  Mr.  An 
drews  had  been  engaged  in  commercial  pursuits,  but  he  readily 
adopted  himself  to  the  work  of  settling  and  improving  a  new  region, 
and  was  always  sanguine  in  reference  to  the  destiny  of  Rochester. 
The  original  Andrews  and  Atwater  "Tract  —  in  all  140  acres  —  is 
now  mostly  occupied,  principally  with  private  dwellings  ;  is  the 
Sixth  Ward;  has  been  sold  and  occupied  principally  under  the 
agency  of  Samuel  G.  Andrews.  Mrs.  Andrews  survives,  a  resident 
with  her  daughter,  Mrs  Sherman. 


EVENTS    OF    A    LATER    PIONEER     PERIOD. 


So  far,  after  reaching  the  site  of  Rochester,  Pioneer  advents  and 
events,  have  principally  been  confined  to  the  period  immediately 
preceeding  and  during  the  war  of  1812.  Those  that  will  follow  gen 
erally  have  reference  to  a  later  period  —  when  all  of  Western  New 
York  was  reviving  from  the  effects  of  the  war,  and  Rochester  es 
pecially  was  setting  out  upon  its  rapid  march,  and  giving  earnest 
of  its  future  destiny ;  though  the  merging  of  the  periods,  in  some 
degree,  is  unavoidable  :  — 

John  G.  Bond  was  a  native  of  Rockingham,  New  Hampshire,  a 
son  of  Dr.  John  Bond,  a  surgeon  in  the  J\Tavy  during  the  Revolu 
tion,  having  studied  his  profession  with  Dr.  Bartlett,  one  of  the 


PHELPS  AKD  GOKHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  601 

signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  On  the  maternal  side 
he  was  of  a  Pioneer  stock.  His  grandfather,  Wm.  Moulton,  was 
the  first  settler  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  in  1788,  the  women  of  his  family 
the  first  white  females  in  Ohio.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bred 
a  merchant,  and  in  1799  became  the  partner  of  Gen.  Amasa  Allen, 
in  Keene,  N.  H.  In  June  1815,  he  visited  Rochester  upon  a  mixed 
errand  of  exploration  and  business.  Impressed  with  the  advantages 
of  the  locality,  he  purchased  of  Jehiel  Barnard,  the  lot  now  occupied 
by  Pitkin's  block,  on  which  there  was  a  small  framed  house ;  after 
which  he  visited  Buffalo,  Niagara  Falls,  Toronto,  and  returned 
home  via  Montreal.  The  farther  account  of  his  early  advent  —  his 
reminiscences  of  primitive  days  in  Rochester  —  the  author  prefers 
to  give  in  his  own  language.  There  are  few  of  the  surviving  Pio 
neers  of  Rochester  who  so  well  remember  early  events,  or  more 
largely  participated  in  them. 

In  1823,  Judge  Bond  changed  his  residence  from  Rochester  to 
Lockport,  then  a  small  village  in  the  woods,  which  had  sprung  up 
after  the  location  of  the  canal ;  where  he  had  a  joint  interest  with 
his  brother,  Wrn.  M.  Bond,  who  now  resides  at  Mt.  Morris,  and  the 
late  Jesse  Hawley,  in  a  tract  of  land  upon  the  original  village  plat. 
He  was  a  good  helper  there  as  he  had  been  in  Rochester,  in  all  those 
things  which  are  required  to  give  new  communities  an  auspicious 
commencement.  He  was  one  of  the  early  Judges  of  Niagara.  He 
is  now  73  years  of  age,  a  resident  of  Niles,  Michigan,  where  he  was 
also  a  Pioneer.  His  wife,  who  was  the  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Dan 
iel  Newcomb,  of  New  Hampshire  ;  died  in  1848.  There  are  three 
surviving  sons  residing  at  Niles,  and  an  only  surviving  daughter, 
Mrs.  Wm.  C.  House,  resides  at  Lockport.  A  deceased  daughter 
was  the  wife  of  Jacob  Beeson,  an  enterprizing  merchant  of  Niles. 


REMINISCENCES  OF  JOHN  G.  BOND. 


In  the  fall  of  1815  having  in  company  with  my  brother-in-law  and  partner, 
Daniel  D.  Hatch,  purchased  what  was  then  deemed  a  large  stock  of  goods, 
in  Boston  and  New  York,  we  were  fairly  under  way  in  the  mercantile  busi 
ness  in  "  Rochesterville."  Our  transportation*had  cost  us  $4,50  per  100 
from  Albany,  Enlarging  the  small  house  and  shop  that  Barnard  had  built, 
we  made  it  answer  for  our  store.  In  the  way  of  merchandizing,  there  had 
preceded  us  Silas  O.  Smith,  Ira  West,  Bissell  &  Ely,  Roswell  Hart.  At 
this  period,  (and  within  a  few  months  after,)  the  citizens  of  all  of  what  is 
now  Rochester,  were,  other  than  the  merchants  I  have  named,  the  Browns, 
Philip  Lisle,  C.  Harford,  Mr.  Hamblin,  Hamlet  Scrantom,  D.  Carter,  Hast 
ings  R.  Bender,  John  Mastick,  Harvey  Montgomery,  Abelard  Reynolds  and 
his  father's  family,  George  and  H.  L.  Sill,  Deacon  Gibbsand  Dr.  Gibbs,  Dr. 
Jonah  Brown,  John  C.  Rochester,  Mr.  Wakefield,  the  widow  King  and  her 
two  sons  Bradford  and  Moses  King.  Ashbel  Steel,  Comfort  Williams, 
38 


602  PIIELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

Daniel  Mack,  Enos  Stone,  Mrs.  Isaac  W.  Stone,  Solomon  Close,  Thomas 
Kempshall,  Seth  Saxton,  Enos  Pomeroy,  Roswell  Babbitt,  Luther  Dowell, 
Erastus  Cook,  Daniel  Tinker,  Wm.  Rogers,  Kellogg  Vosburgh,  Libbeus 
Elliott,  Adonijah  Green,  James  Irvin,  A.&  J.  Colvin,  Augustine  G.  Dauby, 
James  Sheldon,  Henry  Skinner,  Wm.  W.  Jobson,  M.  P.  Covert,  Samuel  J. 
Andrews,  Azel  Ensworth,  Ruluff  Hannahs,  Chauncey  Mead,  Willis  Kemp- 
shall,  Preston  Smith,  Benedict  Harford,  J,  Hoit.  I  of  course  include  the 
families  of  all  who  had  them;  many  of  those  named  were  unmarried. 

The  population  increased  very  rapidly  in  the  latter  part  of  1816,  and  in 
'17,  and  '18.     The  timber  was  cut  out  of  Buffalo  street  as  far  as  what  is 
now  ''  Halsted  Hall,"  in  the  spring  of  1816 ;  at  which  time  there  was  but  a 
wagon  track  on  the  Scottsville  road  south  of  Cornhill.    The  road  from  Oliver 
Culver's  to  Rochester  was  mostly  a  log  causeway,  rough  as  any  that  may 
now  be  seen  in  the  newest  regions.     It  was  a  good  hour's  work  to  go  over 
it  with  a  wagon.     There  was,  I  think  less  than  100  acres  of  cleared  land 
on  all  the  site  of  Rochester.     In  all  the  region  around  Rochester,  with  the 
exception  of  a  part  of  Brighton,  Pen  field  and  Pittsford,  there  was  seldom 
but  the  primitive  log  house,  small  openings  of  the  forest.     The  now  fine 
town  of  Henrietta  looked  little  as  if  I  should  live  to  see  it  what  it  now  is. 
In  February  1816,  I  brought  my  own  family  and  that  of  my  partner, 
Mr.  Hatch,  from  New  Hampshire,  changing  from  runners  to  wheels,  and 
finally  arriving  when  asuddenthaw  had  left  the  roads  in  a  horrid  condition. 
Houses  were  scaice  and  rents  high.     In  less  than  a  year  I  changed  my 
residence  four  times.     I   first  went  into  house  built   by  Francis  Brown, 
the  same  that  the  good  old  gentleman  Dr.  Brown  now  lives  in;  next  a  house 
built   by  John  Mastick  on  the   Brighton  side;  next  into  the  house  of  Ira 
West,  on  west  side  of  State  street;  next  into  a  house  owned  by  John  Roch 
ester,  a  little  south  of  the   Rochester  House.     I  built  the  house,  the  late 
residence  of  Gen.  Matthews  on  Washington  street,  in  1817;  and  had  previ 
ously,  in  1816  built  the  store  which  Dr.  Pitkin  occupied  for  manyyearsas  a 
druggist  shop,  and  which  now  stands  in  rear  of  his  fine  brick  block.     The 
old  shop  I  had  bought  of  Jehiel  Barnard,  and  converted  into  a  store  was 
used  successively  by  Dr.  Jabez  Wilkinson,  Dr.  Backus,  and  John  A.  Gran 
ger,  as  a  drug  store. 

What  was  then  a  very  serious  fire,  occurred,  Ithink  in  1819,  which  des 
troyed  several  shops  and  stores  on  the  Arcade  lot  and  my  lot  ;  and  the  only 
printing  office. 

When  I  began  on  Washington  street,  in  Mayor  June,  1816,  to  clear 
away  the  native  forest  for  the  purpose  of  building  my  house,  my  neighbors 
expressed  some  astonishment,  that  I  should  think  of  building  so  far  back  in 
the  woods.  I  told  them  that  within  twenty  or  thirty  years,  I  expected  to 
see  it  in  the  midst  of  a  great  city.  They  mostly  demurred  to  my  proph 
ecies/ and  said  if  the  population  ever  reached  the  number  of  2,500  it  would 
be  more  than  they  were  looking  for.  In  1816  myself  and  Hervey  Ely  plant- 
ted  sugar  maple  and  other  trees  along  on  the  west  side  of  Washington 
street,  the  first  trees  for  ornament  set  out  in  Rochester.  There  was  no 
house  west  of  Sophia  street,  before  I  built  mine.  On  the  ground  now  oc 
cupied  by  the  Stone  Market,  I  erected  a  large  asheryas  early  as  1815. 
Previous  to  December,  1815,  our  mail  was  brought  from  Canandaigua  on 
horseback.  Capt.  Elisha  Ely  and  myself  concluded  to  make  an  attempt 


PHELP3    AND    GORHAM^S   PURCHASE.  603 

to  raiso  a  company  to  run  a  stage  to  Canandaigua.  We  went  along  the 
route  and  succeeded  in  getting  Wra.  Hildreth  and  other  tavern  keepers  on 
it  to  engage  in  the  enterprise.  In  January,  181(3,  the  mail  was  first  brought 
to  Rochester  in  a  four  horse  coach,  or  rather,  a  coach  body  upon  runners. 
We  followed  up  the  enterprise  by  a  journey  to  Lewiston  on  the  Ridge 
Road.  We  were  three  days  in  reaching  Lewiston,  and  we  broke  down  our 
sleigh  three  times,  by  running  foul  of  snags  on  the  track.  We  succeeded 
in  enLsting  upon  the  route,  (principally  Messrs.  Barton  and  Fairbanks  of 
Lewiston,)  a  sufficient  interest  to  extend  the  Canandaigua  route  over  the 
Ridge  Road.  In  June,  1816,  a  tri- weekly  four  horse  coach  was  put  upon 
it .  This  was  thought  to  be  far  ahead  of  the  times  —  some  said  eight  or 
ten  years,  at  least  —  but  within  a  year,  there  was  often  the  necessity  of 
sending  out  three  or  four  extras  in  a  day,  and  soon  the  Ridge  Road  became 
a  great  thoroughfare. 

We  early  citizens  of  Rochester  had  a  great  difficulty  in  getting  the  new 
county  of  Monroe.  The  old  counties  of  Ontario  and  Genesee  were  mostly 
opposed  to  dismemberment.  I  was  often  with  others,  in  Canandaigua  and 
Batavia  to  promote  the  object.  We  were  told  in  those  localities  that  it 
was  a  wild  and  foolish  project  to  think  of  having  a  new  county  in  the  back, 
sparsely  settled,  Lake  region.  In  answer  to  some  unkind  remarks  of  a 
gentleman  at  Canandaigua  —  language  of  contempt,  touching  the  aspir 
ing  and  assuming  young  village  of  Rochester — Dr.  Brown  ventured  to 
foretell  its  destiny,  and  promise  that  it  would  soon  reach  a  position  that 
would  command  respect  instead  of  contempt  and  derision. 

In  the  year  1816  and  '17,  Rochester  had  a  rapid  growth,  a  large  addi 
tion  was  made  to  its  population.  It  had  become  not  only  the  principal 
wheat  market  for  the  whole  valley  of  the  Genesee,  but  for  most  of  what  is 
now  Ontario,  Wayne,  Orleans  and  Genesee.  The  crowding  in  of  teams, 
sales  of  wheat,  made  store  trade,  and  with  new  comers  dropping  in,  build 
ings  going  up,  &c.,  the  young  village  was  a  scene  of  activity  and  enter 
prise.  Hanford's  Landing  was  the  principal  shipping  point.  Vessels  be 
gan  to  make  regular  trips  to  the  mouth  of  the  River  and  Hanford's  Land- 
inn-  from  all  the  ports  below.  Flour  and  wheat,  pot  and  pearl  ash,  whis 
key  and  staves,  were  the  principal  articles  of  commerce.  In  '16  some 
good  dwelling  houses  began  to  be  built.  Population  was  increasing  so 
rapidly  that  we  had  to  enlarge  the  building  in  which  we  had  our  school, 
and  held  our  meetings. 

After  the  canal  had  been  located  as  far  west  as  Montezuma,  it  became  a 
question  where  it  should  cross  the  Genesee  River.  Carthage  below,  and 
some  point  above  —  Black  creek  I  think,  —  were  proposed.  While  this 
was  a  mooted  question,  the  Oswego  route,  Lake  Ontario,  and  a  canal  around 
the  Falls  of  Niagara,  was  revived,  and  became  a  powerful  competitor. 
News  came  that  the  Canal  Board  were  divided  upon  the  question  of  over 
land  and  Lake  route.  This  created  a  good  deal  of  stir  with  us,  and  alarm 
it  may  be  added.  A  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Rochester  was  convened  in 
my  counting  room,  a  handbill  was  drawn  up  by  Enos  Pomeroy,  signed  by 
many  c.'tizens,  printed  and  circulated  far  and  wide.  It  was  headed  "Canal 
in  Dano-er!"  This  was  just  pending  the  State  election.  The  handbill 
favored  the  election  of  Mr.  Clinton,  as  Governor,  and  of  his  friends  to  the 
Legislature.  It  was  a  close  vote  as  all  will  remember,  between  Clinton  and 


604  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Tompkins,  and  I  think  the  Rochester  movement,  its  stirring  appeal  by 
handbill,  to  the  local  interests  of  Western  New  York,  decided  the  contest.* 
An  early  adventurer  in  Rochester,  I  had  from  the  first,  high  anticipa 
tions  of  its  future  greatness,  an-d  espoused  its  cause  with  an  ardent  zeal, 
as  many  of  my  old  friends  will  remember.  My  predictions  were  sometimes 
looked  upon  as  "  castles  in  the  air,"  but  they  have  proved  to  be  upon  terra 
firma  —  made  of  real  and  substantial  brick,  stone  and  mortar,  as  all  may 
now  see.  I  visited  the  scenes  of  my  early  enterprises  and  associations, 
during  the  last  season,  and  my  heart  was  warmed  in  taking  by  the  hand 
my  old  neighbors  and  co-workers  of  Pioneer  times ;  in  talking  over  the 
events  of  early  days,  and  witnessing  the  evidences  of  prosperity  spread 
out  upon  every  hand.  Where  I  had  in  years  of  maturity,  helped  to  clear 
away  the  forest,  was  a  population  of  near  40,000 ;  wealth,  prosperity  and 
all  the  happiness  that  a  high  degree  of  civilization  and  refinement  can  in 
sure,  was  spread  out  upon  every  hand;  and  more  than  all,  with  me,  was 
the  recognition  of  old  friends,  whom  1  had  encouraged  to  cast  their  lot  with 
me,  in  the  primitive,  rough  and  forbidding  locality  —  whom  I  had  seen 
struggling  in  early  years,  with  hardships  and  privations — in  the  enjoyment 
of  health  and  competence,  in  their  declining  years.  May  God  bless,  and 
continue  all  this,  is  the  hope  and  the  prayer  of  a  surviving  non-resident 
Pioneer. 


Richard  Kempshall  with  a  large  family,  was  an  emigrant  from 
England,  locating  in  a  neighborhood  of  chiefly  English  families  in 
what  is  now  Pittsford,  in  1806.  He  died  in  less  than  a  year,  of  the 
prevalent  disease  of  the  new  country,  after  having  expended  all  of 
his  small  means  in  emigrating,  making  the  first  payment  upon  a  tract 
of  new  land,  in  erecting  a  log  house,  and  defraying  other  incidental 
expenses,  leaving  a  wife  and  ten  children  in  indigent  circumstances. 
With  no  ability  to  make  the  payments  still  due  upon  their  lands, 
they  were  obliged  to  let  it  revert,  and  destitute  even  of  a  home,  the 
support  of  the  large  family  devolved  upon  the  widow,  and  the  eldest 
son,  Willis,  who  was  then  but  eighteen  years  of  age.  The  family 
was  broken  up,  but  through  the  extraordinary  exertions  of  Willis, 
mostly  found  good  homes  under  the  roofs  of  the  more  fortunate  Pio 
neers.  Of  the  ten  children,  six  still  survive. 

Willis  Kempshall,  having  acquired  from  his  father  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter,  was  as  early  as  1813  in  the  employ  of  the  Messrs.  Browns, 
in  Frankfort.  He  became  a  permanent  resident  in  Rochester  as 
early  as  1814,  where  he  has  since  mostly  resided  until  quite  recently, 
he  has  purchased  a  farm  in  Wyoming,  Wyoming  county,  upon  which 
he  now  resides  with  a  large  family. 

,  *  The  author  has  been  favored  by  Judge  Bond  with  a  copy  of  the  famous  handbill ; 
an  interesting  historical  reminiscence.  It  is  signed  by  Roswell  Hart,  Ira  West,  Thos. 
Kempshall,  Russell  Ensworth,  Chas.  J.  Hill,  Ralph  Parker,  D.  D.  Hatch,  J.  Ludden, 
John  G.  Bond,  Chas.  Harford,  Benjamin  Blossom,  Enos  Biossom,  Solomon  Close, 
Anson  House,  Samuel  J.  Andrews,  Oliver  Culver,  Enos  Stone.  Azel  Ensworth. 


PHELPS  A™  GORIIAM'S  PURCHASE.  605 

Thomas  Kempshall,  the  more  immediate  subject  of  this  brief  bio 
graphical  sketch,  worked  with  his  brother  in  early  years  ;  in  the 
winter  of  1813,  '14,  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  placed  in  the  store  of 
that  early  Pioneer  merchant  and  excellent  man,  Ira  West,  to  whose 
examples,  councils  and  friendship,  he  was  largely  indebted  for  a  good 
business  education,  and  moral  attainments  which  prepared  him  for 
a  career  of  extraordinary  enterprise  and  usefulness.*  The  clerkship 
ended  with  Mr.  West,  he  became  his  partner,  at  a  period  when  his 
business  had  become  largely  extended  and  profitable.  Mr.  West 
retiring  in  1824,  Mr.  Kempshall  continued  the  business  on  his  own 
account  for  several  years,  when  John  F.  Bush,  who  had  been  a  clerk 
in  the  establishment,  became  his  partner.  The  business  was  prose 
cuted  for  a  few  years  under  the  firm  of  Kempshall  &  Bush,  when 
it  was  changed  to  that  of  an  extensive  furnace,  and  mill  furnish 
ing  establishment,  under  the  management,  mainly,  of  Mr.  Bush. 
This  business  was  discontinued  about  ten  years  since.  In  1826, 
Mr.  Kempshall  formed  a  business  connection  with  Gen.  E.  S.  Beach, 
and  the  two  erected  the  Aqueduct  Mill,  an  extensive  flouring  es 
tablishment  at  the  west  end  of  the  Aqueduct,  fronting  Child's  Basin. 
It  was  put  in  operation  in  1827,  and  carried  on  under  the  firm  of 
Beach  &  Kempshall,  until  1834,  when  Mr.  Kempshall  became  the 
sole  owner  and  manager.  He  prosecuted  the  business  until  he  was 
obliged  to  suspend  it  in  consequence  of  losses  sustained  during  the 
severe  financial  revulsion  of  1838/39,  '40.  The  property  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Gen.  Beach  ;  Mr.  Kempshall  continuing  his  con 
nection  with  it  until  the  present  time. 

Uninterrupted  success,  wealth,  had  rewarded  his  early  enterprise, 
and  long  years  of  close  application  to  business,  when  reverses  and 
embarrasments  came  upon  him  under  which  he  has  struggled  with  a 
bearing  of  manliness,  fortitude,  and  an  integrity  unimpaired,  that  have 
commanded  respect  and  esteem.  The  orphan  boy  of  a  foreign  em 
igrant,  thrown  upon  his  own  resources,  unaided  but  by  the  patron 
who  had  the  discrimination  to  discover  merit,  and  a  heart  large 
enough  to  reward  it,  he  "  grew  with  the  growth  and  strengthened 
with  the  strength"  of  the  locality  where  his  lot  was  cast.  Entering 
it  while  as  yet  the  forest  had  not  receded  from  its  now  main  thorough 
fares,  and  the  sites  of  its  costly  public  edifices,  it  became  an  incor 
porated  village,  and  he  became  one  of  its  officers  ;  it  became  a  city, 
and  in  progress  of  time,  he  became  its  Mayor. 

And  not  less  intimately  or  honorably  is  his  history  blended  with 
that  of  the  whole  county  of  Monroe.  The  occupant  of  a  log 
cabin,  when  it  was  "  a,  region  of  log  cabins,"  the  boy  and 
man,  the  primitive  region,  the  populous  and  wealthy  county,  had 


*  Hitherto  there  has  been  but  incidental  allusions  to  Ira  West.  It  should  be  added 
that  to  his  public  spirit,  enterprise  and  liberality,  Rochester  was  largely  indebted  in  its 
early  years. 


606  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

kept  pace  with  each  other,  in  the  march  of  progress  ;  and  in  1838, 
the  one  bore  the  relation  to  the  other,  of  its  Representative  in  our 
national  councils. 

Rochester  has  many  examples  among  its  Pioneers  and  founders, 
of  self  made,  (and  well  made,)  men  ;  and  when  its  history,  and  their 
histories,  are  so  blended  as  in  this  instance,  it  is  a  pleasing  task  to 
turn  aside  and  for  a  few  moments  dwell  upon  the  analogy.  Were 
this  not  the  history  of  a  wide  region,  instead  of  a  single  locality,  far 
more  would  be  said  of  the  early  men  of  Rochester. 

Mr.  Kempshall  still  survives,  his  enterprise  and  industry  unabated 
by  misfortune,  or  declining  years. 

Josiah  Bissell,  Jr.,  had  a  business  connection  with  the  Elys  in 
their  primitive  advent  in  1813,  but  he  did  not  become  a  resident 
until  1817.  He  was  previously  a  merchant  in  Pittsfield,  Mass.  He 
was  an  early  and  efficient  helper  in  church  organizations  ;  was  the 
principal  founder  of  the  3d  Presbyterian  church ;  and  also  of  the 
six  day  line  of  stages,  the  object  of  which  was  to  avoid  the  desecra 
tion  of  the  Sabbath  occasioned  by  the  seven  day  lines.  There  are 
few  names  and  memories  more  closely  identified  with  Rochester. 
In  J827  he  purchased  in  company  with  Ashbel  W.  Riley,  of  Enos 
Stone,  with  small  exceptions,  all  of  the  unsold  portion  of  his  origi 
nal  large  farm.  Erecting  his  dwelling  —  which  is  now  a  part  of 
the  fine  mansion  house  of  Dr.  Levi  Ward,  in  "  The  Grove" —  in  the 
midst  of  the  purchase,  a  large  addition  to  the  city  was  made  under 
his  auspicies  ;  new  streets  laid  out,  and  dwellings  erected.  He  died 
in  the  prime  of  life,  at  Seneca  Falls,  where  he  was  engaged  in  a 
business  enterprise,  in  1830,  aged  40  years.  His  surviving  sons  are 
Josiah  W.  Bissell,  of  Rochester,  a  broker ;  Charles  P.  Bissell,  Presi 
dent  of  the  Eagle  Bank  of  Rochester;  George  P.  Bissell,  Cashier  of 
the  Western  Bank,  Pittsfield,  Mass. ;  Champion  Bissell,  of  New 
York.  An  only  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Willard  Parker,  Professor 
of  the  University  of  New  York. 

In  1817,  Elisha  Johnson  removed  from  Canandaigua  to  Roches 
ter.  He  was  a  son  of  Capt.  Ebenezer  Johnson,  who  was  an  early 
Pioneer  in  Chautauque  county  ;  a  brother  of  Dr.  Johnson,  who  is  so 
closely  identified  with  the  history  of  Buffalo.  His  profession  was 
that  of  an  Engineer.  On  coming  to  Rochester  he  purchased  of 
Enos  Stone  all  the  unsold  portion  of  his  original  farm,  (and  but  little 
had  been  sold  previously,)  lying  upon  the  River  and  extending  back 
to  North  street.  This  purchase  embraced  the  water  power  upon 
the  east  side  of  the  River,  principally  above  the  Upper  Falls,  and 
about  80  acres  of  what  is  now  a  compactly  occupied  and  built  up 
portion  of  the  city.  Mr.  Johnson  paid  810,000  for  the  property, 
and  before  the  close  of  the  first  year  expended  upon  it  $12,000  in 
the  erection  of  a  dam  across  the  river,  and  the  construction  of  a  race. 
Orson  Seymour,  of  Canandaigua  soon  became  a  joint  owner.  This 
may  be  said  to  have  been  the  starting  period  of  all  that  portion  of 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  607 

the  city  lying  east  of  the  river,  as  but  little  had  been  done  there  pre 
viously.  The  name,  and  enterprises  of  Mr.  Johnson,  are  probably 
more  closely  associated  with  what  used  to  be  called  the  "  Brighton 
side" — now  almost  one  half  of  the  entire  city  —  than  those  of  any 
other  individual. 

He  was  the  Mayor  of  the  city  in  1838;  an  Elector  of  President 
and  Vice  President  in  1844.  One  of  his  many  business  enterprises 
was  the  formidable  work  of  constructing  the  tunnel  ot  the  Genesee 
Valley  Canal  at  Portage,  or  prosecuting  it  until  the  work  was  sus 
pended  by  the  State.  He  is  now  in  his  66th  year,  yet  in  active  life, 
a  citizen  of  East  Tenessee,  where  his  only  son,  Mortimer  F.  John 
son  also  resides.  His  daughters  became  the  wives  of  Chauncey  L. 
Grant,  of  Ithica,  Elihu  H.  S.  Mumford,  Benj.  F.  Young,  Edward  B. 
Young. 


CARTHAGE. 


Elisha  B.  Strong  was  from  Windsor,  Conn.,  a  descendant  of  the 
Pioneer  colonists  of  that  town.  After  graduating  at  college,  in 
1809,  he  made  a  trip  to  Niagara  Falls,  was  pleased  with  the  country, 
located  at  Canandaigua,  entering  the  office  of  Howell  and  Greig  as 
a  law  student.  Admitted  to  practice  in  1812,  he  was  for  several 
years  the  law  partner  of  Wm.  H.  Adams,  who  was  his  successor 
in  business  at  Canandaigua.  In  1816  he  purchased  in  company 
with  Elisha  Beach,  1000  acres  embracing  the  site  of  Carthage,  of 
Caleb  Lyon,*  who  had  been  settled  there  for  several  years,  had 
made  a  small  opening  in  the  forest,  and  erected  a  few  log  cabins. 
The  few  families  upon  the  tract  were  mostly  squatters.  Nearly  all 
of  what  is  Trondequoit  was  a  wilderness  ;  Mr.  Greig  was  offering 
some  of  the  poorest  lands  at  50  cents  per  acre ;  for  the  best  he 
asked  $5.  Sylvester  Woodman,  a  retired  sea  captain,  was  the  first 
purchaser  of  a  farm ;  those  that  preceded  him  had  been  squatters 
engaged  principally  in  lumbering.  In  1816,  there  was  no  access  to 
the  site  of  Carthage  or  the  mouth  of  the  River,  from  the  east  and 
west  Brighton  road,  other  than  the  "  Merchants  road,"  made  prin 
cipally  by  the  merchants  of  Canandaigua  some  years  before,  which 
left  the  Brighton  road  a  little  east  of  the  farm  of  Oliver  Culver,  and 
a  woods  road,  with  blazed  trees  as  guides,  that  had  been  made  by 
Mr.  Lyon,  on  the  River,  to  the  Brighton  road. 

In  1817,  a  bridge  was  projected  and  commenced  across  the  Gen 
esee  River  at  Carthage,  by  a  joint  stock  company  consisting  of 
Elisha  B.  Strong,  Elisha  Beach,  Heman  Norton  and  Francis  Al- 

*  The  father  of  "Caleb  Lyon,  of  Lyonsdale,"  the  newly  elected  Senator  from  Lew 
is  and  Jefferson.  After  selling  here,  the  old  gentleman  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land 
in  the  Black  river  country,  and  became  a  patroon  of  settlement  there. 


608  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

bright.  It  was  completed  in  Feb.  1819;  the  architects  were  Brain- 
ard  and  Chapman.  Considering  the  period  of  the  enterprise,  it 
was  one  of  great  magnitude,  and  would  have  proved  one  of  great 
public  utility  had  it  been  permanent.  "It  consisted  of  an  entire  arch, 
the  chord  of  which  was  352  feet,  and  the  versed  sine  54  feet.  The 
summit  of  the  arch  was  196  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  entire  length  of  the  bridge  was  7 1 8  feet,  and  the  width  30  feet,  be 
sides  four  large  elbow  braces,  placed  at  the  extremity  of  the  arch,  and 
projecting  15  feet  on  each  side  of  it."  *  The  bridge  stood  and  was 
crossed  a  little  over  one  year  —  loaded  teams  with  more  than  1500 
weight  had  passed  over  it ;  and  it  was  traveled  over  with  a  feeling 
of  security,  until  it  gave  way,  when  there  was  no  weight  upon  it  ; 
the  fault  in  the  construction  having  been  a  want  of  bracing  to  pre 
vent  the  springing  up  of  the  arch.  It  was  crossed  about  18  months. 
The  Ridge  Road  broken  by  the  River  and  the  deep  wide  gorge,  the 
Bridge  was  designed  as  a  connecting  link.  A  facility  for  crossing 
Irondequoit  Bay  was  a  part  of  the  plan  which  contemplated  the 
making  of  the  long  continuous  natural  highway,  a  main  eastern  and 
western  thoroughfare.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  proprietors  of 
Carthage,  a  store  house  and  wharf  was  constructed  upon  the  River, 
and  a  road  made  leading  down  to  them. 

The  main  design  of  the  proprietors,  was  the  forwarding  of  a  de 
pot  for  the  commerce  of  the  Lake  and  the  erection  of  mills  and 
machinery,  using  the  hydraulic  power  of  the  Lower  Falls.  Aside 
from  the  failure  of  the  bridge  there  were  other  early  untoward 
events :  —  The  failure  of  the  old  and  hitherto  substantial  firm  of 
Norton  &  Beach,  which  threw  the  enterprise  pretty  much  upon  the 
hands  of  Judge  Strong;  an  interruption  of  the  trade  with  Montre 
al  ;  and  most  of  all  perhaps,  the  sudden  and  rapid  start  of  a  power 
ful  rival.  When  the  decision  as  to  the  place  of  crossing  the  River 
with  the  canal  was  pending,  that  locality  was  a  competitor ;  a  route 
was  surveyed,  and  the  estimates  of  an  aqueduct  made.  Mr.  Holley, 
the  acting  commissioner,  at  one  period  offered  to  receive  proposals 
for  the  work ;  a  re-estimate  however  of  the  cost  of  an  aqueduct  to 
span  the  deep  and  wide  chasm,  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  route. f 

In  addition  to  the  improvements  named,  the  proprietors  of  Carth 
age  and  the  Bridge,  erected  a  public  house  which  was  opened  by 
Ebenezer  Spear,  who  has  been  named  in  connection  with  Palmyra 
and  Penfield.  He  was  succeeded  by  Justin  Smith.  Harvey  Kim- 
ball  and  Oliver  Strong  opened  mercantile  establishments.  Levi  H. 
Clark,  a  lawyer  settled  there  as  early  as  1818.  He  was  the  partner 

*  Jesse  Hawley,  in  Rochester  Directory,  1827. 

t  Those  who  had  become  interested  in  Rochester,  were  divided  upon  the  question  of 
Canal  location  ;  a  portion  of  them  being  of  opinion  that  the  diversion  of  water  from 
mills  and  machinery  to  feed  the  canal,  would  not  have  its  equivalent  in  any  advanta 
ges  that  would  grow  out  of  the  near  proximity  of  it  to  their  business  sites. 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PTJECHASE.  609 

of  Dr.  Ward,  in  the  purchase  of  the  residuary  land  interest  of  the 
State  of  Connecticut.  Returning  to  the  east  after  a  residence 
there  of  a  few  years,  he  was  at  one  period  a  reporter  at  Washing 
ton;  died  a  few  years  since  in  New  York.  John  W.  Strong  was  a 
resident  of  Carthage,  as  early  as  1818;  was  an  early  prominent 
merchant  in  Rochester ;  removed  to  Detroit  in  1830  ;  is  now  a  clerk 
of  the  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office.  Oliver  Strong  was  con 
nected  in  the  mercantile  and  milling  business  with  Judge  Strong 
until  1832,  in  which  year  he  died  at  Detroit.  He  was  at  one  period 
the  Major  General  of  a  Rifle  Brigade.  Horace  Hooker  was  early 
at  Carthage,  engaged  in  mercantile  and  distilling  business.  He 
still  resides  there.  Francis  Babcock  built  a  flouring  mill  at  the 
Lower  Falls  as  early  as  1824  ;  built  the  dwelling  now  occupied  by 
Ansel  Frost ;  leaving  here,  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  ;  was 
captured  and  killed  by  pirates  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  Capt.  Cru- 
ger,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  was  early  at  Carthage  ;  now  resides  in  the 
city  of  New  York. 

Hernan  Norton  was  the  son  of  Nathaniel  Norton,  the  early  Pio 
neer  of  Bloomfield,  and  merchant  of  Canandaigua;  married  a  sis 
ter  of  Judge  Strong.  He  removed  to  the  city  of  New  York,  where 
he  died  several  years  since.  His  sons  are,  Professor  Wm.  P.  Nor 
ton,  John  Norton,  a  Merchant  in  New  York.  A  daughter  became 
the  wife  of  Walter  Griffith  of  New  York.  Eilsha  Beach  who  was 
a  son-in-law  of  Nathaniel  Norton,  died  in  Monroe,  Michigan,  in 
1850. 

Elisha  B.  Strong  has  continued  to  reside  in  Carthage  since  his 
early  advent ;  witnessing  and  participating  in  its  rise  and  decline, 
and  surviving  to  see  the  village  that  became  its  successful  rival, 
grow  into  an  overshadowing  city,  and  generously  embrace  it  in  its 
limits.  That  portion  of  the  original  site  of  Carthage  remaining  in 
his  hands,  and  for  many  years  constituting  his  farm,  is  now  selling 
in  lots  of  100  feet  front,  at  from  8100  to  $500.  He  is  now  in  his 
62d  year.  He  was  a  member  of  Assembly  from  Ontario  in  1819 
and  '20,  In  1821,  when  the  application  was  made  for  the  erection 
of  Monroe,  from  parts  of  Ontario  and  Genesee,  he  was  in  attend 
ance  at  Albany,  and  contributed  essentially  in  thwarting  a  strong 
opposition,  and  bringing  the  measure  to  a  consummation.  He  was 
appointed  First  Judge  on  the  organization  of  the  courts  of  Monroe, 
holding  the  office  until  succeeded  by  Judge  Samson. 

Capt.  John  T.  Trowbridge,  now  residing  in  Racine,  Wisconsin, 
long  known  in  connection  with  the  commerce  of  Lake  Ontario,  re 
sided  at  Carthage  as  early  as  1820. 

All  of  what  is  now  Irondequoit  was  slow  in  settling.  The  lands, 
especially  between  Ridge  and  Lake,  being  mostly  pine  plains,  the 
soil  light  and  sandy  —  "  barrens,"  they  used  to  be  called.  But  a 
change  has  come  over  them,  such  as  has  been  noticed  in  other  lo 
calities.  Their  present  value  is  from  $50  to  $100  per  acre. 


610  PHELPS  AND   GORHAMS    PURCHASE. 

The  early  proprietors  of  that  portion  of  the  city  on  the  east  side 
of  the  River,  between  the  Andrews  and  Atwater  tract,  and  the 
Carthage  tract,  were  John  W.  Strong,  who  after  making  a  farm  and 
residing  there,  sold  his  possessions  to  Martin  Galusha,  under  whose 
auspices  it  has  been  platted  and  sold  ;  Caleb  Lyon,  who  owned  32 
acres,  and  sold  it  to  Elon  Huntington.  The  whole  space,  the  Carth 
age  plat  included,  affords  some  of  the  most  eligible  building  grounds 
within  the  city,  overlooking  the  River  and  its  romantic  scenery,  and 
the  lower  part  of  the  city  on  the  east  side  of  the  River.  It  is  fast 
filling  up. 


Ashbel  W.  Riley  emigrated  from  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  in  1816; 
was  in  early  years  extensively  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  ;  in 
1835  was  one  of  the  principal  founders  of  a  six  day  transportation 
line  upon  the  Erie  Canal,  and  at  the  same  time  was  the  joint  propri 
etor  with  Josiah  Bissell  in  real  estate  operations,  which  have  been 
named.  The  last  ten  years  of  his  life  has  been  principally  devoted 
to  the  temperance  reformation,  in  which  cause  he  is  a  widely  known 
and  popular  public  lecturer.  His  military  title  is  derived  from  the 
holding  of  the  commission  of  Major  General  of  the  3d  division  of 
Riflemen. 

Gideon  Cobb  was  a  young  adventurer  to  the  Genesee  country 
from  Vermont,  just  previous  to  the  war  of  1812;  a  travelling  ped 
lar  of  scythes  and  axes ;  temporarily  making  some  improvements 
on  a  tract  of  wild  land  among  the  hemlocks  of  the  western  portion 
of  Wyoming  county ;  serving  a  brief  season  upon  the  frontier ; 
then  a  travelling  dealer  in  hollow  ware;  until  1814,  when  he  went 
into  the  employ  of  the  Messrs.  Browns,  at  Frankfort.  He  estab 
lished  the  first  "  public  conveyance,"  in  Monroe  county  :  —  a  four 
ox  team  which  went  twice  a  week  from  Rochester  to  the  mouth  of 
the  River,  principally  to  do  the  transportation  for  the  primitive  mer 
chants  of  Rochester.  He  used  to  get  his  beans  and  pork  "  cooked 
by  Mrs.  Culver  except  in  warm  weather,  when  his  beans  would 
get  sour,"  and  he  "had  his  cooking  done  twice  a  week."  He 
finally  got  board  with  Willis  Kempshall,  but  had  "  to  sleep  under 
the  work  bench."  He  cleared  the  timber  from  North  and  Monroe 
streets.  And  all  these  were  but  a  part  of  his  early  industry  and 
enterprise.  He  is  now  61  years  of  age,  "hale  and  hearty,"  the 
owner  and  occupant  of  one  of  the  largest  farms  in  Brighton ;  and 
as  if  he  knew  not  how  to  suspend  labor  and  enterprise,  is  building 
for  the  county  of  Monroe,  the  splendid  edifice  for  its  courts  and 
public  offices,  at  a  cost  to  county  and  city,  of  $60,000. 

William  Cobb,  a  brother  of  Gideon,  had  been  connected  with 
Dr.  Matthew  Brown  in  the  axe  and  scythe  manufactory,  near  Rome. 
In  1816,  the  business  was  transferred  to  Rochester,  and  commenced 
upon  the  site  now  occupied  by  Lewis  Seely's  buildings  ;  a  machine 


PIIELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  611 

shop  was  added.  In  1820,  in  partnership  with  Lawson  Thayer,  he 
purchased  the  site  now  occupied  by  D.  R.  Barton,  to  which  the 
business  of  scythe  manufacturing  was  transferred.  The  rear  of  the 
lot  was  occupied  by  Thomas  Morgan,  with  the  first  manufactory  of 
the  cut  nail  started  west  of  the  Hudson.  Mr.  Oobb  left  Roches 
ter  previous  to  1830,  under  an  engagement  with  the  late  Nathaniel 
Allen,  of  Allen's  Hill,  to  take  charge  of  a  tool  shop  connected  with 
the  contract  for  constructing  the  canal  around  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio 
at  Louisville.  The  employer  and  the  employed  —  two  valued  cit 
izens  of  western  New  York — both  died  at  Louisville.  Three  daugh 
ters  reside  in  Michigan,  one  in  Buffalo,  and  one,  (Mrs.  Win.  J. 
Hanford,)  in  Rochester. 

Dr.  John  Cobb,  of  Ogden,  who  was  a  brother  of  Gideon  and 
William,  was  a  settled  physician  in  Ogden,  as  early  as  1816. 

Chauncey  Dean  was  an  early  citizen  of  Rochester  —  was  a  broth 
er  of  L.  Q.  C.  Dean,  of  the  present  wife  of  David  Thomas,  of 
Aurora ;  was  of  one  branch  of  the  Pioneer  family  of  the  name  in 
Phelps.  He  was  the  founder  of  mills  on  Black  creek,  in  Chili.  He 
died  soon  after  1825.  His  wife,  who  was  the  sister  of  Austin 
Wing,  of  Michigan,  is  a  resident  with  her  sons  at  Monroe. 

The  following,  as  near  as  the  author  has  been  able  to  ascertain, 
were  the  pioneer  mechanics,  other  than  those  already  recognized: — 

Erastus  Cook,  established  silver  smithing  and  watch  repairing  in 
1815;  still  survives,  and  continues  the  business.  Salmon  Scofield, 
soon  after  him;  died  in  early  years.  In  1816,  Jonathan  Packard; 
still  survives,  and  continues  business.  In  1817,  Samuel  W.  Lee; 
still  survives,  carrying  on  chiefly  the  manufacture  of  silver  ware. 

Ebenezer  Watts  started  copper,  tin  and  sheet  iron  business,  in 
1817,  to  which  was  added  in  process  of  time,  an  extensive  hardware 
establishment.  He  still  survives,  retired  from  business.  He  is  the 
father  of  John  H.  Watts,  broker,  of  Rochester.  Frazer  &  Shel 
don,  were  early  in  the  same  business.  Mr.  Frazer  removed  to  Al 
bany.  Josiah  Sheldon  died  in  1849  ;  Benjamin  Sheldon,  of  Roch 
ester  is  a  son  of  his. 

Preston  Smith  had  established  a  small  cabinet  shop  previous  to 
1816;  he  still  survives.  In  that  year,  William  Brewster  commen 
ced  the  business.  In  1819  Frederick,  Starr.  Both  survive,  and 
are  at  the  head  of  establishments,  that  in  magnitude,  and  work 
manship,  vie  with  the  best  establishments  of  the  kind  in  the  older 
cities  of  the  Union. 

Isaac  and  Aldridge  Colvin  were  first  to  start  the  manufacture  of 
hats  ;  they  still  survive,  are  farmers  in  Henrietta.  John  and  Will 
iam  Haywood  followed  them  ;  John  Haywood  still  survives  and 
continues  the  business.  Next  to  Mr.  Reynolds,  Pelatiah  West,  a 
brother  of  Ira  West,  started  the  business  of  a  saddler  and  harness 
maker.  He  removedto  Palmyra,  where  he  died  8  or  10  years  since. 
John  Shethar  was  early  in  the  same  business ;  died  at  Seneca  Falls. 


612          PHELPS  AND  GOKHAMS'  PUKCHASE. 

John  H.  Thompson,  started  the  manufacture  of  looking  glasses,  as 
early  as  1821,  '2  ;  still  survives  and  continues  the  business. 

After  Jehiel  Barnard,  the  principal  early  tailors  were  Smith  & 
Holden.  In  fact  theirs  was  the  first  considerable  establishment. 

Jacob  How  started  a  bakery  as  early  as  1815,  continued  it  until 
his  death;  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Jacob  How,  who  still  contin 
ues  the  business. 

Jacob  Graves  and  Samuel  Works,  emigrated  from  Vermont  in 
1816,  purchased  a  small  tannery  that  had  been  started  by  Kellog 
Vosburgh.  In  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Graves  &  Works,  and  in  later 
years,  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Graves,  the  business  has  been  one  of 
great  magnitude.  It  is  now  carried  on  by  Jacob  Graves  &  Sons. 
Mr.  Works  is  a  resident  of  Lockport ;  was  an  early  and  efficient 
helper  in  advancing  the  prosperity  of  Rochester  ;  has  in  later  years 
filled  the  offices  of  a  State  Senator,  and  Canal  Superintendent. 

The  early  master  builders  were,  Daniel  Mack,  Phelps  Smith, 
Robert  and  Jonathan  King,  the  last  two  of  whom  survive  and  are 
residents  of  Rochester.  Philip  Allen  was  an  early  builder;  was  the 
father  of  Asa  K.,  and  of  the  early  forwarder  upon  the  Erie  Canal, 
Pliny  Allen.  The  Allen  family,  some  years  since  emigrated  to  Wis 
consin,  to  a  locality  now  called  "  Allen's  Grove,"  where  the  old 
patriarch,  surrounded  by  over  an  100  descendants,  died  in  1845, 
aged  88  years.  He  was  the  father  of  Mrs.  Samuel  W.  Lee,  of 
Rochester. 

Charles  Magney  was  the  pioneer  cooper ;  Eggleston  was 

early  in  that  branch  of  business.  Mrs.  Jewell,  of  Rochester,  is  a 
daughter  of  Charles  Magney ;  a  street  of  the  city  takes  its  name 
from  him. 

Although  he  was  preceded  by  others,  in  a  small  way,  in  the  boot 
and  shoe  business,  Abner  Wakelee  was  the  first  to  establish  a  shoe 
store.  He  is  now  a  farmer  in  Brighton.  Jacob  Gould  was  early  in 
that  branch  of  business  ;  commencing  when  Rochester  was  a  small 
village,  his  establishment,  in  his  hands  and  those  of  George  Gould 
&  Co.,  has  kept  up  in  the  march  of  progress.  The  early  mechanic, 
Jacob  Gould,  has  been  a  prominent  citizen  of  Rochester,  and  an 
efficient  helper  in  its  prosperity.  He  has  held  the  military  rank  of 
a  Major  General,  has  been  Mayor  of  the  city  ;  in  later  years,  Mar 
shall  of  the  Northern  District  of  N.  Y.  He  is  now  President  of 
the  Farmer's  and  Mechanic's  Bank.  Thomas  and  Jesse  Congdon, 
were  early  shoe  dealers. 

Brown,  established  the  earliest  regular  machine  shop  ;  was 

the  first  to  set  up  the  engine  lathe  in  Rochester.  Thomas  Morgan, 
who  is  named  as  the  founder  of  a  nail  factory,  was  an  ingenious  and 
enterprising  mechanic,  worthy  of  being  the  predecessor  of  the  host 
of  enterprising  men  who  have  made  Rochester  almost  a  city  of  me 
chanics  and  manufacturers.  His  wife  and  family  still  resides  in 
Rochester. 


PHELPS    AND    GORHAM'S   PURCHASE.  613 

The  early  lawyers  of  Rochester,  were  John  Mastick,  who  was 
the  first  in  the  county.  He  studied  law  with  George  Hosmer,  of 
Avon  ;  was  admitted  to  practice  and  settled  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  previous  to  1811;  removed  to  Rochester  during  the  war, 
opening  an  office  in  a  small  wooden  building  near  the  site  of  Gould's 
shoe  store.  He  died  childless,  in  1828  or  '9. 

Enos  Pomeroy  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts  ;  studied  law  in  the 
office  of  Gen.  Kirkland,  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1815,  and  in 
the  same  year  opened  an  office  in  Rochester.  He  still  survives, 
residing  upon  a  farm  in  Brighton,  at  the  age  of  60  years.  He  is 
succeeded  in  practice  by  his  son,  John  N.  Pomeroy  ;  another  son 
was  recently  in  Engineer  corps  on  the  Genesee  Valley  canal. 

Joseph  Spsncer  was  from  Hartford,  Conn.,  a  son  of  Isaac  Spen 
cer,  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  at  one  period ;  graduated  at  Yale 
College  ;  commenced  practice  in  Rochester  in  1816.  He  was  at 
one  period  in  the  Senate  of  this  State.  Possessed  of  fine  talents, 
with  the  promise  of  professional  success  and  eminence,  he  had  but  a 
short  career;  dying  previous  to  1830.  His  wife  was  the  sister  of 
Samuel  L.  and  Henry  R.  Selden.  She  is  now  the  wife  of  Capt.  Eaton 
of  the  U.  S.  Army,  a  son  of  Professor  Eaton. 

Roswell  Babbit  was  from  Lewis  county  ;  studied  law  in  Lowville  ; 
died  at  Saratoga  Springs  soon  after  1830.  Charles  R.  Babbit,  of 
Rochester  is  his  son. 

Hastings  R.  Bender,  was  from  Vermont ;  a  graduate  of  Dart 
mouth  ;  he  left  practice  1 5  or  20  years  since,  and  went  upon  a  farm 
in  Parma,  where  he  now  resides. 

Anson  House  was  an  early  Attorney  and  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
but  engaged  in  business  enterprises,  has  been  but  little  known  in  his 
profession.  He  was  the  founder,  and  is  still  the  owner  of  the  Mi 
nerva  block. 

Moses  Chapin,  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  1811 ;  studied  his  pro 
fession  in  Albany  with  Jones  &  Baldwin;  in  1816  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Rochester  ;  was  the  Frst  Judge  of  Mon 
roe,  from  1825  to  1830.  He  still  survives  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession. 

Ashley  Samson  was  a  native  of  Addison  county,  Vt.,  a  graduate 
of  Middlebury ;  studied  his  profession  in  part  with  Col.  Samuel 

NOTE.  —  Mr.  Pomeroy  remarks  that  the  project  of  a  new  county  was  started  as  early 
as  1818  ;  himself,  Col.  Rochester,  Judge  Strong,  were  at  Albany  at  the  same,  and  at 
different  periods,  to  promote  it.  The  opposition  to  the  measure  at  Canandaigua,  Batavia, 
and  all  along  the  old  Buffalo  road,  was  formidable,  and  retarded  the  consummation  J 
Crowded  calendars  at  the  courts  of  the  old  counties  of  Ontario  and  Genesee  helped  the 
matter  much.  This  was  the  result  of  the  financial  revulsion  that  commenced  in  1817. 
John  C.  Spencer,  of  Canandaigua,  and  P.  L.  Tracy,  of  Buffalo,  commenced  each  an 
hundred  suits  in  one  year  in  court  of  common  pleas.  In  both  counties  protracted 
sessions  of  the  court  had  to  be  held.  Judge  Howell  of  Ontario  would  sometimes  open 
his  courts  before  day-light.  A  specimen  of  his  dispatch  of  business :  —  "  Mr.  Dixon, 
do  you  expect  to  prove  any  thing  more  in  this  case  ?"  '•  Well  Sir,  I  can  hardly  tell 
how  that  will  be."  "  Clerk,  enter  a  non-suit!" 


614  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

Young,  at  Ballston ;  commenced  practice  as  a  partner  of  Simon 
Stone?  2d.,  in  Pittsford  in  1817;  in  1819  removed  to  Rochester.  In 
1823  he  was  appointed  First  Judge  of  Monroe  county  ;  resigned  in 
1825;  was  re-appointed  in  1838,  and  held  the  office  until  1843. 
He  was  an  early  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  Brighton  ;  and  was  a  re 
presentative  in  the  Legislature  from  Monroe,  in  1844.  He  still 
survives,  mainly  retired  from  the  profession  on  account  of  physical 
infirmity,  but  with  mental  faculties  unimpaired,  enjoying  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  his  fellow  citizens. 

The  courts  of  Monroe  were  organized  in  1821  ;  the  first  term 
held  in  that  year  at  the  "house  of  Azel  Ensworth."  There  were  then 
added  to  the  bar  of  Rochester,  and  soon  after:  — Wm.  W.  Mum- 
ford,  Melancton  Brown,  Wm.  Graves,  Daniel  D.  Barnard,  Timothy 
Childs,  Vincent  Matthews,  Ebenezer  Griffin,  Wm.  B.  Rochester, 
Charles  R.  Lee ;  and  it  may  be,  others  whose  names  have  escaped 
recognition. 


VINCENT  MATTHEWS. 


Though  not  a  resident  of  Monroe  county  early  enough  to  be  termed  a 
Pioneer,  he  bore  that  relation  to  all  the  western  portion  of  this  State,  and 
as  early  as  1816,  was  a  resident  upon  Phelps  and  Gorham's  Purchase. 
He  was  the  first  lawyer  located  in  practice  west  of  Utica;  at  the  period  of 
his  death  had  been  fifty  six  years  in  practice.  In  reference  to  age,  his  ex 
tended  years  of  residence,  and  professional  life,  he  was  a  Father  of  the 
Bar  of  Western  New  York;  and  he  was  well  entitled  to  that  distinction 
by  his  dignified  professional  examples,  and  the  deference  that  was  award 
ed  to  his  legal  opinions  and  personal  character,  by  his  cotemporaries. 

He  was  of  Irish  descent ;  a  paternal  ancestor  was  an  officer  in  the  Brit 
ish  army  stationed  at  Albany,  when  the  Dutch  surrendered  New  York  to 
the  English,  His  grand  father  emigrated  to  America  in  1702,  becoming 
a  Pioneer  in  Orange  county,  settling  upon  a  tract  in  the  then  wilderness, 
back  of  Newburg,  which  took  the  name  of  "  Matthew's  Field." 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  the  son  of  James  Matthews;  was  born 
in  1766;  was  one  of  a  family  of  six  sons  and  six  daughters,  all  but  one  of 
whom  lived  to  adult  age,  and  became  heads  of  families.  In  1781  he  left 
his  paternal  home,  and  became  a  student  in  an  Academy  at  Newburg,  of 
which  Noah  Webster,  the  afterwards  renowned  lexicographer,  was  the 
Principal.  He  was  afterwards  a  student  in  an  Academy  at  Hackensack, 
of  which  Professor  Wilson  was  Principal.  In  1786  he  entered  the  law 
office  of  Col.  Robert  Troup  in  New  York,  and  after  four  years  of  study,  in 
1790,  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court.  The  fame  he  ac 
quired  in  after  life  as  a  sound  and  thoroughly  educated  lawyer,  may  in  a 
great  measure  be  attributed  to  a  long  and  severe  course  of  study,  and  to 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  member  of  a  society  of  students  (most  of  whom  be 
came  eminent  in  their  profession,)  instituted  for  practice.  Courts  were 


PHELP3  AKD  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  615 

organized  in  which  Brockholst  Livingston,  Judge  Jones,  Robert  Troup, 
presided  as  Judges;  feigned  issues  were  made,  and  thus  the  young  aspir 
ants  to  professional  excellence  were  enabled  to  make  theory  and  practice 
go  hand  in  hand.  And  it  should  also  be  observed,  that  his  law  studies  did 
not  end  with  the  obtaining  of  his  diploma,  but  continued  through  life.* 

In  the  winter  of  1790,  '91,  the  counties  of  Tioga  and  Ontario  were 
erected  from  Herkimer.  A  friend  of  his  who  had  emigrated  to  the  new 
region,  and  located  at  what  is  now  Elmira,  importuned  him  to  join  him 
there,  and  commence  his  professional  career  in  the  backwoods.  He  had 
married  soon  after  the  termination  of  his  studies.  Leaving  his  wife  be 
hind  until  he  had  pioneered  the  way  himself,  he  got  credit  for  a  horse, 
which  he  mounted,  and  made  the  journey  to  the  newly  established  county 
site  at  Newtown  Point,  now  Elmira,  The  embryo  village  then  contained 
but  three  or  four  log  buildings,  one  of  which  was  used  as  a  court  house. 
Obtaining  board  with  a  new  settler  three  miles  down  the  River  from  the 
county  site — at  a  place  then  called  Tioga,  he  opened  an  office;  thus  becoming 
the  Pioneer  in  his  profession,  in  all  the  region  west  of  Utica  —  if  indeed 
there  was  any  there  as  early  as  1791.  His  practice  soon  extended  to  On 
tario  county.  He  was  present  at  the  opening  of  the  first  court  in  Canan- 
daigua. 

In  1793,  '4,  he  was  the  representative  of  Tioga  in  the  Legislature.  In 
'96  he  was  a  Senator  from  the  Western  District.  Before  the  expiration  of 
his  term  of  service,  he  was  appointed  one  of  a  board  of  commissioners  to 
settle  questions  of  disputed  land  titles  upon  the  Military  Tract,  some  ac 
count  of  which  has  been  found  in  a  preceding  chapter.  He  was  elected 
to  Congress  in  1809.  From  1812  to  1817  was  District  Attorney  of  Tioga. 

Like  nineteen  twentieths  of  all  the  early  adventurers  in  the  western  por 
tion  of  this  State,  he  had  commenced  poor;  in  debt  for  the  horse  he  rode, 
and  for  a  portion  of  his  academical  education;  but  at  the  end  of  twenty 
years  he  had  not  only  gained  professonal  eminence,  but  had  accumulated 
what  was  then  regarded  as  a  large  estate;  a  portion  of  which  was  a  valua 
ble  tract  of  land,  which  embraces  a  part  of  the  site  of  Elmira.  At  an  un 
fortunate  period  he  embarked  in  the  mercantile  business,  which  venture 
proved  disastrous,  even  to  the  extent  of  the  loss  of  his  entire  property. 

In  1816  he  changed  his  residence  to  Bath,  Steuben  county,  and  formed 
a  partnership  with  the  late  Wm.  B.  Rochester,  in  the  practice  of  law.  In 
1821  he  removed  to  Rochester,  where  he  practiced  until  a  few  months 
preceding  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  23d  of  September,  1846. 

He  was  District  Attorney  for  Monroe,  for  several  years;  in  1826  one  of 
its  representatives  in  the  Legislature.  His  military  rank  of  a  Brigadier 
General  was  attained  through  the  several  gradations,  commencing  with 
the  command  of  a  company  of  cavalry  in  a  regiment  of  which  Thomas  Mor 
ns  was  Major.  He  was  a  General  at  the  early  period  when  the  beat  of 
his  Brigade  was  all  of  the  territory  lying  west  of  a  line  north  and  south  al 
most  through  the  centre  of  the  State. 

The  deep  sensation  that  his  death  produced  in  the  city  of  Rochester  — 


you 


The  anecdote  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Parr,  would  apply  to  his  case  :  — "  When  did 
finish  your  studies,"  said  a  verdant  student  to  his  preceptor,  Dr.  Parr.  "  Never, 
T  npvp.r  pvno.pl,  tn  finish  thp.m  "  -was  his  laconic  answer  and  rer>roof. 


yOU   ilulttli    VUUl    OLUU-lcft,         Ocliu.  ct     YUHJ.CIIIU    OLUVL^HU     tv_f   AAAO  |-*i  ^^v^uv/i,   -^ 

and  I  never  expect  to  finish  them,"  was  his  laconic  answer  and  reproof. 


616  PHELPS  A]NT>  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

the  demonstrations  that  followed  its  announcement  —  are  already  recorded 
witnesses  of  the  esteem  and  respect  entertained  for  him  by  his  immediate 
neighbors; — and  in  fact  throughout  the  wide  region  with  which  he  had 
been  so  long  and  intimately  blended,  there  was  heartfelt  sorrow ;  a  feeling 
that  an  eminently  exemplary  and  useful  life  had  terminated.  A  monu 
ment  erected  in  that  well  ordered  and  beautiful  city  of  the  dead  —  Mount 
Hope  —  erected  with  the  spontaneous  offerings  of  all  classes  of  his  fellow 
citizens;  his  venerable  features  preserved  upon  canvass,  and  hungup  in 
the  court  room;  are  additional  evidences  of  the  manner  in  which  his  mem 
ory  is  cherished. 

The  remarks  made  by  his  friend  and  professional  cotemporary,  Judge 
Samson,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Bar  immediately  following  the  announce 
ment  of  his  death,  deserves  a  more  enduring  record  than  that  affored  by 
newspaper  files :  — 

"MR.  CHAIRMA'N: —  The  event  we  are  met  to  consider  and  take  action 
upon,  has  not  come  upon  us  suddenly,  or  by  surprise,  and  may  be  thought, 
therefore,  to  lack  some  of  the  impressive  solemnity  which  attends  an  un 
expected  and  afflicting  dispensation.  Death  has  been  in  our  midst  and 
taken  away  a  most  dear  and  esteemed  friend.  It  has  been  said  that  the 
deceased  was  fifty  six  years  in  practice.  I  am  regarded  by  associates  as  an 
old  man,  and  certainly  my  feelings  go  strongly  in  corroboration  of  this 
opinion;  and  yet,  Mr.  Chairman,  I  was  born  the  year  our  venerable  broth 
er  was  admitted  to  the  Bar. 

"  In  his  death  crowned  as  it  was  with  years  and  honors,  he  resembled 
an  ancient  oak  falling  mighty  and  majestic  to  the  earth,  after  braving  the 
storms  of  uncounted  winters.  He  contended  long  with  disease,  but  the 
last  enemy,  death,  prevailed,  and  he  bowed  his  venerable  head  and  died. 
His  pure  and  useful  life  affords  an  impressive  lesson  to  the  profession. 
He  confined  himself  mainly  though  not  exclusively  to  the  single  object  of 
professional  pursuits.  Sometimes  indeed  he  listened  to  the  call  of  his 
countrymen,  and  entered  public  life,  but  he  always  returned  with  alacri 
ty  to  his  professional  labors. 

"  One  feature  in  his  character  I  desire  particularly  to  notice.  He  was  a 
Christian.  Though  much  occupied  by  his  ordinary  pursuits,  he  did  not 
neglect  the  higher  interest  of  his  soul.  Even  before  he  made  a  public 
profession,  he  was  known  often  to  leave  his  bed,  not  to  prepare  his  briefs, 
but  to  peruse  the  oracles  of  eternal  truth.  In  process  of  time  he  publicly 
acknowledged  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  connected  himself  with  the  Episcopal 
church,  to  which  his  preferences  inclined.  He  was  no  technical  theologian, 
or  mere  sectarian. 

In  a  conversation  I  had  with  him  a  few  days  since,  his  eye  lighted  with 
unusual  brilliancy  when  I  adverted  to  the  glorious  hopes  of  the  gospel, 
and  he  expressed  his  undoubting  trust  in  the  cross  of  Christ.  To  a  friend 
who  called  upon  him  when  near  his  end,  he  declared  that  he  relied  solely 
upon  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ, 

"  In  conclusion,  I  cannot  conceal  from  my  brethren  of  the  Bar,  my  solici 
tude  that  we  may  one  and  all  imitate  his  example,  and  that  this  bereavement 
may  be  sanctified  to  us  all." 

Mrs.  Mathews  died  at  her  residence  in  Rochester,  in  December  1850. 


PHELPS  AKD  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE.  617 

An  only  son,  James  E.  Matthews,  resides  near  the  Lake  shore  in  Somerset, 
Niagara  county,  where  he  was  an  early  merchant,  and  has  been  for  many 
years,  an  exemplary  and  useful  citizen.  The  surviving  daughters  are  Mrs. 
Albert  H.  Porter,  of  Niagara  Falls,  Mrs.  William  Everett,  and  an  unmar 
ried  daughter,  residing  in  Rochester.  Sela  Matthews  Esq.,  of  Rochester, 
a  nephew,  an  early  ward  and  student  of  Gen.  Matthews,  is  his  business 
successor. 


Frederick  F.  Backus, M.  D.,  is  a  native  of  Richfield  county,  Conn.; 
a  graduate  of  Yale  College  ;  studied  his  profession  in  New  Haven 
and  Philadelphia.  He  settled  in  Rochester  in  1816,  where  he  has 
continued  in  practice  until  the  present  time.  In  addition  to  local 
offices  he  has  held,  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  State  Senate.  He 
is  one  of  the  "  fathers  of  the  city,"  conspicuously  identified  with  it 
in  most  of  all  its  history. 

John  B.  Elwood,  M.  D.,  studied  his  profession  principally  with 
Dr.  Joseph  White,  of  Cherry  Valley ;  practiced  a  short  time  in 
Richfield;  in  January  1817  located  in  Rochester.  There  was  in 
practice  in  Rochester,  beside  Dr.  Backus,  Dr.  O.  E.  Gibbs,  Dr. 
Wilkenson,  Dr.  Dyer  Ensworth,  Dr.  Jonah  Brown ;  and  Dr.  Mat 
thew  Brown,  and  the  elder  Dr.  Ensworth,  practiced  occasionly,  as 
exigency  required.  Dr.  Gibbs  died  four  or  five  years  since.  Dr. 
Anson  Coleman  was  the  first  settled  physician  after  Dr.  Elwood,  as 
early  as  1817.  He  died  15  or  16  years  since. 

Dr.  Elwood  still  survives,  having  been  in  practice  in  Rochester, 
nearly  thirty  six  years  ;  —  years  of  usefulness,  and  something  of  em 
inence  in  his  profession  ;  while  in  other  respects  he  has  maintained 
a  prominent  and  influential  position.  Infirm  health,  a  few  years 
since  induced  him  to  make  a  winter's  residence  in  Florida,  where 
he  met  with  a  serious  accident,  with  which  the  public  were  made 
familiar  at  the  time ;  from  which  he  has  mostly  recovered. 

Comfort  Williams  was  the  first  settled  clergyman  in  Rochester. 
His  charge  being  that  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  which  was 
the  first  organized  religious  society  of  Rochester,  in  the  early  year 
1814.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale.  Ministering  to  but  few,  and 
most  of  those  but  illy  able  to  contribute  to  his  support,  he  labored 
dilligently  "  with  his  own  hands."  Purchasing  40  acres  of  land,  in 
the  then  woods,  on  what  is  now  Mount  Hope  Avenue,  he  was  the 
first  after  Messrs.  Carter  and  Scrantom,  to  make  improvements  in 
that  portion  of  the  city.  He  died  in  early  years.  His  surviving 
sons  are,  Alfred  M.  Williams,  Charles  H.  Williams,  of  Rochester, 
and  Edward  B.  Williams,  in  Texas.  Mrs.  Oatman,  of  Wisconsin, 
is  a  daughter.  The  tract  of  land  he  purchased  has  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  family,  and  has  been  mostly  sold  out  in  city  lots,  under 
the  auspices  of  Charles  H.  Williams. 

The  Carter  tract  in  the  same  neighborhood,  mostly  went  into  the 
39 


618  PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

hands  of  Lyman  Hunger,  under  whose  auspices  much  of  the  im 
provements  along  on  Mount  Hope  Avenue  have  been  made.  That 
locality,  where  the  reader  will  have  seen  Mr.  Scrantom  placed  his 
family  that  they  might  not  be  found  in  the  event  of  British  invasion  ; 
a  dark  and  gloomy  forest,  as  many  will  recollect  who  used  to  ap 
proach  the  falls  and  the  mouth  of  the  river,  via.  the  Henrietta  road, 
is  becoming  the  especial  pride  of  the  city.  There  are  there,  Mount 
Hope,  a  resting  place  for  the  dead,  scarcely  inferior  to  any  enter 
prise  of  the  kind  in  the  older  cities  of  the  Union  ;  and  to  say  noth 
ing  of  other  attractions,  beautiful  private  residences,  &c.,  there  are 
the  extensive  grounds  of  those  tasteful,  practical,  and  enterprising 
nurserymen,  horticulturalists,  and  florists,  Messrs.  Ellwanger  and 
Barry. 

Augustine  G.  Dauby,  who  had  served  his  apprenticeship  \vith  Ira 
Merrill  of  Utica,  first  introduced  the  printing  press  into  the  county 
of  Monroe.  He  established  the  Rochester  Gazette  in  1816.  John 
Sheldon  and  Oran  Follett  were  early  associated  with  him.  Mr. 
Dauby  returned  to  Utica,  was  for  a  long  period  the  editor  and  pub 
lisher  of  the  Utica  Observer,  and  P.  M.  of  Utica.  He  still  resides 
at  Utica,  retired  from  business.  John  Sheldon  has  since  published 
a  paper  at  Detroit,  in  Wisconsin,  has  held  a  government  office,  been 
a  reporter  at  Washington  ;  still  resides  at  the  west.  A  daughter 
of  his  is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Nott.  Mr.  Follett,  who,  with  his  family, 
are  noticed  in  another  connection,  resides  at  Sandusky.  In  1818, 
Everard  Peck,  &  Co.,  —  who  had  established  in  1816  the  pioneer 
bookstore  in  Rochester  —  established  the  Rochester  Telegraph.  Mr. 
Peck  si  ill  survives,  enjoying  a  competence  of  wealth,  and  the  es 
teem  of  his  fellow-citizens,  He  is  now  the  President  of  the  Com 
mercial  Bank.  The  mechanical  department  of  the  paper  was  con 
ducted  by  the  two  brothers,  Derick  and  Levi  W.  Sibley.  In  1824 
Thurlow  Weed  became  its  editor;  in  1827,  associated  with  Robert 
Martin,  he  purchased  the  establishment,  and  the  two  issued  it  semi- 
weekly  until  1828,  when  it  was  published  daily  by  Mr.  Martin.  The 
Sibleys  were  the  successors  of  Dauby  &  Sheldon.  Levi  W. 
Sibley  died  in  Rochester  in  1844;  Derick  Sibley  resides  in  Cincin- 
natti.  Edwin  Scrantom,  who  is  named  in  another  connection,  was 
the  first  apprentice  to  the  printing  business  in  Rochester.  In  1826 
Luther  Tucker  who  had  served  a  portion  of  his  apprenticeship  in 
the  first  office  established  at  Palmyra,  issued  the  Rochester  Daily 
Advertiser,  the  first  daily  in  Rochester,  and  the  first  west  of  the 
Hudson  river.  Henry  O.  Rielly  became  its  editor.  In  1829  the 
two  daily  papers  were  united,  and  a  paper  published  by  Tucker  & 
Martin,  called  the  Rochester  Daily  Advertiser  and "  Telegraph. 
Luther  Tucker  is  the  widely  known  and  highly  esteemed  proprietor 
and  editor  of  the  Albany  Cultivator.  Jessee  Peck,  David  Hoyt,  JS. 
D.  Porter,  Thomas  W.  Flagg,  Elihu  F.  Marshall,  D.  D.  Stevenson, 
Daniel  N.  Sprague,  Erastus  Shepard,E.  J.  Roberts,  Elisha  Loomis, 


PHELPS  AND  GOKHAM'S  PURCHASE.  619 

Albert  G.  Hall,  Peter  Cherry,  John  Denio,  Alvah  Strong,  Nahum 
Goodsell,  Franklin  Cowdery,  Sidney  Smith,  George  Davvson,  Samuel 
Heron,  George  Smith,  Thomas  Barnum — are  names  blended  with 
the  history  of  printing  and  newspapers  in  Rochester. 

And  here  the  author  must  leave  the  Press  of  Rochester,  as  all  else 
must  be  left,  in  this  history  of  the  beginning  of  things  ;  —  with 
something  more  than  usual  reluctance  —  for  it  is  of  his  own  craft ; 
and  no  where  is  the  whole  history  of  its  progress  marked  with  greater 
enterprise,  or  more  creditable  to  the  "  Art  preservative  of  all  Arts." 

Roswell  Hart,  was  of  the  large  family  of  that  name,  in  Clinton, 
Oneida  county.  He  commenced  mercantile  business  in  Rochester 
as  early  as  1816  ;  died  in  1824,  aged  37  years.  His  surviving  sons 
are,  Thomas  P.  Hart  and  Roswell  Hart,  of  Rochester,  and  Geo.  W. 
Hart,  of  N.  Y.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  the  Rev.  Francis 
H.  Cuming,  now  of  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan  ;  Henry  E.  Rochester, 
and  M.  F.  Reynolds,  of  Rochester.  Thomas  Hart,  a  brother  of 
Roswell  Hart  settled  in  Rochester  in  1820 ;  still  survives.  Seth 
Saxton  was  the  early  clerk  of  Roswell  Hart,  subsequently  his  partner 
and  that  of  his  brother  Thomas  Hart.  His  widow  still  survives, 
and  three  daughters,  one  of  whom  has  recently  become  the  wife 
of  Major  Sibley,  of  the  U.S.  Army,  now  stationed  in  Santa  Fee. 

Charles  J.  Hill  was  in  Rochester  as  early  as  1816;  he  still  sur 
vives  ;  one  of  the  many  enterprising  millers  of  the  "  city  of  mills." 
He  erected  in  1821,  in  company  with  Mr.  Leavitt,  and  occupied 
himself,  the  first  brick  building  in  Rochester,  on  Fitzhugh  street,  the 
present  residence  of  Wm.  Ailing.  Mr.  Hill  observes  :  In  point  of 
health,  the  settlers  immediately  upon  the  site  of  Rochester,  suffered 
less  than  would  be  supposed,  as  it  was  literally,  most  of  it,  a  swamp 
without  drainage  ;  still  they  were  no  strangers  to  sickness  and  suf 
fering,  and  occasionally  from  fevers  of  a  very  malignant  type. 

Solomon  Close,  who  it  will  be  observed,  was  one  of  the  signers  of 
the  handbill — "  Canal  in  danger" — was  a  deputy  sheriff  of  Genesee  ; 
resided  in  early  years  in  Greece ;  and  was  also  an  early  resident  in 
Rochester.  He  removed  to  Michigan  in  early  years. 

John  Odell  was  a  merchant  in  Rochester  as  early  as  1819  ;  had  a 
small  store  on  site  now  occupied  by  the  Talman  block;  emigrated 
to  Michigan  in  early  years. 

Harvey  Montgomery,  who  was  an  early  merchant  in  Rochester, 
the  partner  of  John  C.  Rochester,  still  survives.  He  is  the  father 
of  Thomas  Montgomery,  an  Attorney,  and  Dr.  Harvey  Montgomery 
of  Rochester. 

Eli  Stilson,  was  from  Fairfield,  Conn.,  emigrated  to  Cayuga  coun 
ty  as  early  as  1800.  He  was  an  early  surveyor  in  Cayuga,  a  school 
teacher,  and  had  much  to  do  in  the  early  organization  of  schools  in 
Scipio  and  its  neighborhood.  He  removed  to  the  town  of  Brighton 
in  1817;  in  1829  became  a  resident  of  what  is  now  Rochester,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  river;  was  a  surveyor  of  a  large  portion  of  the 


620  PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUECHASE. 

city  east  of  the  River,  of  lots  and  streets ;  was  at  one  period  the 
agent  of  Bissell  &  Riley,  in  the  prosecution  of  their  enterprise  up 
on  the  tract  purchased  of  Enos  Stone.  He  still  survives  at  the 
age  of  78  years.  His  surviving  sons  are,  David  Stilson,  and  Eli  L. 
G.  Stilson,  an  Attorney  of  Battle  Creek,  Michigan,  Jerome  B.  Stil 
son,  division  engineer  upon  the  Erie  Canal,  George  D.  Stilson,  a 
contractor  on  the  Erie  Rail  Road.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of 
Dr.  Caleb  Hammond,  and  Gen.  A.  W.  Riley,  of  Rochester,  Ros- 
well  Hart,  of  Brighton  ;  another  the  second  wife  of  Gen.  Riley,  and 
another  the  second  wife  of  Roswell  Hart. 

William  Atkinson  was  early  on  the  east  side  of  the  River,  the 
founder  of  the  mills  now  carried  on  by  Charles  J.  Hill.  Hobart 
Atkinson,  of  Rochester,  is  a  son  of  his ;  the  widow  is  now  the  wife 
of  the  Rev.  Chas.  G.  Finney.  William  Nefus  came  in  as  the  mil 
ler  of  Mr.  Atkinson ;  his  widow  still  survives ;  his  daughter  is  the 
wife  of  Nelson  Curtis.  Mr.  Nefus  was  an  early  tavern  keeper  on 
the  east  side  of  the  River. 

In  1817,  there  was  residing  on  present  city  limits,  on  the  Brighton 
side,  other  than  those  already  named,  Aaron  Newton,  Moses  Hall, 
Ebenezer  Titus.  In  that  portion  of  the  now  city  there  was  not 
twenty  acres  of  cleared  ground.  There  was  little  else  than  prim 
itive  wood's  roads  in  any  direction.  Along  where  St.  Paul  street 
now  is  there  was  a  dense  forest  of  evergreens,  hemlock,  spruce 
and  cedar. 

The  brothers,  M'Crackens,  were  as  early  as  1805  or  '6,  Pioneers 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Batavia.  They  removed  to  Rochester 
soon  after  the  war.  Dr.  David  M'Cracken  was  a  prominent  citzen 
of  the  old  county  of  Genesee.  A  tract  of  land  he  purchased  near 
Deep  Hollow,  on  the  River,  is  now  embraced  in  the  city.  He  died 
at  an  advanced  age  five  or  six  years  since,  childless.  Wm.  J.  Mc- 
Cracken,  was  an  early  tavern  keeper  in  Frankfort,  still  survives,  a 
resident  with  his  son-in-law,  Henry  Blanchard.  A  daughter  of 
Gardner  M'Cracken,  is  the  widow  of  "Capt.  Scott/'  the  afterwards 
Col.  Scott,  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  who  was  killed  in  the  Mexican  war. 

Other  early  landlords  in  Rochester,  who  have  not  been  named, 

Charles  Millerd,  Henry  Draper, Elliott.  The  daughters  of 

Dr.  Ensworth  who  has  been  named  in  another  connection,  became 
the  wives  of  John  Shethar,  Benjamin  Campbell,  and  Rufus  Meech. 
George  Ensworth,  an  only  surviving  son,  resides  in  New  York. 

Warham  Whitney  was  from  Northampton,  Mass. ;  removed  to 
Rochester  in  1820;  was  one  of  the  early  enterprising  millers;  a 
flourishing  portion  of  the  city  on  the  west  side  of  the  River,  south 
of  what  was  Frankfort,  has  grown  up  on  his  farm.  He  died  in 
1841.  His  surviving  sons  are,  George  L.  Whitney  and  James 
Whitney,  of  Rochester.  Daughters  became  the  wives  of  John 
Williams  and  Samuel  G.  Andrews.  John  Whitney,  a  brother  of 
Warham,  preceded  him  in  Rochester  ;  has  in  later  years  been  a  res- 


PHELPS   AND  GOEHAM?S    PUECHASE.  621 

ident  of  Orleans  county,  and  Ohio ;  is  again  a  citizen  of  Rochester. 
Ralph  Parker  was  a  native  of  Salisbury  Conn.;  a  resident  of 
Vermont,  he  was  for  fourteen  consecutive  years  a  member  of  the 
State  Legislature.  In  1816  he  emigrated  to  Rochester,  where  he 
still  resides,  at  the  advanced  age  of  79  years.  He  was  one  of  the 
Judges  of  Genesee,  before  the  erection  of  Monroe  county.  His 
surviving  sons  are,  Daniel  P.  Parker,  of  New  York,  Medad  P.  and 
Ralph  A.  Parker,  of  Rochester,  Phineas  Parker,  Beaver  Dam,  Wis 
consin.  Mrs.  James  H.  Gregory,  of  Rochester,  and  Mrs.  Richard 
Ayres,  of  Lewiston,  are  his  daughters. 


So  much  in  reference  to  Rochester,  has  been  incidental  to  the 
Pioneer  History  of  the  whole  region  to  which  it  bears  so  important 
a  relation.  It  is  hoped  that  no  reader  of  the  work  had  anticipated 
a  history  of  Rochester ;  such  has  not  been  the  design  ;  and  it  would 
have  been  incompatible  with  the  plan  of  the  work.~  A  wide  region 
of  primitive  settlements,  of  towns  and  villages,  has  been  embraced  ; 
a  long  series  of  events  recorded  that  preceded  settlement ;  brevity, 
the  quitting  of  one  locality  to  hasten  to  another,  has  been  an  imper 
ative  necessity  that  the  author  has  had  often  to  regret. 

In  another  form  —  in  a  work  especially  devoted  to  the  locality  — 
it  would  have  been  gratifying  to  have  passed  the  pioneer  period,  and 
step  by  step,  from  event  to  event,  and  from  year  to  year,  to  have 
traced  the  progress  of  Rochester  from  a  primitive  village  to  a  popu 
lous  CITY  ;  —  a  scene  of  wealth,  enterprise  and  prosperity,  creating 
wonder  and  admiration,  even  in  an  especial  era  of  enterprise  and 
progress. 

The  "  Falls  of  the  Genesee,"  to  which  the  reader  has  been  intro 
duced  when  it  was  a  lonely  and  secluded  spot  in  the  wilderness  — 
visited  but  by  an  occasional  tourist  —  after  that,  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  the  abode  of  but  one  solitary  family  of  our  race, — the  local 
ity  that  remained  a  dense,  unbroken  forest,  for  years  after  there  had 
been  a  near  approach  of  considerable  settlements  and  improvements  ; 
has  now  a  population  of  nearly  FORTY  THOUSAND,  and  even  that  is 
but  an  imperfect  indication  of  its  prosperity,  the  triumphs  it  has 
achieved  !  The  "  Hundred  Acres,"  the  germ  of  village  and  city, 
has  had  added  to  it,  first,  other  plats  or  separate  surveys,  then  farm 
after  farm,  in  succession,  until  it  has  expanded  to  over  FOUR  THOU 
SAND  ACRES,  nearly  all  of  which  is  occupied  with  streets,  business 
establishments,  public  edifices,  and  private  dwellings.  The  lots  that 
the  venerated  Patroon,  Col.  Rochester,  in  1811,  with  moderate  an 
ticipations,  and  liberal  views,  instructed  his  agent  to  sell  at  from  $30 
to  $200,  are  now  worth  from  5,000  to  825,000.  There  are  annual 
rents  derived  from  the  buildings  upon  some  of  those  lots,  from  $5,000 
to  12,000.  Of  the  staple  article  of  home  trade  and  commerce  in 
most  of  the  civilized  world,  Rochester  manufacturers  more  than  is 


622  PHELPS  AND    GORHAM?S   PURCHASE. 

manufactured  in  any  other  locality.  Its  mills  are  capable  of  manu 
facturing  the  flour  consumed  by  the  entire  population  of  the  state  of 
New- York  ;  and  this  is  but  a  part  of  its  manufacturing  enterprises. 

In  other  respects  it  is  pre-eminent.  There  is  no  other  city  in  this 
prosperous  Union,  where  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  population  are 
house-holders ;  none  where  active  employment,  industry,  so  gener 
ally  prevails.  In  it  the  idler  is  out  of  his  element ;  the  "  man  of 
leisure"  feels  as  if  he  was  not  at  home.  While  at  the  same  time 
it  may  be  added,  that  no  where  are  the  institutions  of  religion,  edu 
cation,  moral  and  intellectual  improvement,  better  provided  for  by 
an  equal  amount  of  population.  "  As  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree  is 
inclined,"  is  as  applicable  to  the  growth  of  communities  as  to  phys 
ical  and  moral  youth  and  age  :  —  The  impress  of  the  Pioneers  oi 
Rochester  in  all  this,  is  as  indellible  as  would  have  been  a  record 
chiseled  upon  its  palisades  of  rock ! 

And  what  of  the  future  ?  There  are  no  clouds  in  its  horizon  — 
no  breakers  in  its  path  of  progress.  Never  in  any  period  of  its  his 
tory  has  there  been  less  to  create  doubt,  or  justify  croaking  auguries 
and  misgivings  ;  never  a  period  of  so  much  promise  of  rapid  advance 
and  continued  prosperity.  To  a  fortunate  locality  —  a  combination 
of  advantages  seldom  excelled,  the  enterprise  of  its  citizens  has  ad 
ded,  and  is  adding,  what  else  was  and  is  requisite. 

Lake  and  canal  commerce  tend  to  it  almost  with  a  seeming  favor 
itism  ;  Railroads  connect  and  are  connecting  it  with  the  Atlantic 
sea  board,  and  the  long  chain  of  Western  Lakes  ;  a  Railroad  is  con 
structing  which  will  bring  it  still  nearer  to  the  Great.  West,  and 
make  its  connection  with  it  far  more  intimate;  a  canal  facilitates  its 
intercourse  with  the  rich  valley  of  which  it  is  the  emporium  ;  plank 
roads  reach  out  from  it  and  invite  increased  intercourse  with  natural 
tributaries.  But  one  enterprise  more  would  seem  to  be  required, 
and  that  can  hardly  fail  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of  her  public 
spirited  citizens.  The  march  must  be  ONWARD,  and  ONWARD  ! 

The  Pioneer  period,  in  reference  to  Rochester,  has  already  been 
passed  and  the  whole  work  is  becoming  larger  than  was  originally 
designed.  Briefness  —  little  more  than  a  chronology  of  events  — 
blended  with  a  few  statistics,  must  suffice :  — 

1817. — The  village  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  Rochesterville  —  The  first 
Trustees  were  Francis  Brown,  David  Marsh,  William  Cobb,  Everard  Peck,  and 
Jehiel  Barnard  —  The  first  public  house  of  worship  was  built  —  William  Atkin 
son  built  the  yellow  mill  on  Johnson's  Race  —  An  Episcopal  church  was  or 
ganized,  taking  the  name  of  "  St.  Luke's  Church,  Genesee  Falls,"  by  the  Rev. 
Henry  IT.  Onderdonk,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Pennsylvania  —  The  Rev.  Francis 
H.  Cuming  became  its  first  settled  clergyman  —  A  Friend's  meeting,  or  society 
was  organized  —  A  Lodge  of  Master  Masons  was  installed. 

1818. — Oilman  &  Sibley  erected  a  paper  mill  near  Atkinson's  flouring  mill —  In  Sep- 

NOTE. — For  much  of  what  is  contained  in  these  brief  statistics,  the  author  is  indebt 
ed  to  Elisha  Ely's  " Rochester  Directory,"  for  1827,  and  Mr.  O'Reilly's  "Sketches 
of  Rochester." 


PHELPS  AND  GOEHAM'S  PUKCHASE.  623 

tember  the  second  census  of  the  village  was  taken;  population  1049  —  First- 
Sunday  School  organized  —  First  Baptist  Church  was  organized,  consisting  of 
12  members. 

1819. — Atwater,  Andrews  and  Mumford,  b^uilt  a  toll  bridge  over  the  Geriesee  River,  a 
short  distance  above  the  Falls  —  The  name  of  the  village  was  changed  to  Roch 
ester  —  A  route  for  the  Erie  Canal  was  surveyed  through  the  village. 

1820. — By  the  IT.  S.  sensus  in  August,  the  population  was  1502  —  St.  Luke's  Church 
was  erected  —  First  Methodist  Church  was  organized ;  the  Trustees,  Freder 
ick  Clark,  Abelard  Reynolds,  Elam  Smith,  Dan.  Rowe  and  Nathaniel  Draper  — 
A  Catholic  Society  was  organized  ;  meeting  at  the  Mansion  House  ;  Rev.  John 
Faruham  presided,  who  was  called  ''Pastor  of  the  District." 

1821. — A  law  passed  in  the  State  Legislature  erecting  the  county  of  Monroe  from  parts 
of  Ontario  and  Genesee  —  Courts  were  organized  in  May.  The  Bench  consist 
ed  of  Elisha  B.  Strong,  First  Judge,  Timothy  Barnard,  Judge,  Joseph  Spen 
cer  Assistant  justice.  Enos  Pomeroy,  Joseph  Spencer,  Ashley  Sampson,  were 
appointed  to  draft  rules  of  Court ;  No  issue  was  tried ;  Court  convened  again 
in  September —  James  Seymour  was  Sheriff —  The  Aqueduct  was  commenced. 

1822.— Oct.  29th,  the  first  Canal  Boat  left  the  village  for  Little  Falls,  laden  with  flour 
-  Census,  September ;  population  2,700  ;  including  laborers  on  public  works, 
OjloU. 

1823. — In  this  year  Canal  navigation  was  opened  from  Albany  to  Rochester  —  Oct. 
7th  the  Aqueduct -was  completed,  and  the  event  of  the  passage  of  boats  over  it 
celebrated  by  a  procession  of  military  companies,  Masonic  societies  and  citizens 
of  the  village. 

1825. — Census  of  the  village  in  February  ;  population,  4,274  —  Census  of  the  village 
in  August ;  population,  5,273.  — In  tliis  year  Canal  navigation  was  extended  to 
Lockport. 

1826. — On  the  26th  day  of  October,  the  Canal  was  finished  in  its  whole  extent,  and 
the  passage  of  a  fleet  of  Boats  from  Lake  Erie  to  Sandy  Hook,  commemorated  by 
succession  of  celebrations  throughout  the  entire  distance.  There  were  days  of 
rejoicings,  public  receptions,  processions,  cannonading,  music,  dancing,  and 
joyous  hilarity.  Never  upon  any  occasion  has  all  this  been  excelled.  Com 
mencing  at  Buffalo,  a  boat  having  on  board  Gov.  Clinton,  and  other  State  offi 
cers,  committees,  delegations  from  many  counties  of  the  State,  <fec.,  started  off 
followed  by  a  fleet  of  boats.  The  departure  was  announced  by  a  signal  gun, 
and  carried  along  from  gun  to  gun,  stationed  throughout  the  entire  distance;  in 
one  hour  and  twenty  minutes  the  news  was  received  at  Sandy  Hook,  that  a  boat 
had  started  from  Luke  Erie,  and  was  on  its  way,  "  traversing  a  new  path  to  the 
Atlantic  Ocean."  Then  commenced  a  long  series  of  receptions  and  celebrations 
along  the  whole  line.  Rochester,  then  a  young,  aspiring  village  of  less  than 
8,000  inhabitants,  as  if  some  inspired  prophet  had  foretold  that  it  was  the  dawn 
ing  of  her  already  largely  realized  destiny,  caught  the  spirit  of  the  whole  thing  ! 
In  their  own  locality,  at  Buffalo,  and  at  other  places  along  the  line  ;  and  at  the 
grand  finale  upon  the  waters  of  the  Bay  of  New  York,  they  were  "present  and 
assisting."  When  the  fleet  from  the  west  arrived  at  their  village,  there  were 
tinder  arms,  eight  uniform  companies,  and  an  immense  concourse  of  citizens. 
Jesse  Hawley  made  an  address  which  was  replied  to  by  Gov.  Clinton  and  John 
C.  Spencer;  exercises  were  had  at  the  Presbyterian  Church  —  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Penney  officiating ;  Timothy  Childs  delivered  an  address ;  Gen.  Matthews  pre 
sided  at  a  dinner  at  the  Mansion  House,  assisted  by  Jesse  Hawley  and  Jonathan 
Childs  ;  in  the  evening  there  was  a  ball  and  a  general  illumination.  Those 
who  come  after  us  may  consummate  achievements  of  greater  magnitude  than 
the  Erie  Canal,  but  none  of  more  practical  diffusive  utility ;  and  never  in  all 
probability  will  there  be  another  such  a  "PEOPLE'S  JUBILEE  !" 

1337. — Rochester  was  incorporated  as  a  city  in  the  spring  of  1834.  The  first  officers 
of  the  city  were  as  follows:  —  Jonathan  Child,  Mayor;  Erasmus  D.  Smith, 
Abraham  M.  Schermerhorn,  Supervisors  elected  by  general  ticket ;  the  Alder 
men  were,  Lewis  Brooks,  Thomas  Kempshall,  Frederick  F.  Backus,  A.  W.  Riley, 
Jacob  Graves ;  Assistants,  John  Jones,  Elijah  F.  Smith,  Jacob  Thorn,  Lansing 
B.  Swan,  Henry  Kennedy.  Jacob  Gould,  A.  M.  Scherrnerhom,  Thomas  Kemp- 
shall,  Elisha  Johnson,  were  Mayors  in  succession. 


624:  PHELPS  AND  GORHAM'S  PURCHASE. 

CENSUS  OF  MONROE  COUNTY,  1850. 


NAMES  OF  TOWNS  AND 
WARDS. 

No.  of 
families 

No.  of 

houses. 

White 
males. 

White 
females. 

Total  of 

whites. 

Colored 
popl  'n. 

Total 
popl  'n. 

ROCHESTER,  1st  Ward, 
2d 
3d 
4th 
5th 
6th 
7th 
8th 
9th 

Total,  

518 
655 
804 
607 
635 
1408 
698 
575 
926 

457 
522 
692 
574 
597 
1328 
631 
515 
826 

1538 
1761 

2098 
1729 
1848 
3408 
1633 
1440 
2339 

1453 
1848 
2221 
1770 
1804 
3582 
1648 
1416 
2341 

2991 
3609 
4319 
3499 
3652 
6990 
3281 
2856 
4680 

62 
21 
172 
12 
53 
71 
55 
64 
16 

3053 
3630 
4491 
3511 
3705 
'  7061 
3336 
2920 
4696 

6826 
605 
467 
458 
441 
425 
314 
611 
508 
347 
375 
364 
501 
396 
651 
746 
495 
558 
862 

6142 
575 
450 
429 
440 
422 
313 
611 
508 
347 
375 
364 
501 
396 
595 
705 
476 
543 
835 

17794 
1639 
1247 
1665 
1241 
1355 
1082 
1752 
1514 
1061 
1053 
1135 
1534 
1197 
1785 
2179 
1307 
1496 
2407 

18083 
1536 
1162 
1431 
1156 
1157 
933 
1593 
1373 
997 
951 
1024 
1380 
1050 
1804 
2022 
1291 
1445 
2142 

35877 
3175 
2409 
3096 
2397 
2512 
2015 
3345 
2887 
2058 
2004 
2159 
2914 
2247 
3589 
4201 
2598 
2941 
4549 

526 
10 
37 

21 

1 

8 
4 
3 
1 

3 

34 

18 

5 
6 

36403 
3185 
2446 
3117 
2397 
2513 
2015 
3353 
2891 
2061 
2005 
2159 
2917 
2247 
3623 
4219 
2598 
2946 
4555 

88650 

Penfield 

Webster       

Brighton 

Rush,  

Mendon,  

Pittsford 

Gates   

Riga       

Wheatland,  

Chili 

Sweeden,  

Greece   .    

Osrden 

Parma 

Clarkson 

Total 

15950 

15027 

44443 

42530 

87973 

677 

CONTENTS  OF  SUPPLEMENT. 


CHAPTER  L — [Commences  page  497.]  —  Wheatland  —  Riga  —  Reminiscences  of 
Elihu  Church,  of  Henry  Brewster  —  Ogden  —  Parma  —  Reminiscences  of  Levi 
Talmadge,  of  Samuel  Castle — Greece  —  Charlotte — War  of  1812  —  Gates  — 
Penfield  —  Reminiscences  of  William  Mann  —  Pittsford  —  Perrrinton  —  Mendon 
—  Rush  —  Reminiscences  of  Joseph  Sibley  —  Henrietta. 

CHAPTER  II.  —  [Com.  page  543.]  —  Morris'  Reserve  —  The  Triangle  —  Le  Roy  — 
Names  of  Early  Settlers  on  Triangle  —  Reminisences  of  Simon  Pierson  —  Levi 
Ward  —  Bergen  —  Sweeden  —  Clarkson  —  Reminiscences  of  Dr.  Baldwin  and 
.Gnstavus  Clark  —  Connecticut  Tract  —  Names  of  Early  Settlers — Brighton  — 
Chili. 

CHAPTER  III.  —  [Com .  page  571.]  —  Early  glimpses  of  the  Genesee  Valley  —  The 
Falls  of  the  Genesee  and  their  immediate  vicinity  —  General  condition  of  all  West 
ern  New  York —  Pioneer  Histoiy  of  Rochester. 


MISSION. —  A  topographical  sketch  of  Mumford  and  its  neighborhood,  and  an 
account  of  recent  discoveries  of  ancient  remains  near  Le  Roy,  referred  to  in  the  body 
of  the  work,  are  necessarily  omitted.  The  former  will  appear  in  the  volume, "  Living 
ston  and  AUegany." 


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